Allison Chaney

Chief Digital Training Officer, Bootcamp Digital

“Instagram 201:Content Optimization Strategies for Maximum Engagement”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 2:50 PM | 3:00 PM – 4:50 PM

So you’re on Instagram and you’re having some success. Now let’s focus on taking that success to the next level!
The Instagram space is incredibly noisy with businesses and influencers. The competition for eyes on content is fierce. So what makes YOUR images stand out? What makes Instagram users want to engage with YOUR business? And how do you know if what you’re doing is working? This session will give active Instagram for business users advanced, but practical, strategies for maximizing their impact with every piece of content they post.
We’ll cover:
• The latest features and functions keeping participants on the cutting edge
• Content optimization:
• How to use Stories strategically to boost engagement
• IGTV: How hero content can be a game-changer if you nail it
• Case studies of businesses killing it on Instagram and the takeaways for your business

BIO:

Allison is one of the most experienced digital marketers in the industry, having started in the earliest days of the Internet. Her unique ability to combine strategies that work with hands-on executional best practices drives digital marketing results.

Since 1999, Allison has helped hundreds of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, get results from digital marketing. Allison built Bare Knuckle Digital, a successful digital marketing agency in Cincinnati, Ohio. When the company was acquired by Red 212, a Procter and Gamble spin-off agency, she continued to manage Digital Services. Allison now dedicates her time to building custom trainings, workshops, and keynote presentations with Boot Camp Digital.

Allison has worked with leading companies including Fresh Express, Assurex Health, OHC, Sweeney Automotive, Timbertech, Apollo Heating and Cooling, Snappy Tomato Pizza, Gold Star, Chili, Miller-Valentine Group, Synchrony Financial (formerly GE Capital), and xpedx.

Alicia Zich

Senior Customer Experience Analyst, Wells Fargo

“How to Measure and Optimize your Business’ Financial Health”

Sunday, August 25 | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM | 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM

Join us for this hands-on working session where you’ll learn about key performance metrics to help optimize your business’ financial and operational performance. You’ll rest more easily when you have tools to help you understand how to value and manage your business for long-term success.

BIO:

Alicia Zich serves as Customer Experience Analyst for Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF). For more than 10 years, Alicia served in a variety of risk and quality roles including Underwriter, Risk Analytics Analyst and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Alicia’s experience in her risk roles provided her with extensive knowledge on financial statements, financial ratios, and organizational structure.

Audrey Nelson

Senior Customer Experience Analyst, Wells Fargo

“The Art of Conscious Communication”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM (Young Professionals)
Monday, August 26 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (Women In Business)

You cannot not communicate; everything you say or do sends a message. Today’s technology such as email, voicemail and the Internet has made communication faster and more accessible. Telecommunication is a misnomer; we’ve lost the human moment. Additionally, most of us operate on automatic even in our face-to-face communication. This program brings communication into consciousness and supplies tools to help you send the message you want and enhance everyday encounters.

BIO:

“Dr. Audrey Nelson is an internationally recognized trainer, keynote speaker, author and consultant who helps organizations increase their productivity and profitability through winning communication strategies. She specializes in communication skills, gender and generational communication, conflict management, , and sexual harassment and discrimination.

She holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication and conducted post-doctoral work at Warnborough College in Oxford, England, in gender communication.

Dr. Nelson’s professional background includes 10 years teaching in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For 30 years, she has trained and consulted for a wide variety of government and Fortune 50 companies in 49 states, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and Korea.

Her clients include Xcel Energy, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, American Board of Trial Attorneys , AT&T, Honeywell, Hewlett- Packard, IBM, Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, Pentax, Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Dept. of State.

Audrey is a published author. You Don’t Say: Navigating Nonverbal Communication Between the Sexes (Prentice Hall, 2004) was published in six languages. She co-authored Code Switching: How to Talk so Men will Listen (Penguin-Alpha Books, 2009) and The Gender Communication Handbook: Conquering Conversational Collisions Between Men and Women (Pfeiffer 2012).”

Bob Muenkel

Convention 2019 Speaker

Mattress University – Turn NO into YES

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM

Closing more sales is more important today than ever. Through the magic of story-telling, veteran sales trainer Bob Muenkel, Serta Simmons Bedding, pulls the curtain back and reveals the real reasons customers leave without a receipt. Hint; it is not what your customers tell you. This session teaches a simple, repeatable sales technique that consistently reveals the real obstacles and reopens the sale opportunity so you can turn NO into YES.

The Coordinates of YES

Monday, August 25 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM Heavy Hitters

Veteran sales trainer Bob Muenkel, Serta Simmons Bedding, teaches customer engagement techniques based on brain anatomy that will help you write a lot more sales. You may have cut biology class in the past but this class you will not want to miss.

BIO:

Bob has 31 years in the mattress business perfecting the art of selling, or as Bob calls it, “the journey from the door to the desk.” With his degreed background in Psychology, Bob brings dynamic concepts in sales training and connecting with the consumer. As a Solution-Selling advocate, Bob’s training seminars, workshops, and motivational sessions are well known and favorites for industry conferences.

Attending any of Bob’s presentations comes with surprises and full engagement with relevant points that will make you rethink how you engage your customer thereafter. Come prepared with an open mind. You will be glad you did.

Bodine Balasco

Convention 2019 Speaker

“Next Level Retail”

Monday, August 26 | 9:00 AM – 9:50 AM | 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

Come discover why Bodine Balasco has been named one of the “Top 21 Speakers for the 21st Century” by the Successful Meetings magazine. See why ACE Hardware, Petsmart, ADT, and FedEx call him “one of the most effective speakers we’ve ever hired.”

In this presentation, Bodine will share actionable information & insights that will help you
take your operation to the Next Level.

Capturing critical feedback from your customers
Knowing how to gather this information and share it with your employees is vital for moving your operation to the next level.

The most important Principles of Business Theater
This is about creating the “Next Level of Value” for Your Customers
• Using these principles it’s possible to turn any interaction into a valuable experience for your customer… that they will talk about.
• This is 21st Century wisdom, that can really make a difference in your sales conversion. And will also serve to align your employees with
the most important behavior for their success

Full Engagement Leadership
Understand why it’s absolutely true that “your customers will feel the way your employees feel.” Learn how to take advantage of that.
Ideas Are the Answer
Would you like to improve your “profit per employee” by 480%? Bodine will share a sure-fire method for doing just that!
• This method will become your favorite management tool

Creating Results is about Creating!
Bodine will share the 4-part structure of the Generative Creative Process

Using this process will immediately increase your capacity to create
your target results . . . even in the face of challenging circumstances

You’ll also learn . . .
• The most important principles ever discovered in all of achievement science
• The One-word Secret to generating sustainable energy & follow-through

BIO:

Bodine Balasco has established himself as one of the country’s most innovative and knowledgeable business speakers, known for his interactive style, uplifting energy, humorous storytelling, and valuable content. Many of his Fortune 500 clients have called him “the most effective and exciting speaker we’ve ever hired for any of our meetings.”

He is academically trained in public speaking & human behavior, with degrees from UCLA in Speech Communications & Social Psychology. While attending UCLA as a scholarship track athlete, Bodine also earned honors as team captain and stadium record-holder.

Bodine’s path has been that of a researcher and passionate communicator who loves sharing wisdom and strategies that help people and work teams create desired results.

His academic training, multi-faceted background, and years of research have given him an extraordinary knowledge of human behavior and strategies for business success.

Members of the Institute of Management Consultants were so impressed with Bodine’s valuable content and humorous, entertaining delivery they gave him a 10+ rating on their 5-point scale!

There’s always a perfect spot on your agenda for one of Bodine’s unforgettable presentations.

Dan Miller

Guardsman

“Delivering Profit Growth Through Protection Plans”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM
Monday, August 26 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM

Dan will discuss:
• Proactively managing your protection plan category to maximize sales, profits, and total customer lifetime value (enhance the customer experience).
• Define The Potential
• Formal category benchmarking against Guardsman’s “best practices”
• What is possible
• Sales comparisons
• Profitability comparison
• Optimal States
• Opportunity gaps
• How to measure protection plan sales performance at retail
• Where to retail your protection plan (Pricing bucket model)
• Which protection plan(s) are best for your business
• Best practices from Guardsman and other retailers”

BIO:

A sales professional with a wide array of skills garnered from 30 years of training and sales management in furniture & other industries. Today, Dan manages the Guardsman sales representatives in 23 states as well as all buying group activities.

Jennifer Curtet

Professional Speaker, Author and Coach

“Keep Your Cool! Strategic Conflict Resolution for Managers & Leaders”

Monday, August 26 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Heavy Hitters

Everyone dreads conflict, right? Sadly, this statement is NOT completely true. There are those darling few who thrive, on it… bless their hearts. But, for the rest of us, conflict stings and most of us would rather not be faced, with it. As managers, we understand that conflict management is a big part of our jobs, and if we don’t deal with it effectively, it could have a lasting negative impact on how our team performs and how well we do in our role.

In this funny, yet eye-opening keynote, participants will see that conflict occurs when needs are not being met or when one side appears to be obstructing the other’s success. Being prepared, understanding the perspectives of the partners involved, and knowing your own triggers will go a long way toward helping you resolve conflict.

As a result of this keynote presentation participants will be able to:

• Enter into conflicting situations knowing what they want before they go in, which makes negotiation and compromise easier.
• See the power of extending goodwill from the beginning, even if they’re not feeling particularly charitable.
• Recognize the power of talking less, listening more, and keeping their voice and gestures calm and collected.
• Acknowledge that an argument has two sides and compromise is probably inevitable.
• Through practicing emotional intelligence, they will have the ability to see things from their opponent’s point of view and understand that empathy goes a long way toward de-escalating tension.
• Communicate without accusing or attacking their opponent in order to keep communication channels open.

As managers, we need to be willing to try new methods to achieve better results. As the old saying goes, “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got”. Encourage yourself to start seeing conflict from a different perspective; it should be embraced and dealt with, not just to resolve a problem, but to also learn about our own management abilities, as we lead others through adverse circumstances.

John Egger

CEO of Profitability Consulting

Furniture Town Hall – “Moderated Discussion on Overall Operations of a Furniture Retail Business”

Monday, August 26 | 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM

BIO:

John owned and operated his own furniture store for twenty-two years before selling out to his accountant.

As a furniture store analyst and consultant, John has worked with more than 600 furniture store owners, helping them make dramatic improvements to their operations and profitability.

A graduate of Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash., John served on the Alumni Board of Directors for ten years. He is a past Senior Vice President of Ducks Unlimited and was a member of the Board of Directors. John is from the state of Washington where he was an economic adviser to two governors.

Joe Higgins

Professional Speaker & Consultant

Industry Updates (General Session)

Sunday, August 25 | 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM

BIO:

During his 35 years with the at Whirlpool Corporation, Joe Higgins spent a great deal of his energy cultivating winning strategies with his team through initiatives in teaching leadership, creating a high performance culture, providing impeccable customer service and building healthy teams through his lifelong example. Joe also performed economic projections for his teams that became known in the organization as “Higgonomics”.

The knowledge and insight Joe brings to all these subjects comes from his years of experience with running a National Sales Team that is known in the industry as one of the finest in the world. After 35 years of service with the Whirlpool Corporation Joe retired in 2012.

Today Joe Higgins is a highly regarded public speaker, an experienced business consultant and a former executive who, with his message, can inspire team, company your organization to embark on their very own Quest 4 Quality, just like he did with the Whirlpool Corporation.

John White

CMO of AVB, Inc.

“What is 5G and How will it change your life?”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM

A discussion on technology and 5g- How Does Changing Technology Affect Retail?

“Technology Roadmap”

Monday, August 26 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM

A website and LINQ update. Where we are and where we are going.

Jon Schallert

President, The Schallert Group, Inc

“Reinvent Your Business Into a Consumer Destination”

Sunday, August 25 | 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to apply the foundations of Jon’s 14-step trademarked Destination strategy to their retail locations, immediately helping them attract more consumers from both the local area and from outside the marketplace.

Here are some of the highlights you’ll learn at this workshop:
• You will see how Jon’s 14-step Destination Business strategy can make the “location, location, location” of a business no longer important to consumers.
• How to get customers to see your business differently in the first 7 seconds they approach, enter, or even hear about your business.
• Why using a business tagline is probably the single greatest advertising mistake any independent retailer can make in their marketing
• How to create free marketing opportunities which are 12 times more powerful and believable to consumers than any form of advertising

“Mom and Pop on Top: How to Be Small But Play Large”

Sunday, August 25 | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM | 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM

Attendees of this workshop will also see how the new nationwide emphasis on “shopping local” gives independent retailers a huge competitive advantage IF they know how to market and position themselves correctly. Attendees will come away with a new enthusiasm for their “small” independent enterprises and will know better how to leverage their uniqueness to influence consumer spending in their favor.

Here are some of the highlights you’ll learn at this workshop:
• How to literally multiply your top-spending customers with one simple marketing tactic that is rarely used by most independent retailers
• The five “Marketing Foundations” that consumers of today find credible, and why typical advertising isn’t on the list
• How to immediately convey to a consumer your business uniqueness that no other superstore or online retailer can offer
• How to create free publicity opportunities that gets their businesses in newspapers, magazines, television, and online websites

Katie Green-Gardner

Co-Speaker, SquareTrade/ Allstate

“Driving Warranty Attach – How to Achieve Industry Leading Sales Results and grow your business”

Saturday, August 24 | 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM

Please join us and learn how to drive world class customer experience and industry leading attach rates – maximize your potential for incremental revenues and profitability through warranty sales and provide your customers with peace-of-mind with the highest rated warranty service available.

We’ll cover:
• Why selling warranty is an important tool in increasing your margin $s, and how it’s so easy to do.
• How to position warranty with customers, understand their needs and grow your attach rates
• How SquareTrade helps drive customer satisfaction and loyalty, driving customers back to your store
• How to incentivize performance in a sustainable way and keep your salespeople engaged and excited to sell warranty.

BIO:

Katie Green-Gardner has over 10 years of experience in retail sales leadership, with companies like Apple, Anthropologie, and Lululemon. Over the past 5-years Katie has worked closely with SquareTrade/Allstate’s portfolio of retail partners (Walmart, Target, Costco, Staples, etc.) to deliver industry award-winning sales support and training, and drive customer success across the retail partner landscape.

Katie led SquareTrade’s Staples Sales Operations team and was instrumental in SquareTrade winning awards from Staples for sales and innovation excellence in 2017 and 2018.

Katie is based in the Orlando, Florida region with her family.

Kerry Diem

Key Account Manager

“Mattress University – Maximize Your Mattress Rep Relationship”

Sunday, August 25 | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM

In this session you’ll learn the impact of a Manufacturer rep in your meetings, reviewing sales education, advertising, service, merchandising and how to measure results of all of these efforts

BIO:

“Diem brings more than 30 years of combined mattress expertise in both the wholesale and retail segments of the industry. Starting in retail sales in 1988, Kerry learned the ropes of the mattress business on the sleep shop side of things, then joined Serta International in 2002. Today, he’s on Restonic’s team as a key account manager, sales trainer, and guest talent on QVC.

Kerry, his wife Cheryl, and their pup “Bacardi” live in Lancaster County, PA.

Laura Dake

Convention 2019 Speaker

“LINQ 101”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM | 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM
Monday, August 26 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM | 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

LINQ 101 covers the basics of Linq for new users, or anyone wanting a refresher. Attend a session to learn how to make product edits, set floor models, and look up promotional information.

“LINQ 201”

Sunday, August 25 | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM | 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM
Monday, August 26 | 9:00 AM – 9:50 AM

LINQ 201 is an intermediate session. If you are new to Linq we recommend attending both 101 and 201! Join us to learn about competitor pricing, price rules, product-based rules, and custom column data.

BIO:

Laura is AVB Marketing’s Sr. Product Manager of LINQ – or more fondly, “The LINQ Lady.” Her job is to make LINQ the easiest and most comprehensive online merchandising tool for dealers. Laura has been part of the AVB Marketing team since 2014, and the last five years have given her a unique insight into how AVB members want to merchandise their product online.

From 2014 to 2016 she was an Account Manager overseeing digital marketing for members and working with the Design Team to launch new websites. Working hands on with website and digital taught her what sets AVB’s members apart from big box stores. This was also Laura’s first introduction to product management. In the pre-Linq days, options were more basic: turning products on or off, editing text, changing a price, etc. Laura quickly learned the tools available and took on the responsibility of training members and AVB employees how to manage product.

As a Sr. Account Manager from 2016 to 2017, Laura managed vendor marketing campaigns from beginning to end. Planning with the Design Team, launching the ads, and analyzing the campaigns taught her how to make large-scale promotion unique to a store and its customers. While this position was a departure from product, it gave Laura a broader insight into the marketing tools that can be used to grow small business.

In the summer of 2017 Laura stepped into a leadership role and began managing the Catalog Team as AVB’s Product Content Manager. Diving headfirst into product gave Laura insight into the struggles dealers face with maintaining it, and she developed processes to make that easier for both the Catalog Team and AVB members. She’s proud to say she tripled the team and worked to substantially build up AVB Marketing’s catalog, with a focus on furniture.

LINQ was launched during this time frame, and Laura quickly became an expert to support her department. Her interest in the internal workings of the system, and ideas on how to make it even better, propelled her into her latest role in spring of 2019. As Laura moved into LINQ management, two of her wonderful team members stepped up to become catalog managers. They continue to grow the catalog with the same aspirations.

In Laura’s day-to-day she works with the Development Team to launch new features and leads trainings at AVB events across the country. Understanding the challenges independent businesses face is important to Laura and fuels her passion to help grow those businesses. Her goal is to make the world of digital merchandising easy for AVB’s members.”

Michael Hoffman

Motivational Sales, Customer Service & Leadership Speaker

“OWN IT! Igniting a Front-Line, Customer-Experience Culture”

Monday, August 26 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM

Every human interaction provides a tremendous opportunity to impact, influence – even ignite – a relationship. That’s because every time we interact with others, we walk away with either positive emotions or negative ones. For an organization, how customers perceive your brand is directly related to how they feel about their interactions with your team.

Emotions are at the very core of the customer experience, and it’s the things your people say and do during every interaction that will determine your organization’s ability to build loyalty and a customer experience culture. This makes it critical for everyone in your organization to OWN the interactions they have with your customers.
Keynote speaker and customer experience expert, Michael Hoffman, equips people with the tools and skills needed to transform every interaction into an experience that will make your customers want to tell all their friends – live, and on social media, “I love those guys!”

Through humor, stories and interactive exercises, attendees of Michael’s OWN IT! Experience program will learn:

• Why ownership creates a better company culture and stronger teams
• Why accountability is the key to delivering amazing customer service
• Game-changing communication skills for interacting with customers and building loyalty
• How to own your interactions even in the toughest situations
• How to leave the victim mentality behind and be a part of the success and change!

OWN IT! How Owning the Conversation Can Result in More Sales & Long Term Customer Loyalty

Monday, August 26 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Heavy Hitters

Very few sales careers are made by a sales person’s pheromones! They are made by what the salesperson says and does to build value. OWN IT – Sales is a program that ignites and equips sales people for owning the number one value building activity; the customer experience.

What is said and done while interacting with potential customers can make or break a career. Customer experience expert Michael Hoffman, through humor, tactical interactions and practical skills ignites and equips salespeople to OWN those experiences more effectively and be people of real influence and value.

Turn your sales team into a customer-experience machine of sales and loyalty.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• How to ignite the #1 skill of the top salespeople: Building Value
• How to recognize the power phrases from your customers and how to use them
• How to master the tornadoes of sales to stay on top
• How to OWN the process that leads to more sales
• How to create more loyalty and referral business
• How to uncover the secrets of the “best of the best” in the profession

BIO:

Michael Hoffman is President of Igniting Performance. A Dallas-based company that specializes in the skills of sales, customer loyalty, and leadership. Over the last 20 plus years, Michael has delivered professional speaking engagements and customized training to organizations across this country and abroad.

With a highly interactive style, Michael’s unique delivery cements his expertise in the minds of his attendees to ignite the tactics and techniques necessary to OWN their jobs “on purpose” with an attitude of OWN IT-ship and professionalism. Michael uses his rich background to drive home his message that business is and will always be about “people”. “How we approach our customers both internal and external will set us apart from all our competition.”

Effective training combines the right informational tools with the right amount of motivation. Motivation alone is fleeting, but the right tools with-out motivation are lifeless… He provides both – therefore, getting results that matter. His highly contagious passion for business has earned him the loyalty of many repeat customers such as Bank of Montreal, Aflac, ALLTEL, KRLD Radio, Ericsson, SYSCO Foods, Dryers Grand Ice Cream, Comcast, and many, many more.

Professional Speaker to the world, Husband to the Perfect One, Fatherman to the Fabulous Four, Papa to the Amazing Grand Trio and lover of the laugh!… Ok… and eater of the doughnut.

He, his wife of 35 years, and the revolving residence of his ever-growing family reside in Carrollton, Texas.

Dr. Mike Petersen

President, The Furniture Training Company

“The Real Key to Improving the Customer Experience”

Sunday, August 25 | 2:00 PM – 2:50 AM | 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM

Customer reviews make it clear that while a tremendous effort is being made to improve the shopping experience by many retailers, for too little attention is focused on the most important part of the customer experience – the interaction with the sales associate. Let’s talk about my recent secret shopper experiences and learn a few simple things you can do to ensure customers in your store are happy enough to buy, to recommend and to return.

BIO:

Dr. Mike Petersen is a co-founder and President of The Furniture Training Company. Besides developing award winning training products, he is an author, speaker and business consultant. He is an avid sailor, mountain biker, and snow skier who loves spending time with his wife, 4 children and 8 grandchildren. Dr. Petersen’s clients include; Klaussner, Broyhill, Guardsman, O.W Lee, Cozzia, Ernst & Young, 4-H, the US Air Force, and many more.

Nathan Engels

Digital Communications, St. Elizabeth Healthcare | Blogger | Social Media Junkie

“Pinterest 201: A Deep Dive Into What Makes Your Content Pinnable”

Sunday, August 25 | 1:00 PM – 2:50 PM | 3:00 PM – 4:50 PM

Business with success on Pinterest get there using two strategies: Pinning relevant and quality content that makes Pinterest users want to follow along and providing highly pinnable content that others want to pin. No matter which you choose, doing it well is how you get the results. This session goes beyond the basics and takes a deep dive in
We’ll cover:
• How to make irresistibly pinnable content
• How to make it easy for Pinterest users pin your content
• Using Rich Pins
• Boosting Ecommerce on Pinterest
• Deciding whether or not paying to play – or advertising – on Pinterest is a good move for your business

BIO:

Nathan understands the power of a story. In 2008, newly married, Nathan started a website that would lead to a retail revolution. WeUseCoupons began as a simple outlet to share his financial wisdom. Nathan would write about saving strategically, shopping smarter & getting the most out of your money. Quickly, WeUseCoupons exploded into a powerhouse community and was sold in 2012. After selling that web property in 2012, he started WannaBite.com, a popular food blog, which today has over 700,000 likes and 250+ million views on Facebook. Nathan focused on stories long before ‘content marketing’ was a buzzword and harnessed the power of Pinterest from the time the platform was in beta.

In 2013 he joined LEAP, a digital marketing agency & lead the social/search team. Working on clients like Texas Roadhouse, Fruit of the Loom, Vanity Fair, Laura’s Lean Beef. Later, he joined Northlich to lead digital strategy an innovation with clients like Kroger, Schneck Health, Loyola Medical, Ohio Lottery and others.

Today he helps lead digital at one of Cincinnati’s largest heath systems: St. Elizabeth Healthcare.

Proof of his successful strategies are not only visible in his professional work but in his own social influence. With nearly 1 million PERSONAL social connections & over 250 million views on Facebook and YouTube, he understands digital.

Patrick Tam

Strategic Partnerships Manager, Google

Marketing Panel (General Session)

Sunday, August 25 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM | 10:00 AM – 12:45 PM | 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

BIO:

Patrick has been at Google since 2011, building partnerships with digital marketing and ad tech companies to deliver the best of Google’s marketing solutions and help businesses grow online.

Patrick Trichilo

Co-Speaker, SquareTrade/ Allstate

“Driving Warranty Attach – How to Achieve Industry Leading Sales Results and grow your business”

Saturday, August 24 | 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM | 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM | 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM

Please join us and learn how to drive world class customer experience and industry leading attach rates – maximize your potential for incremental revenues and profitability through warranty sales and provide your customers with peace-of-mind with the highest rated warranty service available.

We’ll cover:
• Why selling warranty is an important tool in increasing your margin $s, and how it’s so easy to do.
• How to position warranty with customers, understand their needs and grow your attach rates
• How SquareTrade helps drive customer satisfaction and loyalty, driving customers back to your store
• How to incentivize performance in a sustainable way and keep your salespeople engaged and excited to sell warranty.

BIO:

With 10 years of strategic & thought leadership at Fortune 50 & 100 companies, Patrick Trichilo has an impressive track-record in retail partner success, working closely with national retailers like Staples, Costco, Target, and Nebraska Furniture Mart to launch and drive their SquareTrade/Allstate programs to award winning vendor performance levels.

Patrick has close relationships with many Brandsource dealers and works closely with SquareTrade sellers like Texas Appliance and ApplianceSmart to help drive up their attach rates and sales performance. Based in the greater Philadelphia market alongside his family, he is most proud to have made a profound impact both in the workplace and in his local community.

Sue Harman

Guardsman

“Guardsman Furniture Repair And Products Demonstration”

Sunday, August 25 | 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM
Monday, August 26 | 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

Sue will perform live demonstrations and discuss:
• 20 minute demonstration on wood repair, leather repair, and upholstery cleaning.
• 20 minute educational piece on how to properly care for your wood, leather, and fabric furnishings.
• 5 minute discussion about Guardsman’s in home care and repair program, a new service offering for consumers.
• 15 minutes for questions and answers.

BIO:

A professional with a wide array of skills garnered from 35 years of hands-on experience in wood finishing, wood repair, leather repair, and fabric upholstery cleaning. Today, Sue manages the Guardsman technician furniture training programs and offers technical support for the comprehensive line of Guardsman Consumables.

Dr. Tom Deans

Author & Intergenerational Wealth Expert

“Protecting and Transitioning your Family’s Wealth”

Monday, August 26 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM | 9:00 AM – 9:50 AM | 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

Tom is an international best-selling author and award-winning speaker. His sole focus is providing retailers with training, tools and a new perspective to help families protect and transfer their wealth. His insights are direct, poignant and timely. With Tom’s help, you will understand that your family and your protected wealth is your true legacy, not their business. Few speakers can shake things up and get business owners thinking about succession planning like Tom. He’ll help start conversations between owners and their families, conversations he knows from experience you may otherwise avoid.

Tom draws on his considerable experience as a fourth-generation family business owner to bring a completely new and timely message to aging business owners – who will need the proceeds from the sale of their business to fund their long retirements.”

BIO:

Dr. Thomas William Deans is the author of the all-time best-selling family business book, Every Family’s Business and Willing Wisdom He now speaks on the international lecture circuit full time. Having delivered more than 500 convention keynotes and seminars in 14 countries he has built an international reputation as a thought leader on the subject of intergenerational wealth transfer.

His lectures and books argue that family has emerged as the greatest economic driver of all time. But the question remains: How can wealth be transferred successfully without destroying the recipient and the wealth itself? It is a question for the times, as the greatest generation of wealth creators move toward retirement and death in record numbers. Deans explores the idea that communication is crucial to the success of that transfer, and indeed to the success of individuals, families, and communities.

Dr. Deans has had a distinguished career in banking, was CEO of a multinational corporation for a decade, was president of a railway and chairman of his local hospital foundation. He has chaired a federal government committee on tax credits and is a regular commentator to national and international media outlets on the subjects of entrepreneurship, philanthropy and estate planning.

Dr. Deans has been featured in numerous magazines and journals including Profit, Money Sense, Investment Executive and The New York Times and a frequent guest on CBC, MoneyLine, and BNN.

Tom Deans lives in a secluded forest in the beautiful Hockley Valley in Ontario, with his wife, two children, and four dogs.