SAF Maui 2016: Educational Session Handouts
Click the session titles to download PDFs of the handouts or presentation slides from the educational sessions at SAF Maui 2016.
2017 Floral Trends Preview
Michael J. Skaff
Experience the “reveal event” of the year. Michael Skaff presents the industry’s leading forecast of flower trends and floral styles for events and weddings. Bring your camera and take lots of pictures of the show-stopping floral creations.
AdWords Intermediate
David Sanchez, Eliza Coogan, Renato Sogueco
How’s the action on your AdWords campaign? If you answered “meh,” start tweaking. BloomNet Vice President of Digital Strategy and Education Renato Sogueco shows how to make tactical adjustments to generate better results and use complementary campaigns to promote specific segments of your business, such as sympathy and weddings.
AdWords Advanced
David Sanchez, Eliza Coogan, Renato Sogueco
Running a lot of different AdWords campaigns can be costly and time-consuming. Do you know how to maximize their combined impact? In this session for experienced AdWords users, BloomNet Vice President of Digital Strategy and Education Renato Sogueco explains the logistics of managing multiple campaigns, larger Product Ad listing inventories, video ads and advanced AdWords options.
ABCs of Social Media Advertising
Speaker: Crystal Vilkaitis, Crystal Media
Diligently posting to Facebook? Great! Here’s the bad news: If you don’t have a social media advertising plan, you could be reaching just 1 percent of your fans. Thanks to algorithm shifts on popular sites, having a presence on social media isn’t enough — business owners must now work harder and smarter to actually show up in customers’ feeds. Online marketing expert Crystal Vilkaitis explains how to connect with customers.
Dealing with Difficult Employees
Speaker: Glenna Hecht, Humanistic Consulting
Whiners, slowpokes, egotists, naysayers, slobs … every employee has a quirk or three. What behavior should you ignore, and what warrants action? How do you screen out potential “difficult” employees during the interview process? Human resource expert Glenna Hecht provides the best course of action for handling people pitfalls.
Don’t Get Caught Doing What Worked Yesterday (When Customers Are Obsessed with What They Want Tomorrow)
Speaker: James Dion, Dionco, Inc.
Evolve or die isn’t just the stuff of biology books — it’s the rule of retail. Consumers want the next best thing even before the last best thing wears out. To ensure you’re playing and winning by these new rules, join internationally known retail consultant and retail trainer James Dion as he details how innovative businesses are changing the game and raising expectations for customers. You’ll leave unable to think the same way about what you’re selling, how you’re selling it — and the story you’re telling to sell it.
Entrepreneurial Risk-Taking
Brad Denham
Feel like your business has lost its edge? Take risks to stay relevant and gain the edge over your competition. Floral Management 2014 Magazine Marketer of the Year Brad Denham shares how he and his wife, Cheryl, embraced an entrepreneurial spirit at Arizona Family Florist, launching new initiatives and brands, learning from failures and using omni-channel retailing to double revenues.
How I Did It: Beginnings
Charles F. Kremp, David Daneshgar, Sally Kobylinski, Bill Fernandez, Paul and Nancy Godbout
Back by popular demand is SAF’s riff on the popular TED Talks — this year’s theme: “Beginnings.” Five industry members share inspiring 10-minute stories on how they got their start, launched a big idea or hit refresh to start over.
How to Produce Great Video
David Kessler
On social media, video is becoming florists’ most successful marketing tool — replacing the standard floral design photo. You can also use video to train and motivate staff. See examples of how florists are using video and find out what you need to get started.
Incentive Plans That Work
Chris Drummond, Rachel Martin, Kaitlin Radebaugh
What if you could boost productivity, improve morale and cut labor costs, all while improving customer service? That’s exactly what employee incentive plans have done for many retail flower shops. Three seasoned retailers talk candidly about the opportunities and challenges of implementing employee incentive plans in every department: design, sales — even delivery.
Motivate Them! Become a Better Sales Coach
Tim Huckabee
Is your sales team stuck in the same-old, same-old? Are you struggling to motivate people to increase average transactions and go after bigger sales? In this expanded version of his popular “Sales Management for Wimps” program, Tim Huckabee talks candidly about how to motivate staff, use incentives, set goals manage expectations and increase sales.
Outstanding Varieties Competition
For more than 25 years, this competition has included and honored the industry’s most outstanding flowers, foliage and plants. It is a highlight of the convention for growers, wholesalers and retailers — and an eye opener for the general public.
Premier Products Showcase
Speakers: Jenny Behlings, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, SDCF, Jenny’s Floral; Julie Poeltler, AIFD, CAFA, PFCI, Fountain of Flowers & Gifts; Jerome Raska, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, CAFA, Blumz by…JRDesigns; D Damon Samuel, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, NAFD, NMF, Bill Doran Company; Lisa Weddel, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, L. Weddel Design; J. Robbin Yelverton, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, Blumz by…JRDesigns
Get ready for a crash course in the art of “show and sell” as the wacky professors from Professional Floral Communicators – International take you to the University of PPS. Laugh and learn as they demonstrate countless cool tools, trendy hard goods and fun fresh products and postulate on their practical possibilities. Take notes — you’ll want to remember all the items and ideas floating around this wild and crazy class.
Pricing for Profits
Speaker: Mark Anderson, FloristWare
Mark Anderson walks you through simple tricks and advanced pricing strategies that result in more sales, bigger profits and less money left on the table. No cost-plus formulas, just the best of modern psychological pricing & revenue management practices.
Riding Out the Economic Upticks and Downturns
Speaker: Charlie Hall, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Charlie Hall looks at the economic horizon and the key indicators every floral business owner needs to follow to make informed, strategic decisions about investing in people, equipment, marketing and more.
State of the Industry Address
Peter Moran
In his biennial address, SAF CEO Peter Moran shares his perspective on trends happening in the retail, wholesale and production segments of the floral industry and thoughts about how disruptive technologies from other industries may challenge the floral industry’s established business models.
Streamlining Your Shop in the Cloud
Loren Hudziak, Renato Sogueco, Manny Gonzales, Josh Glass
Moving critical business systems from the physical to “invisible” may feel like a huge leap of faith, but the rewards are real. There’s less equipment and hardware to maintain, software stays up to date, data is secure and if disaster strikes, it takes much less time to recover. Get the facts from Google exec Loren Hudziak and BloomNet Vice President of Digital Strategy and Education Renato Sogueco and learn why two floral shops — Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, and Peoples Flower Shop in Albuquerque — made the switch.
Sylvia Cup Design Competition
Coordinators: J. Robbin Yelverton, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, Blumz by…JRDesigns; Jenny Behlings, AAF, PFCI, Jenny’s Floral; Julie Poeltler, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, SDCF, Fountain of Flowers & Gifts; D Damon Samuel, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, NAFD, NMF, Bill Doran Company
Commentators: Jerome Raska, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, CAFA, Blumz by…JRDesigns; Lisa Weddel, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, L. Weddel Design
Watch as some of the nation’s best floral designers are given the same flowers, foliage and supplies — and just two hours to create the surprise challenge. During the last hour, the competition’s commentators and coordinators — decked out in themed costumes — talk about the featured products and challenge.
Training New Hires
Tim Huckabee
Can new hires who know nothing about the floral industry become pros in days — even hours — rather than weeks? Tim Huckabee says yes. In this fast-paced session, Huckabee introduces tested tools that help to quickly make new staff comfortable and productive in your business.
What’s Your Exit Strategy?
Speaker: Paul Goodman, CPA, PFCI, Floral Finance Business Services
To sell or pass the business to your child(ren)? At some point, every business owner faces that choice. The sooner you think about it, the better equipped you will be to enjoy the retirement you envision for yourself. Floral industry financial consultant Paul Goodman walks through the essential steps a business must follow before selling or passing the business to the next generation — and moderates a panel of floral industry members who’ve gone through it.
Work Smarter, Not Harder, On Events
Speaker: Zoë Gallina, Botanica International Design & Decor Studio
You can’t create extra time or clone your wedding and event team. So make the most of every moment with brides and event planners to reinforce your reputation for quality, service and customer satisfaction. Join Zoë Gallina for a look at the best practices behind one of the most successful wedding and event businesses in the world.
