WHFA’s San Francisco Winter Market Seminars A Treasure Trove Of Information

Furniture World Magazine

San Francisco Market attendees will discover a treasure trove of information at the Western Home Furnishings Association seminars. The complimentary, hour-long seminars will be presented by some of the best industry pros like; Phil Gutsell, John Egger, Nadim Baker, Joe Milevsky, Karen Wade and Bill Dugan. They will all present ideas and strategies for increasing profits, cutting costs, increasing customer service levels and more. WHFA Seminars are offered Wednesday through Saturday of Winter Market, in the WHFA Retail Resource Center Seminar Room, Mart 2, Space 705. No advance registration is required; seating is on a first come, first served basis with complimentary refreshments. The new 2004 San Francisco Winter Market dates are Wednesday – Saturday, January 28-31, 2004. Wednesday, January 28, 2004: 9:00 - 10:00 am “7 Keys To Better Gross Margins”, Philip Gutsell, GutSELL & Associates. Are your Gross Profit Margins average or even worse, below average? Phil Gutsell can show you 7 Profit Producing Keys to improve your gross margins while maintaining volume and even accelerating them. Phil will share his proven methods: from competitive pricing strategies, better buying, to discount reductions and more. Return to your store armed and ready to unlock a better bottom line. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. “Maximize your Profitability with Best Practices”, Bill Dugan, PROFITsystems, Inc. Many retailers are enjoying excellent profitability despite the economy. They get together regularly to share best practices and help each other overcome challenges. This presentation will explain how and why they meet, and the benefits to be gained. 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. “Furniture Warranties – Adding Extra Profit to Everything You Sell”, Steve Wilson, 4Warranty Corporation Furniture merchants not selling upholstery and case goods extended service contracts are missing huge income opportunities. Appliance & Electronics merchants have been selling extended warranties for decades, and the consumer has come to expect it. They treat Service as a “Separate Business”. Those extra dollars from extended warranty sales mean a lot to the bottom line, and “Customer Expectations” are higher than ever before! 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. “Double Your Net Profits”, John Egger, Profitability Consulting Group. Net Profits or “The Bottom Line” is what counts in your business not gross sales. Too many retailers sacrifice real profits for hitting higher gross sales. John will teach you how to increase your “Net Profits” in this dynamic seminar. 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. “Delivery Management to Cut Costs and Increase Customer Satisfaction”, Karen Upp, RouteView Technologies. Learn how home furnishings companies across North American are using Map-Based Routing, Wireless/GPS Technologies to cut their operating budgets by as much as 15-20% while differentiating themselves through Increased customer satisfaction. Thursday, January 29, 2004: 10:30 – 11:30am “3 Keys to Employee Retention and Other Keys to Your Infrastructure”, Gloria Walsh, STORIS Management Systems”. Solidify the infrastructure of your company by mastering employee retention in 3 easy steps. Gloria will walk you through simple ways to make dynamic changes in your human resources management. Learn to listen to what your employees want, not what you are looking to give. Learn how to manage external growth by managing internal growth. Find out what training structures can be put in place to insure employee loyalty and what the measurable results are of having long term employees and what it means to your company. All this and more will be discussed in this topical seminar. 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ”New Technology Facing the Retail Furniture Industry”, Nadim Baker, CDS Solutions Group. Furniture Retailers are faced with more technological advances than ever before. What’s important to note, what’s emerging and what can you use right now to enhance your company’s performance and productivity? In this workshop we’ll explore various areas of technology, including wireless communications, miniaturized systems, radio frequency ID’s and global positioning systems. This is not an in-depth technical discussion on the workings of these technologies, but rather an exploration into where they fit and how to leverage them in your business. Company executives and business decision makers will not want to miss this session. 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. “A Woman’s Worth – Capturing HER discretionary dollar?” Karen Wade, Ph.D., Karen Wade Associates. We know the statistics—80 to 85% of all retail purchases are generated by women consumers. Home-making remains a predominantly and profoundly female activity. Your economic wellbeing is increasingly tied to understanding and fulfilling contemporary women’s needs as they go about their home-making role. A question persists in the industry, “How can we effectively capture more of the consumer’s discretionary dollar?” yet we have not adjusted our fundamental approaches to marketing, sales, and customer service in accord with the needs of today’s busy, sophisticated woman. Join us in this inter-active seminar and share your thought and ideas on how to capture HER discretionary dollar. 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. “Characteristics of a Successful Business”, Joe Milevsky, JRM Sales & Management, Inc. Qualities that successful businesses share will be contrasted with the qualities that less successful businesses lack. You will develop a better understanding of what your own definition of success should and could be, gain insight into how to achieve your vision of success, explore the balancing of profitability and quality of life issues, and gain an improved focus on what the business should allow its owners to have and do outside of the workplace. Friday, January 30, 2004: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. “Create a Service Focus From the Perspective of the Bottom Line”, Mitzi Taylor, Not-So-Basic-Training. Providing excellent customer service should be one of the easiest things to accomplish in the business world: find out what your customer needs, meet their needs and treat the customer like a partner not the enemy. Reality is (if most organizations are being honest with themselves) it’s much harder to walk the talk. This keynote provides the leader with a to-do list of what needs to be in place to lead and sustain great service in any industry and why it is so important to create a service focus from the perspective of the bottom line. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. “Count on Advertising Results - Seven ways to Add Appeal to your Advertising”. Karen Fraser-Middleton, Marketing Action. At this hands-on session, learn how to improve your advertising and generate more sales. Expect a lively discussion where you can share your challenges and successes, and learn from others. Gain tips on how to improve your ad headlines to attract more prospects. Benefit from learning what you can offer customers beyond a sale price. Find out how to promote what is unique about your store and differentiate it from competitors. Take away ideas that you can put to work immediately to improve your advertising. 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. “Use it or Lose it – Maximize your Advertising Dollar”, Joe Lapekas, TruckSkins, Inc. Advertising is a necessary evil. What is going to make an impact on the customer, grab their attention and get them through your door instead of your competitors’? Are you taking an inventory of the resources that are available to you right now? Are you getting the best R.O.I. on your advertising dollar? Come to this seminar and discuss impactful ways to get your name in front of thousands of potential customers, learn how to take advantage of and expand your advertising coverage. 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. “The Power of Three’s – Achieve the 3 Goals of Every Salesperson”, Phyllis P. Macay, PPM Designs. Exactly what is supposed to be happening when a sales staff is showing a customer around the sales floor? You need to know what the customer NEEDS to fulfill her WANTS. You greet a first-time customer; you begin to bond, and paint a picture of how their wants turn to needs. I call it the Store Tour! Make the Store Tour work for you! and achieve the 3 goals of every salesperson. 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. “Building a Winning Sales Team”, Joe Milevsky, JRM Sales & Management, Inc. Discover the potential of your sales team and get a better understanding of how to help your sales associates assist your customers the way you want your customers assisted; properly facilitate goal setting, goal accountability and goal achievement; and use measurements to coach performance improvement. Joe will also provide you with valuable information on how to correctly staff your sales floor, properly train new hires and veterans, and coach performance improvements in private coaching sessions. Attend this seminar and learn how to create a positive selling environment in your store. Saturday, January 31, 2004: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. “Efficient Furniture Warehousing”, David Duff, David Duff Furniture Consulting. David will focus on the step by step formula to warehouse furniture efficiently. Focusing on the building, and the systems and procedures to operate it at peak performance, David will share valuable information regarding customer service, home delivery, employee standards and much more. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. “Special Events Are Special”, Phyllis P. Macay, PPM Designs. Customer service is foremost on everyone’s mind. How can we promote our image, educate our staff, and bring customers flocking into our store in record numbers? Special events promotions can enhance and do just that! Bring customers into your store in a non-threatening environment, take their charitable contributions and entertain them. Come be an interactive partisan in this seminar and explore the creative process and learn the check points to promoting a successful event. 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. “R.O.I. – What You Can Do Now to Improve It”, John Egger, Profitability Consulting GroupIs your business worth keeping open? What is your true return on investment? How do you increase your return? What can you do NOW to improve your R.O.I.? These are all very real questions that need to be asked to keep you viable in this economy. John Egger will delve deep into each of these questions and provide you with answers to each and every one. 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. “The 5 SMART Steps to Greater Profitability”, Larry Stark, PROFITsystems, Inc. Larry will present 5 time-tested steps that all retailers can follow to improve their bottom line profits. Find out how easy it can be to make small changes that make a big difference. Larry will share tricks of the trade that will set you apart from your competitor as well as give you information that you can take home and put to use immediately. The Western Home Furnishings Association is100% Member-owned and the largest affiliate of the National Home Furnishings Association. WHFA provides programs, services, and networking opportunities that improve business opportunities and management practices to Western home furnishings retailers.