January 26, 2010
Your website in DistributorCentral has a built-in shopping cart which allows your customers to place orders to you. Whenever they go through the ordering process, the system will automatically generate a username and password for them, which they can then use to login to view their order history. Furthermore, you customers can view their order status as well as quotes and invoices from the My Account page on your site (see image below).
Whenever visitors go through the ordering process, they will also be added to your Customer List in your DistributorCentral account. From within your account, you will have the ability to review and edit their information as well as send them their username and password if they happen to forget it.
The My Account page will also allow your visitors to register or sign up on your website. Additionally, if you enter in a customer or place orders for a customer in your DistributorCentral account, you can then send them a username and password to your website as well.
Many of the premade templates already incorporate the My Account page; however, you can remove this page if you prefer to not have this feature on your website. You can also set a website preference to not have the system generate a username and password for your customers when they go through the ordering process. To find this preference, go to the Websites Menu >> Add/Edit Websites >> then click on the Preferences link. From here, select No for the Send New Customer Registration Email preference. Click on Save and then Publish your website.
NOTE: The My Account page is intended to be used by your customer and is not intended for “you” to sign in to your own DistributorCentral account. Instead, if you want to login to your DistributorCentral account, go to www.DistributorCentral.com.
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Account Customizing, Helpful Articles, Order Management, Tips, Websites | 
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Posted by distributorcentral
December 10, 2009
With the addition of the File Upload tool, DistributorCentral makes it easy for Suppliers to create an “end user friendly” file upload website. This is a valuable feature since Distributors would be able to send their customers directly to the “blind” file upload website where the customer can then upload large artwork files. Suppliers can easily assign the uploaded artwork files to orders in their account as well.
To view an example, go to www.checkart.com
To add this feature to a website:
- Edit the website page that you would like to have uploader on
- Choose File Uploader from the content drop-down menu
- Indicate the email address that you would like the artwork upload notification sent to (see image below)
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and then publish your website to apply the changes
If you would like a file upload notification on the Home page of your DistributorCentral account that indicates that you’ve have received new uploaded files:
- Go to the Account Menu
- Select Preferences and then Account Preferences
- Click on the Orders menu on the left side of the page
- then select Yes for the file upload preference (see image below)
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Suppliers, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 30, 2009
Every website that utilizes DistributorCentral’s Product Catalog will also have a shopping cart for ordering.
The shopping cart allows for the seller to enter all the payment options that they would like to offer to their customers.
The available payment methods are:
- Credit Card – Collect Info Only – No Processing
- Credit Card – Authorize.net Merchant Account
- Credit Card – Paypal Payflow Pro Merchant Account
- Check / Money Order
- Paypal
- Bill To Account
- Purchase Order
- “We will call you for payment information”
- “I will call you with my payment”
- Pay Later
- Proof Request Only
- No Charge
- Commission Deduct
- Bill to Department Number
Click here to view a guide that lists all of the available options along with an explanation of those available and where you can make those changes.
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Guides, Website Templates, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 13, 2009
There is a new feature offered that would allow you to edit your website while in “Preview” mode rather than going directly into the website editor.
You can try this by following these steps below:
- Log into your DistributorCentral account
- Go to Website Menu> Add/Edit Websites
- Click on Edit to the Right of your website
- Here at the top right you will see a new Preview link. It will say “Edit/Preview“
When your Preview window opens, you can hover your mouse over your content and it will turn yellow. If you click on any of that content, the system will open up the website editor to the area where you can make that change.
When you save that change, the editor window will close and the preview will refresh automatically.
Remember to Publish Your Changes.
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Posted by distributorcentral
November 11, 2009
Distributors, you have the capability of controlling the minimum order total that you will accept from your DistributorCentral shopping cart.
There have been some Distributor concerns regarding the minimum order that they want to accept.
There is a preference in your account where you can set that amount.
To find this preference:
1. Log in to your DistributorCentral account.
2. Go to Account Menu>> Preferences>> Website Preferences.
3. Pick your website that you would like to set a minimum order amount by selecting “Website Preferences” to the right of that site name.
4. Then click on Orders in the left, white column.
5. Here scroll down towards the bottom and find “What is the minimum order total you will process?”
6. Type in the minimum order you will process. This is the retail total amount.
7. Select Save at the top of the page in the right corner.
8. Now you need to Publish your Website to make those changes live on your DC shopping cart.
If a customer goes to your website and tries to complete an order that totals under the amount that you have specified, it will not allow them to submit the order and it will give them this message at the top of the Order Review Page:
They also don’t have the “Finish” button for the order, they can only “Add Another Product” or “Cancel Order.”
Comments Off | Account Customizing, General, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
October 16, 2009
Animated GIF’s are images containing a series of GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) graphics that are displayed in rapid sequence in a web browser, giving the appearance of a moving picture. They are a great way to catch you website visitors attention and to show many product images without having to take up a lot of space on your site.
Here is how to create them using Adobe PhotoShop and ImageReady…
Step One: Compile each image or frame that you would like displayed in the animated GIF on its own layer in PhotoShop
Step One
Step Two: Click on the ImageReady icon at the botton of the tool bar in PhotoShop
Step Two
Step Three: Create frames in ImageReady by clicking on the >> icon and set the display times for each frame. You can also add fading effects from frame to frame by using the Tween option.
Step Three
Step Four: Save the image using the Saved Optimized As option
Step Four
That’s it. If you are using this for a website, just upload it like a normal JPG or GIF file.
There is a fine line between using animated graphics on your website as a tasteful method to display information to your visitors and having them be distracting. We suggest that you use only one per page.
Click here to view premade animated GIF’s that you can use on your website.
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Posted by distributorcentral
October 15, 2009
Suppliers and Distributors,
We’ve added a file uploader that you can add to your DistributorCentral website. This will allow your website visitors/customers to upload artwork to you and even assign it to a PO that you have in your DistributorAccount.
Click here to see an example.
To add this feature to your website:
- Edit the website page that you would like to have uploader on
- Choose File Uploader from the content drop-down menu
- Indicate the email address that you would like the artwork upload notification sent to (see image below)
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and then publish your website to apply the changes
If you would like a file upload notification on the Home page of your DistributorCentral account that indicates that you’ve have recieved new uploaded files:
- Go to the Account Menu
- Select Preferences and then Account Preferences
- Click on the Orders menu on the left side of the page
- then select Yes for the file upload preference (see image below)
Comments Off | Customize, New Features, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 23, 2009
Search Engine Optimization can make your DistributorCentral website more successful for your company.
Below is a link to a document that could be helpful for you to optimize your website for search engines. This document is specifically targeted to optimizing your website for Google.
Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide PDF
Comments Off | General, Resources, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 16, 2009
The rapidly growing use of community and social marketing sites has led to numerous requests for additional functionality within DistributorCentral to help our users more easily interact with these types of services. One of these requests has been addressed with a new feature that allows you to instantly “share” a product or website content with friends or their favorite social websites such as Facebook, Twitter, their blog, and more. A new website preference allows you to display a “SHARE” button on the catalog page that enables you, or your customers, to quickly share information with a wide range of 3rd party tools. By default this button will appear on your websites; if you wish to turn it off it is located under the “General” section when editing your website preferences.
The default tool is a product from AddThis.com which enables compatible sharing with AIM, Amazon Wishlist, Ask, Backflip, BallHype, Bebo, Blogger, Blogmarks, Buzz, Delicious, Digg, Diigo, Email, Facebook, Fark, Faves, Favorites, FriendFeed, Google, Hatena, Kaboodle, kIRTSY, Link-a-Gogo, LinkedIn, Live, Menéame, Mister Wong, Mixx, Multiply, myAOL, MySpace, Netvibes, Netvouz, Newsvine, Nujij, Plaxo, Print, Propeller, Reddit, Segnalo, Simpy, Slashdot, StumbleUpon, Stylehive, Technorati, ThisNext, Tip’d, Tumblr, Twitter, TypePad, WordPress, Y! Bookmarks, and Yardbarker. New sharing sites are routinely being added.
If you have an account with AddThis.com, ShareThis.com, or other 3rd party tools you can also use a second new preference (“Custom Share Button”) which allows you to insert your own HTML/JavaScript code in lieu of the default button. By registering for an account with these services you can track the use of the SHARE button on your site as part of your ongoing marketing and traffic research efforts. In general you would not use both of these preferences at the same time, but rather use either the stock SHARE button or custom code that you obtain from one of the share button providers.
To access these website preferences:
- Go to the Website Sites meneu and select Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the the Preferences link for your website
- Click on the Catalog tab
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page (see image below)
Comments Off | New Features, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
August 13, 2009
DistributorCentral has added a new payment type “Proof Request Only” which you can add in addition to “Credit Card” which can help get orders from your website closed at a higher rate (see image below). If you apply this payment type, you will have to ask your customer for credit card info after the proof has been approved. Some distributors have decided it is better to get to a proof than to require credit card info on all orders.
To apply this new payment type:
- Go to the Account menu
- Select Payment and then Payment Setup
- Move over the Request Proof Only preference (see image below)
- Click on Save, you will not need to publish your website
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Customize, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
July 7, 2009
Use this new feature to PowerBoost your website:
Make Virtual Samples available for your customers on your website.
This will allow your customers to see what their logo will look like on any of the products that you offer.
There is a $10 per month, per website charge to utilize this feature. Click here to learn more.
Your customers can click on “Add your Logo” and a window will open (second image below) where they can remove and add logos to this product. They can save this as a PDF as well to print off or email it.
This is what that will look like on your site below:
A window will open like this when they click on “Add Your Logo.”
Remember to Publish your site after you enable this feature!
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Posted by distributorcentral
July 2, 2009
How to use an Iframe to put your DistributorCentral product catalog onto your outside website…
An <iframe> tag defines an inline frame that contains another document or web page. Iframe’s allow you to display content (i.e. the DistributorCentral catalog) on a site in a window, which eliminates the need for a pop-up window.
Click here for an example of a demo site that is outside of DistributorCentral that has the DistributorCentral catalog in an Iframe.
You’ll notice that the catalog looks seamless with the outside website.
Here is the HTML that is typically used to put an iframe on a site.
<iframe src=”YOUR DC CATALOG LINK HERE” frameborder=”0″ height=”600″ width=”100%”>
</iframe>
You can find your DistributorCentral catalog information in your DistributorCentral account in the Website Publisher area.
Click here to visit a site that explains more info about Iframes.
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Posted by distributorcentral
July 2, 2009
Customize the Product Catalog Page on your Website…
By default, the All Products catalog displays on your DistributorCentral website which has products from all of your suppliers on DistributorCentral. However, you can create Custom and Preferred Supplier catalogs to give your website a more personal touch.
Click on the links below to see the difference:
Default Catalog Page
Custom Catalog Page
On the example above, the catalog page consists of the default All Products catalog and 14 Custom Catalogs which have been created in the account and assigned to the website. There also are custom images uploaded to represent each catalog.
Click on the image below for reference of how the Product Catalog page above was created.
See the Users Guide to learn how create Custom Catalogs, or watch the Quick Custom Catalogs Video Tutorial.
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Posted by distributorcentral
June 24, 2009
Add Featured Products to your website…
The DistributorCentral web editor tool in your account makes it easy feature products on your website. Using this function on your website can help you advertise and promote products to your customers. This feature also automatically links the products to a details page where your visitors can learn more about the product and order it as well.
Click here or on the image below for an example.
On the example above, you’ll notice that the site is not only using the Featured Products tool, but also has an image uploaded to help enhance the area, which is also hyperlinked to a page on the site that has a more Featured Products.
To add Featured Products on your website, Edit the page you want to put the search area on and select Featured Product for the content type for that block. Click on the image below for reference.
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Posted by distributorcentral
June 23, 2009
How to add a Category Search area…
The DistributorCentral web editor tool in your account also makes it easy add a product category list area to any page of your website. Inserting this function on your home page of your website can make it more convenient for your customers to search for products.
Click here or on the image below for an example.
On the example above, you’ll notice that the site not only has the Category List area, but also has an image uploaded to help enhance the area, and it is also hyperlinked to a page on the site that has a Full Category List.
To add a Category List area on your website, Edit the page you want to put the search area on and select Product Category List for the content type for that block.
Click on the image below for reference.
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Posted by distributorcentral
June 22, 2009
Add a Quick Search function to your website…
The DistributorCentral web editor tool in your account makes it easy add a product search area to any page of your website. This is standard on most of our templates and inserting this function on your home page of your website can make it more convenient for your customers to search for products.
Click here or on the image below for an example.
On the example above, you’ll notice that the site not only has the Quick Search area, but also has an image uploaded and text to help enhance the area and to give customers searching ideas.
To add a Quick Search area on your website, Edit the page you want to put the search area on and select Quick Search for the content type for that block. Click on the image below for reference.
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Posted by distributorcentral
June 16, 2009
The introduction to your website…
An introduction to your website is important since it lets your visitors know upfront what your website and company are about. However, keep it short and sweet, since most website customers are looking to research products and shop rather than read a lengthy bio regarding your business.
If you want to elaborate further about your business, add an “About Us” page on your website, where you can then discuss more about your business origin, mission and concepts.
Click here or on the image below for an example.
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Posted by distributorcentral
June 11, 2009
DistributorCentral has created many new templates for you to utilize for websites in your account.
If you haven’t seen our template section in the last six months then you should look again.
As of today, we have 28 templates for you to choose from and we are always adding more and improving those that are already there.
Each of these templates offer the DistributorCentral product catalog and shopping cart. You can also customize the product catalogs available.
Here are a few samples of some of our templates.
You can use the templates that we offer to create multiple websites in your account. You are welcome to change these templates to fit your needs as well.
You can see the list of all the templates we provide by clicking on the Websites Menu in your account on the far right side of the Navigation bar.
Once you have clicked on the Websites Menu, you will see a section titled “Pre-Made Templates.” In this section, it will list all of our templates available.
To view what these templates look like, select Preview on the right side of the template name. If you find one that you would like to use, select Use on the right side of the template name.
This will create a new website in your account.
All of these templates are available free of charge.
Comments Off | Company Stores, Website Templates, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
June 10, 2009
Use this new feature to PowerBoost your website:
You can customize the pricing that shows to your customers for products on each of your DistributorCentral websites!
There are a few different options that you can take advantage of when editing the pricing for your websites. There is a $20 charge per website, per month to utilize this feature.
You can mark up the prices with a percentage above Net pricing, mark the pricing down a percentage from Retail pricing, or set the margin for the Retail markup.
This feature could be helpful to those distributors who are creating company stores for their customers or possibly even for those who just want a competitive price on their website for promotional products.
There are many other reasons why you might want to use this new feature to help make your site your own.
Click here to see the instructions to add this feature to your website.
Comments Off | Company Stores, Customize, PowerBoost, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
June 9, 2009
Use this new feature to PowerBoost your website:
You can customize the images that show to your customers representing products on each of your DistributorCentral website catalogs!
There is a $20 charge per website, per month to utilize this feature.
Maybe you would like to add your customers logo to all the products that are listed on their company store website to help them visualize what the finished product will be. . .
-OR-
maybe you would just like your own images to represent certain products on your website.
There are many reasons why you might want to use this new feature to help make your site your own.
Click here to see the instructions to add this feature to your website.
Comments Off | Customize, PowerBoost, Products, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
May 28, 2009
PowerBoost your DistributorCentral websites.
Do you need to create a specific website for one of your customers or clients?
If so, you can create Company Store websites within your DistributorCentral account. Company Store sites can be setup specifically for clients and customized to only display certain products and information intended for those customers. You can use products for the site that are already setup in DistributorCentral from our participating Suppliers, or you can setup a Fulfillment Account to create custom products and customize the ordering process.
Click here to learn more about Fulfillment Accounts.
Click here for full details and to download the Company Store Guide.
Click here to visit a demo company store website created in DistributorCentral. This site has both the standard All Products catalog and also a custom catalog (called Marriam Catalog) using products that were setup and customized in a Fulfillment Account.
Comments Off | Company Stores, PowerBoost, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
April 6, 2009
Here are some sites that you might find helpful:
How to Combine SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Blogging, and Social Media for Marketing Results
HubSpot.com
Search Engine Chat Tools
SEOChat.com/seo-tools
Cool Text is a free graphics generator that you can use to create images for your website
CoolText.com
This site has a tutorial that explains how to create animated GIF files that you can use on your website (you will need PhotoShop & ImageReady)
DigitalScrapBookPlace.com
Comments Off | Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 26, 2009
Attention DC Website Users!
DistributorCentral has made it even easier for you to upload your images and documents to your Content Library of your website.
We now offer a “bulk upload” area where you can upload many images or documents at once rather than one at a time.
This is available under the Websites Tab
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Posted by distributorcentral
September 30, 2008
The Feature Product block in the web editor area of your account allows you to easily pick products to display on your website.
Here is how you can add Featured Product Blocks to your website:
1) Add a block to your page
2) Select Featured Product as the type of content for the section
3) Search for the Supplier or product you want to feature
4) Click Save at the bottom of the page
You can specify either “medium image with description” or “small image and no description” when displaying the product.
Add multiple featured product blocks to a web page to quickly highlight products to your customers. Remember to periodically change the products to keep your content fresh. Added bonus: search engines will pick up on the product details to help boost your page rank.
Click here for an example and for further instructions.
Leave a Comment » | Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 8, 2008
Cool Website Tip
Did you know that you can easily email links to your customers for products on your DistributorCentral website? Give it a try!
- Go to your live DC website *
- Conduct a product search
- Right Click on a product image
- Select “Copy” from the menu (see first illustration)
- Paste the image into an email (see second illustration)
1.
2.
The images will automatically be hyperlinked to the details page for the corresponding product on your website, where customers can learn more about the product and place an order for it.
*Note: Make sure to copy the links from your live website and not from the preview mode.
For best results, use Internet Explorer.
Leave a Comment » | Email, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 5, 2008
WebSite Tip!
Your DC account allows you to create as many websites as you like and we’ll host your domain names as well, FREE of charge! Take advantage of this valuable feature by creating target or niche sites in your DistributorCentral account.
Take a look at this site, www.distributorcentral.com/websites/mugsandtumblers
it’s an example of a niche website with only mugs and tumblers on it. This allows visitors who only want drinkware, the convenience of not having to filter though 1000’s of other products. So if you specialize in a specific area in the promotional products industry, whether it’s mugs, magnets, pens, bags, edibles, etc., create a website for it in your DistributorCentral account!
Here’s how to do this:
- First create a Custom Catalog with just the specific products you want to display on your website (see the Users Guide to learn how to do this, or watch the Quick Custom Catalogs Video Tutorial)
- Second, design a website in the web editor area of your account to target the specific products (watch the tutorial How To Create Your Own Website to learn how to do this)
- Third, remove the All Products catalog that comes standard with your website, and replace it with the Custom Catalog you created
- Fourth, map your domain name if you’ve purchased one, otherwise, just publish your site and you’re finished
If you have any questions or want to learn more about this, just give us a call or email info@distributorcentral.com.
Leave a Comment » | Catalogs, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
August 21, 2008
Hello DC Website Users!
We’ve added a resource site to the DistributorCentral website area. This site will have various images that you can download and use for your website.
To access the site, go the Websites menu and click on Add/Edit Websites. You’ll find the link for the site in the Resource/Demo Websites section.
Click on http://www.distributorcentral.com/websites/imagesforyourwebsite to access the site.
Leave a Comment » | Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
July 18, 2008
Now it is easier than ever to create a great looking site in a matter of minutes!
We have added new templates to the Website area in your account. To access them, go to the Websites menu, and then click on Add/Edit Websites. You’ll find them in the Pre-made Templates area. Just click on the “Use” link to the right of the template to enable it. Remember that you can create as many websites in your account as you like.
Click on the links below to see previews of the new templates:
Modern
Modern
Modern Categories
Mirrored Glass
Mirrored Glass
Mirrored Glass Categories
Red White and Blue
Red White and Blue
Red White and Blue Categories
Silver Screen
Silver Screen
Steel
Steel
Green Promotions
Green Promotions
Note: On the samples above, the product links will not work. Once you select to use a template, the product catalog links will then become active.
Leave a Comment » | New Features, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
June 2, 2008
New Search Display Preference for your DistributorCentral Account and Website.
You asked and we have listened!
When you conduct a “keyword” search in your DistributorCentral account or on your website, it defaults to search by the product name, number and description.
Depending on what keywords you are searching for, this can bring back many results. For example, using the keyword “bag” will bring back results for any products with the word “bag” in the product description, which can show results that may not be relevant to what you are looking for.
We now have a new search display preference that you can enable in your account to search only by the product name and number by default, as opposed to searching for the description as well. This can help initially narrow down search results.
To set this preference for your DistributorCentral account and website, follow these steps:
1. Go to the Account Menu
2. Select Preferences from the drop-down list
3. Select Account Preferences to change the setting
within your account / Select Website Preferences
to change the setting for your website
4. Select Catalogs on the left side of the page
5. Change the search fields preference to your liking
6. Click on Save
Note: You will have to publish your website if you have changed this setting for your website preferences.
A Special Note To Suppliers:
Be diligent in naming and describing your products in DistributorCentral. Use this product search optimization website to see exactly how your products show up to Distributors in DistributorCentral searches.
www.DistributorCentral.com/websites/pso
Also, please make sure that you only include your products in the Categories and Industry Catalogs that they relate to. This helps Distributors and their customers get accurate and reliable searches everytime.
Leave a Comment » | Account Customizing, Catalogs, New Features, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
March 31, 2008
With DistributorCentral, there’s no excuse for not having a website for your customers to use.
DistributorCentral allows you to create custom websites for your business with a built-in product catalog and shopping cart. There is no limit to how many pages you can have or what you can put on your site. We have free online training seminars and support to help you build your site, but the design work is up to you and your imagination. DistributorCentral will also host your domain name and your email at no charge.
Below are links to reference sites that have been created using the DistributorCentral web creation software, ranging from simple to advanced.
Distributor Reference & Educational Site
www.distributorcentral.com/websites/distributor
Simple Demo Website – No HTML Used
simple.dcdistributordemo.com
Intermediate Demo Website – No HTML Used
www.dcdistributordemo.com
Advanced Demo Website Using HTML & Domain Name Hosting
advanced.dcdistributordemo.com
Demo Niche Website – No HTML Used
green.dcdistributordemo.com
SupplierReference & Educational Site
www.distributorcentral.com/websites/supplier
Tip
If you haven’t already, we heavily suggest that you place a few orders to yourself from your website to get a good understanding of how the system works.
Tip
Here is a good site for general website design:
http://websitehelpers.com/design
Live Webinars are back!
You can register for a WebEx meeting by clicking on the blue “Live Webinars” button at the top of your page, or by going to http://www.distributorcentral.com/websites/DistributorCentral/classschedule.cfm.
Leave a Comment » | Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
