Back from Chicago: Wrapping Up Our Latest Summit

Last week’s Home Improvement Profitability Summit was a huge success and we would like to thank all of our Sponsors as well as the 140 attendees which represented over 100 companies from the home improvement industry.

The 2-day event has left our administrative staff deluged with questions and feedback regarding specific topics that were covered and how they will affect our industry in the forthcoming year.

Over the next few months we will review these items, as well as some of the critical topics that were covered at the event – – for those of you that were not able to make it.

The program was organized in a “panel” format. Each panel had between 2 and 4 presenters, and after all of the presentations were concluded there was ample time for a long Q&A session. Here is a quick summary of what took place:

• I presented briefly on the state of the home improvement industry, and gave the calculations for our recommended pricing formula.
• Three of our Senior Account Executives: David Alan Yoho, Brian Smith and Jerry Rott gave their insights as to what they are seeing in the industry. This was of particular interest to the attendees as each account executive has a bird’s eye view from the number of client visits that they conduct on an annual basis.
• David, who is recognized as one of the foremost canvassing experts within the industry presented on the challenges that you need to overcome within your operation to run a successful canvassing program.
• Brian then presented on the misconceptions regarding homeshows and events, as well as the recommendations that we give our clients regarding them. For an example on how to run a successful event, check out this video from Joe Talmon who is the President of Larmco Windows.
• Ron Sherman, who is the President of Ron Sherman Productions discussed the state of the advertising industry, and the effectiveness of per-inquiry advertising.
• Todd Bairstow, the founder of Keyword Connects discussed the value of Internet leads, and how they vary depending upon the market you live in.
• Jesse Cory, the CEO of Ohm Creative Group, touched on the effectiveness of online web forms, video and sweepstakes.
• Chris Marentis, the CEO of GenNext Media, discussed the importance of integrating all of your Internet marketing methods to achieve rapid results.
• My son, Brad, delved into the rise of social media, and how you utilize these new-age tools to achieve leads and customers.
• Tim Musch, who is the Director of Development for MarketSharp, explained the value of asset recovery, particularly in terms of e-mail marketing.
• Jack Price, the Director of Coaching & Development for CallSource, presented on the need for marketing efficiency, and explained what call tracking (and other forms of media) will accomplish for your business.
• George Faerber, the Co-owner of Faerber’s Bee Window concentrated on Google Analytics, and how to best utilize this free program in your business.
• My son David returned to discuss the importance of scripting among your marketing staff.

In the next blog posting I will wrap up the summary of the event, as well as share some pictures from the program.

Also, keep in mind that our next Management program will be held September 14th & 15th, 2010 in Baltimore, MD. This Summit will be held in conjunction with The Remodeling Show (sponsored by Hanley-Wood), and information regarding the content for the program should be available within the next few weeks.

If you would like us to pre-register you for the event please contact us at admin@daveyoho.com.