Educational seminars featured during market

By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 27, 2005

High Point — All market seminars are free and in the National Home Furnishings Assn.'s Retailer Resource Center on the 12th floor of the International Home Furnishings Center's Main wing, unless noted.

Thursday, April 14

8:30–9:30 a.m.

Where is the M.E.A.T. (More Effective Advertising Today)?

Philip Gutsell, Gutsell & Associates

Gutsell will outline the 10 critical elements that make advertising campaigns succeed. Learn how to develop a clear plan to increase traffic and make more of your advertising investment pay off quickly.

10–11 a.m.

How to Make the Market Experience Work for You

Floyd Veal, JRM Sales & Management

Veal will offer buyers and store owners advice on merchandising strategies for item illumination and product replacement; utilizing inventory turnover and GMROI for merchandise planning; and mapping out and coordinating vendor visits.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Seventeen Things You Can Do to Immediately Build an Effective Team

Samantha Kurtz, Kurtz & Associates

Kurtz will discuss specific steps to quickly and efficiently create a more cooperative business environment, giving your staff a more productive place to work and your customers a hassle-free place to shop.

1–2 p.m.

What is Currently Happening with Retail Real Estate for the Furniture Industry?

Julius Feinblum, Julius M. Feinblum Real Estate

Feinblum will outline how retailers and manufacturers can participate in real estate bankruptcies and dispositions. He also will address where the next growth areas are for furniture stores and what is happening with power centers and home furnishings center.

2:30–3:30 p.m.

Five Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Business

Al Wight, Strategic Decisions

Wight will offer practical tips to increase sales and profits, based on extensive interviews with home furnishings store customers and retailers.

4–5 p.m.

Maximizing Sales Revenue per Shopper: How to Fix Your Sales Department Forever

Joe Capillo, ProfitSystems

Capillo outlines the key truths about sales management and accountability for performance. Learn the basic principles to maximize sales and profits by using information.

Friday, April 15

7:30–9 a.m.

WithIt Breakfast: The Color Palette for 2006

Representatives from Sherwin-Williams will present the color trends for the coming seasons. Sponsored by IHFC and Women in the Home Industries Today. The seminar and breakfast are free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. RSVP via e-mail to goutlaw@ihfc.com or visit www.withit.org. IHFC Green wing, Club level, Ballroom A.

8:30–9:30 a.m.

Your Customer Connection: A New Day and Way for Hiring and Training Salespeople

John Lawhon, Selling International

Lawhon will define selling to the end user and why that definition is a "solution." The basics are the same, but it's a complete reversal in retail sales training methodology.

10–11 a.m.

The New Profit Centers

John Egger, Profitability Consulting Group

Egger will highlight methods and processes that will enable retailers to develop profit centers.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Streamline Your Home Delivery Operation: Use Demountables for Maximum Efficiency

Mark Ansberry, Demountable Concepts Inc.

Ansberry will review case studies of both Top 100 retailers and single-store companies that have streamlined warehouse and delivery operations with use of the demountable truck body system. The presentation will focus on operational analysis, implementation and driver training.

Noon

Comfort Defined

Deborah Burnett, interior designer

Burnett will help you understand the elements of color, light, texture and sound, and how they can create a comfortable environment. Sponsored by IHFC and The International Furnishings and Design Assn.-Carolinas Chapter. $15 fee includes lunch. For reservations, mail check to Gaye Outlaw, P.O. Box 828, High Point, N.C. 27261. Call (336) 888-3754 for more information. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, Club level, International Ballroom.

1–2 p.m.

Beyond the Box

Connie Post, The Connie Post Companies

Post will highlight marketing strategies that emotionally engage and capture consumers' attention, and will focus on how retailers can educate and empower customers to make good decisions.

2:30–3:30 p.m.

Revolutionary Branding

Giles Morais, Morais International

Morais will explain how to evaluate your brand, position your brand in a competitive environment, establish a branding concept and develop a powerful branding strategy.

4–5 p.m.

Sixteen Principles of Sales Management

Brad Huisken, IAS Training

Huisken will outline what should and should not be done by sales managers, with strategies designed to get the most productivity out of salespeople through effective coaching, communication, accountability, incentives and training.

Saturday, April 16

8:30–9:30 a.m.

The Recovery: An Update

Jerry Epperson, Mann, Armistead and Epperson

Epperson will review where the home furnishings industry is during this economic recovery. He also will discuss why this recovery is different than years past and will offer insight into what to expect in the future.

10–11 a.m.

Coaching Poor Performers

Jody Seivert, One by One Companies

Seivert will lead an interactive seminar on communicating expectations to achieve greater results with employees.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Should Your Second Location Be Virtual?

Mary Liz Curtin, Giftware News

Your customers are shopping on the Web and you should be there for them. Curtin, Giftware News' Penny Pinching Retailer, will explore the different avenues to getting on the Internet and expanding your business. Learn the easiest ways to start an Internet business and/or improve your current Web business. Topics will include what moves online, how to present products, viable marketplaces, the costs of opening an online store and how advertising and marketing work on the Web.

Noon

Color Trends: Are They Still Relevant?

Leatrice Eiseman, international color forecaster

Eiseman will identify new color directions and how they fit into consumer comfort levels. She is the author of five books on color, and a book signing will follow the presentation. Sponsored by IHFC and The International Furnishings and Design Assn.-Carolinas Chapter. $15 fee includes lunch. For reservations, mail check to Gaye Outlaw, P.O. Box 828, High Point, N.C. 27261. Call (336) 888-3754 for more information. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, Club level, International Ballroom.

1–2 p.m.

How to Tell What's Wrong with Warehouse and Delivery and How to Fix It

Dan Bolger, The Bolger Group

Learn how to solve at least 10 significant operational problems. Most solutions don't require capital investment or rocket science, just the initiative to identify what's wrong and fix it. Do you feel that you've exhausted your resources with your present facility? This seminar will highlight what's new in distribution center layout and design, and offer ideas to reduce construction/renovation costs and optimize productivity.

2:30–3:30 p.m.

Moving Excess Inventory: How to Liquidate Effectively

Jeannie Reeth, eBay

Reeth will outline multiple ways to maximize cost recovery, with case studies of manufacturers and retailers who have used eBay to move stale products.

4–5 p.m.

Become a Merchandising and Marketing Wizard

Willie Davis, R&A Marketing Solutions

Your target market's identity involves so much more than age, income, race or geography. It's about lifestyles, values, attitudes, hobbies, affiliations and preferences. Understanding geodemographic segmentation will help you determine what your customers will buy.

Sunday, April 17

8:30–9:30 a.m.

Painting Pictures with Words

Lloyd Princeton, Design Management Co.

Princeton will outline the best options for presenting design services and products to customers.

9 a.m.

One, Two, Three Strategies for Accessorizing Vignettes and Displays

Jeane Shurtliff, Flambro/Stetson Home Classics

Shurtliff will offer three tools to enhance your vignettes and displays, allowing you to communicate to your customers the importance of accessorizing a room, which will result in increased accessory sales. Complimentary continental breakfast. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, High Point Room.

10–11 a.m.

Turning Browsers into Buyers: Internet Strategies to Increase Sales and Profits Immediately

Steve Street, Hookumu

Prospective buyers consistently are turning to the Internet as the first step toward purchasing furniture. This presentation will explore proven techniques to take advantage of prospective buyers online and increase sales.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Marketing the Cultural Mindset

Bill Sands, Chute Gerdeman Retail

Sands will discuss trends and how the market has responded to the needs of the consumer; the attitudes and aspirations of the target consumer; opportunities to develop relationships; and how the supply chain assesses market need.

11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

New Times, New Trends

Michelle Lamb, trend analyst

Lamb will talk about the most important color and design directions for the second half of the decade. $25 fee includes lunch. Advance reservations may be made by mailing a check or credit card information to Interior Design Society, 3910 Tinsley Drive, Suite 101, High Point, N.C. 27265. Call (800) 888-9590 for more information. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, International Ballroom B.

Noon

Building a Brand: The 411 on Marketing

Lloyd Princeton, Design Management Co.

Princeton will explore marketing, public relations and sales for the design professional. Learn how to increase name awareness, generate leads and close deals. Complimentary lunch. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, High Point Room.

1–2 p.m.

The Mystery of the Budgeting Process

Bob Moorman, JRM Sales & Management

Moorman will offer insights on creating and using budgets, benchmarking performance and setting reasonable but detailed financial goals.

2:30–3:30 p.m.

Something New in Store Lighting

Monte Lee and Peter Wilcox, Service Lamp Corp.

Lee and Wilcox will reveal a new lighting technology that can reduce operating costs and still yield dramatic results.

4–5 p.m.

Drive Sales by Unleashing the Power of Your Consumer Database

Janet Michel, ADVO

Michel will illustrate how retailers' customer transaction data can divulge a wealth of information, including who their customers are, where they live and their purchasing behavior.

Monday, April 18

9 a.m.

WGSN's Spring/Summer 2006 Directions for the Interiors Market, plus Inspirational Global Trends

Barbara Kennington, WGSN creative and editorial director

Style and product development, plus WGSN's take on global inspirational trends, consumer attitudes and design hotspots. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, International Ballroom B.

Noon

Color in the Built Environment

Barbara Richardson, ICI Paints

Richardson will explore the use of color in our world, with emphasis on the psychological reasoning associated with particular colors. Complimentary lunch. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, International Ballroom B.

Tuesday, April 19

Noon

Styles and Trends in Home Accents

Becky Boswell Smith, editor in chief, Home Accents Today

Join the editors of Home Accents Today for an exclusive look at the styles, trends and new products at this market. Complimentary lunch. IHFC Green wing, 11th floor, International Ballroom B.