It was spring of 2007 when Rick Davis of Chicago-based Building Leaders Inc. was invited to speak at the Best of Success Conference in Phoenix. “My instant inclination was to offer a presentation that would describe methods for selling in a down market,” Davis said. “I had no idea that the market would become significantly worse during the summer.”
“Safety will never make you a million dollars, but it can save you a million,” said Kirk Herold as he opened his session titled “Safety: The Top Priority.”
No company’s succession plan is complete without life insurance, a will, a living will, and an estate plan, said Kevin Kennedy, the executive vice president of Evans Roofing Co., Elmira, N.Y.
Effective marketing techniques that don’t eat up a company’s profits were the focus of Ken Kelly’s presentation titled “Guerilla Marketing.” Kelly, the president of Kelly Roofing in Naples, Fla., noted that a typical seminar attendee retains only 20 percent of the information received. “My goal is to increase those numbers by making ideas easy to implement,” he said, and then he offered his first suggestion: “Listen to books.”
John D’Annunzio, president of IRT/Paragon Consultants with offices in Michigan, Florida and Indiana, informed attendees about recent code changes and highlighted some trends to keep an eye on in his session titled “Code Update.”
The increasingly complex world of employment verification, Social Security regulations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was the focus of James Aldrich’s session, “The ICE Man Cometh and How to Be Ready for Him.” Aldrich, an attorney with Dickinson Wright PLLC in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., focuses on the corporate aspects of U.S. immigration law, and he was on hand to supply advice to business owners regarding a variety of employment issues.
In today’s fast-paced world, communication is critical, but just what are the most effective ways to get your message across? The answer just might depend on the person you’re dealing with, according to Jade Sund, founding trainer of ASK Training International, headquartered in Broomfield, Colo.
David Welch, president of Ben Hill Roofing and Siding Co. in Atlanta, detailed some of his company’s most effective marketing strategies, but only after taking the audience on a tour of some recent marketing failures. His goal: to help Best of Success attendees learn from his mistakes as well as his successes. “I don’t know about you, but I hate to waste money on marketing,” said Welch. “I don’t mind spending it, but I sure mind wasting it.”
The director of Federal Affairs for the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), R. Craig Silvertooth, updated Best of Success attendees on immigration law and impending legislation in his session titled “Immigration and Construction.”
Wisconsin contractor Bob Kulp, owner and founder of Kulp’s of Stratford, admits he isn’t worried where his daughter will ultimately hold her wedding, but he is concerned how roofing contractors sell to groups, and he noted knowledge of the meeting’s setting can help them increase their closing ratios.
RSS