Forty-ve Icom dealers recently won an all-expense-paid trip to Lyon, France, for four days of wine tasting,

ne dining, and sight seeing. Dealers had to meet pre-established sales targets to qualify for

the trip, which took place Oct. 21-25, 2006. Each winner and one guest joined a

group of notable Icom America execu-tives, including President Hiro Nakaoka, Vice President Chris Lougee, and re-gional sales managers John Sullivan and Joe Collica. Lyon is located in the South-ern region of Burgundy, one of Frances premier food and wine destinations.

It was a trip of a lifetime, says Julie Kostis, co-owner of Southern Maine Communications, who traveled with her husband and co-owner Bill, and their son Greg. The history and cuisine was amazing, and we enjoyed getting to know Chris Lougee and the reps.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Top Dealers Win a Trip to France

Did You Know?

Accessory of the Month - FASC61UC/VC Cut Antenna

Grants Generate Higher Sales

Meet Your Icom Team- Daniel Big Daddy Gonzales Service Receiver, Service Department

Demo Program Puts Products in Customers Hands

ianews, your connection to Icom Americas Land Mobile Division! Keep up with the latest products, news and technical information in this newsletter.

November 2006

For People Who Make Smart Choices

Continued on page 2

2006 Icom America Inc.The Icom logo is a registered trademark of Icom Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. All information and specications subject to change without notice or obligation. 8531

Left to right: Icoms Kevin Ryan and Joe Collica with Julie and Bill Kostis and their son, Greg.

Top Dealers Win Trip to France

Another day, the group traveled north to Beaujolais, a popular wine-producing region in France known for its light-bod-ied red wine. They sampled wines and traditional country fare at the wine center Le Hameau du Vin, created by the leg-endary wine maker Georges Duboeuf.

Later that afternoon, they visited Cha-teau de Pierrclos, home of the Pidault family, for a tour of the chateau and wine tasting in the barrel room. That evening, the chateau hosted a candlelight dinner for the Icom visitors.

Guests toured several well-known sights in Lyon, which sits on the banks of the Rhne and Sane rivers and dates back to ancient Rome. The city houses the medieval cathedral St. Jean and the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvire. It is also home to a collection of illusionary trompe loeil murals. (See photo.)

Left to right: Stacie King, Melissa and Mike OBrien,

Alicia Scott, Julie and Bill Kostis, Becky Wood,

Jason Wood, and Richard and Misty Byrd

ianews

ianews / November 2006 / Page 2

Continued from page 1 Top Dealers Win Trip to France

For People Who Make Smart Choices

The incentive served two purposes, says John Sullivan, Icom regional sales manager. It rewarded high-achieving dealers while giving dealers and execu-tives the chance to interact on a personal, one-on-one basis.

Mike OBrien of Tallahassee 2 Way Ra-dio Systems says that while the French cuisine wasnt a big draw for him, he ap-preciated the chance to personally meet the Icom team and put faces to names. He lightheartedly describes meeting one particular Icom employee, who he only later discovered was Hiro Nakaoka, president of Icom America.

Many dealers extended the four-day event into a personal vacation by tacking on an additional side trip. Several groups toured Paris. Another group, which included the Kostis family and Icoms Lougee and Sullivan, visited Normandy.

The prospect of winning a trip to France proved highly motivational for many dealers. People who were inter-ested in the trip did whatever it took to win, says Icoms Sullivan. The incen-tive was really effective.

Icom America team in front of a trompe loeil at Lyon. Left to right: John Sullivan, Chris Lougee, Hiro Nakaoka, Mark Maynard, Joe Collica, Kevin Ryan, and Alicia Scott

In many cases, the winning dealers were unsure whether they would meet their sales targets until the nal days of the promotion. It came right down to the end, Kostis says. Just a couple days before the deadline we got a major sale that put us over the threshold.

In order to qualify for the trip, dealers had to reach pre-set sales targets for the months of April through June (rst quar-ter) and July through September (second quarter). Sales goals were broken down into four different tiers, so that dealers of all sizes would qualify. Winners were announced Oct. 1st, 2006.

Did You Know?

The Lightweight, Over-The-Head Headset available from Icom is perfect for applications where the user must wear the headset for an extended period of time. The padded, adjustable headband and cushioned earpiece assure comfort and the boom microphone

can be rotated for left or right positioning. Optional cloth covers are available for added comfort if a user requires them. Features include:

Comfortable adjustable foam cushion headband Right or left ear compatibility Swivel boom microphone for left or right positioning. Standard in line push-to-talk Replacement parts available

V4-10120 For F3, F4 radios 2 pin straight plugV4-10393 For F3G, F4G radios 2 pin right angle plugV4-10479 For F11, F21, F14, F24, F33G, F43G 2 pin screw down connectorV4-10514 For F30G, F40G, F50, F60, F70, F80 Multi pin molded connector

Accessory of the Month

FASC61UC/VCCut Antennas

Introducing new optional antennas for your handheld radios: the FA-SC61VS & FA-SC62UC. These new antennas can be cut to tune to the center frequency you want to set. This will improve your communi-cations range and quality at the edge of a repeater service area.

Works with all Icom land mobile handhelds (except for the F50 series)

Retains better exibility in low temperature environments and will not be easily damage even in extreme cold weather

Shipped with a cap that the dealer can glue onto the top of the antenna element for a better look and protection against corrosion of the inside metal wire element

This is the second year Icom has sponsored a trip for qualifying dealers. Last year, 50 dealers traveled to Japan to visit Icoms headquarters and tour the country.

The destination for next years trip has yet to be announced, but dealers who have gone on one or both of the previous trips to France or Japan are already look-ing forward to next years sales contest.

Ill denitely try to qualify for the next trip, Kostis says

For People Who Make Smart Choices

ianews / November 2006 / Page 3

ianewsDemo Program Puts Products in Customers Hands

Icom America Inc.2380 116th Ave NEBellevue, WA 98004

Phone: (425) 454-8155Fax: (425) 454-1509Customer Service: (425) 454-7619

Icom America Systems (IAS)Phone: (425) 586-6363Fax: (425) 586-6321ias@icomamerica.com

When buying new radios, customers want to know they are making an in-formed decision. For dealers, this means having a knowledgeable and well-trained sales staff, as well as demo products on hand that potential customers can test before making a purchase.

Icom America offers a Salesperson Demo Program, which provides dealers with demo products for a 6-month period. Offered twice per year, dealers must use the radios for at least ve months be- fore selling them. Since invoices are not due for 6 months, dealers essentially receive free radios.

Dealers and customers both benet from the demo program. Dealers and their sales staff become familiar with the radio products, allowing them to better educate the customer on the features and strengths of the radios. In turn, this converts into increased sales and better customer service.

Our sales people learn the product in-side and out, says Patrick Zebro, general manager of the St. Paul, Minn., Bearcom ofce. Salespeople are able to talk more intelligently about it to the customer.

John Dunker, central regional sales manager for Icom, agrees. People sell what they know, he says. Likewise, customers generally buy what they best understand. So, when a dealer partici-pates in our Demo Program, their sales-people benet every bit as much as their customers when nding the best choice,

Icom employee since: 1999Nick name: Big DaddyMost fun experience at Icom: My rst year Christmas party, casino nightBest reason to work at Icom: Its all about Icoms great group of people; its like working for a family business.

Daniel is the front man to Icoms quality service team. The moment your service unit reaches Icoms front door, Daniel is the shepherd, ensuring the receipt, information, status, control and processing of your radio or system meets the standard.

Prior to joining the service department, Daniel served in Icoms trade show, shipping/receiving and warehouse de- partments. Icom is condent in knowing that your service request is kept in good hands with Daniel.

Daniel Big Daddy GonzalesService Receiver, Service Department

Meet Your Icom Team

hands-on, in a radio.The demo program gives customers

a chance to test drive the radio before making a purchase. Two-way radios cannot be sold from a brochure, says Icom America regional sales manager John Sullivan. The customer must be able to touch and feel the product.

Bearcoms Zebro recalls a recent customer who wanted to purchase 20 Project 25 (P25) radios for a local re department. The customer asked for Motorola units, but after trying out the dealers demo Icom F70 radios, as well as demo Motorola products from another dealer, the department opted for the Icom radios, Zebro says.

He credits Icoms demo program for the sale. We never would have been able to sell him the Icom product oth-erwise, Zebro says. For some custom-ers who have never used Icom radios, it can be unnerving to switch from a known brand. But the demo program allows customers to put the product to the test, and discover the value the Icom brand offers, Zebro says.

Dealers who take advantage of both specials during the year are guaranteed to receive all new radios with any new rmware upgrades or features added since the last promotion, says Icoms Sullivan. From a dealer standpoint, there is no reason why dealers would not take advantage of this program.

Grants Generate Higher SalesFive years have passed since 9/11, but

homeland security funding for enhanced public safety communications continues to trickle down to local agencies. Grant funding is driving higher sales for many local dealers, as agencies purchase Project 25 (P25) radios and other high-end communications equipment.

One St. Paul, Minn.-area re department recently purchased 20 Icom F70DS P25 radios from the local Bearcom ofce with grant fund-ing. That sale turned into an even bigger sale for us, says Patrick Zebro, general manager of the St. Paul Bearcom ofce. The 20-unit sale multiplied into another two sales: One

consisted of 28 F70 units and the other comprised 25 F70 radios.

Bearcoms Zebro credits grant funding for this spurt in P25 equipment sales. P25 equipment isnt cheap, and local public safety agencies typically struggle to meet day-to-day operational budgets, let alone carve out the funding to upgrade communications equipment.

Julie Kostis, co-owner of Southern Maine Communication in Sanford, Maine, also credits homeland security funding and grant money for an increase in mobile and portable sales. Fortunately for us, theres still a lot of grant money and homeland security funding around.