Invitation to Participate in AHTD’s 2012 Profit Survey

The era of automatic profits has come to a sudden halt. The industry has moved from trying to keep up with demand to battling sales, pricing, expense control and every other aspect of operations.

In turbulent times, financial benchmarking information is more important than ever before. The best source of financial benchmarks for our industry is the AHTD PROFIT SURVEY (click on 2012 Profit Survey Form after you login), provided by industry expert Al Bates at the Profit Planning Group. This report will help you answer questions such as "Are the most successful firms in a down market placing more emphasis on gross margin management or expense control?"

Your AHTD Board of Directors invested in this project for the eleventh year because this report presents a wealth of financial and operating guidelines for your business. Sharing this data amongst AHTD members will not only make you stronger, but provides direct comparisons between your firm and other participating firms. This valuable information is, however, only available to firms that participate in the study.

As a participant in the survey, you will receive the following:

1) The PROFIT Report
* A financial and operating profile of the entire industry.

2) Profit Improvement Profile
* A confidential report sent directly to you comparing your firm with similar participating firms. Many    firms take this report to the bank to discuss loans and lines of credit.

3) Profit Toolkit Online
* A Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet to assist your financial planning.
* Access instructions are included with your Profit Improvement Profile

4) Special Offer for PROFIT survey participants
* If you take part this year, Al Bates will review your results with you via telephone at no charge to you. Sign up now to take advantage of this one-time offer.

Will My Figures Be Confidential?
* Absolutely! Profit Planning Group keeps your proprietary company data strictly confidential. Only the necessary staff of Profit Planning Group ever sees your data. Reports present only aggregated results. Strict masking procedures are used so no individual firm data can be identified. All survey forms are destroyed after processing. In over 20 years of conducting benchmarking studies, Profit Planning Group has an unblemished record of maintaining confidentiality. "I personally guarantee that no individual firm's operational or financial data will ever be revealed to any person outside the immediate and necessary staff of Profit Planning Group." Dr. Albert D. Bates, President, Profit Planning Group.

To Participate:
* Simply fill out the survey (login to AHTD's member only section and click on 2012 Profit Survey Form) and submit to The Profit Planning Group before May 1, 2012. Another option: Simply fill out the operational questions in the survey, attach a copy of your income statement and balance sheet and send it to Profit Planning Group for processing.

Submit the Survey:
* By Fax: 303-444-9245
* By Mail: Profit Planning Group, 1790 38th Street, Suite 204, Boulder, CO 80301.

Option to purchase the AHTD 2012 PROFIT Survey for those not participating in the survey:
* If you elect not to participate in AHTD's benchmarking survey the PROFIT Report will be available to you for only $200. Ordering information will be available after July 1.

For additional information, or if you have a question, please contact Leigha Schatzman at AHTD by phone 262.696.3645 or by email Leigha.Schatzman@ahtd.org.

We had record participation in 2011 and encourage you complete questionnaire now! The deadline for submission is May 1, 2012.