Dalton—The World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) will host an educational conference titled Empower 2018 from Sept. 20-21 at La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas. The program will provide attendees with new and refined strategies, along with peer-to-peer connection opportunities, designed to propel their companies to new levels of success. This conference is part of WFCA’s core initiative to ensure members access to the best professional training and a second-to-none professional tool kit.
The speaker lineup is a veritable “who’s who” of current stars on the professional business executive circuit. Empower 2018 will kick off with a keynote presentation delivered by Steve Hillis, chief executive officer of Empower Partners in Canton, Ga. He has been in the flooring industry for more than 30 years and has spent portions of his career fulfilling senior roles at Milliken & Company, Floor Focus, Beaulieu Group and The Mohawk Group. His presentation will focus on management leadership and the impact that best practices can have on employee retention, gains in efficiencies and team empowerment.
Jon Newman, owner of JLN Business Development based in Atlanta, Ga., will lead a discussion entitled “The Way to Wealth.” His focus will be on the positive effects of increasing both close rates and average tickets. Newman will shed light on how many dollars actually leave with those customers—even when you make the sale—and how to optimize in-store sales by identifying and addressing the needs and wants of those customers.
Additional speakers include: Debra Trueman, president of Manitzas Trueman Consulting Services based in San Antonio, Texas, who will be talking with audience members about the rapidly changing landscape of workplace sexual harassment and effective methods for the prevention of abusive behavior in the workplace; and Steve Abernathy, WFCA’s own chief financial officer, who will shed light on how to prepare for succession planning in his presentation “Next Steps in Building Your Business for the Future.”
Additional roundtables, panels and discussions will include: “Why Certification Matters” moderated by Robert Varden, vice president of Certified Floor Covering Installers Association, and Tom Jennings, vice president of professional development, WFCA; and “Managing Your Online Reviews,” presented by Jon Newman, owner of JLN Business Development, and Sam O’Krent, owner of O’Krent Floors. Many other speakers and panel discussions are scheduled as well.
For more information, visit: events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=vr5uzprab&oeidk=a07eff7qeon158d3211.