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The 2010 Southern Building Show Education Sessions align the following Five Tracks:
- Design and Architecture
- Business Operations and Finance
- Sales and Marketing
- Construction/Building Science
- Green Building
Thursday, May 13 8:30am – 11:30am
"SBS Super Sales Rally" sponsored by 
Track: Sales & Marketing
Melinda Brody & Meredith Oliver
Join the dynamic "M&M" (Meredith & Melinda) team for a fun, content rich, interactive educational experience. High energy and packed with ideas to boost your sales NOW, this year's rally will unleash your inner sales rock star to ignite your personal selling power and blow past your goals. This rally is NOT a fluffy motivational speech! Expect hard hitting, practical ideas you can implement immediately to drive commission straight into your wallet. Get ready to rock your sales all year long!
Thursday, May 13 11:00am – 12:00pm
"The ABCs of Internet Marketing"
Track: Sales & Marketing
Philip D. Zaleon
Everyone wants to be among the first listed when the Google, Bing or Yahoo! results are returned.This presentation looks at how the photos, text and the “guts” of your website effect search engine placement. We will look at how to develop a website from the inside out to optimize for search engines.Additionally, a non-programming checklist of ways to improve your ranking will be presented, as well as an introduction to the concept of purchasing ads on search engines.
Thursday, May 13 11:00am – 12:30pm
"Taking Your Company From Surviving To Thriving"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Ken Peterson
In his iconic book Good To Great, author Jim Collins reveals the 6 major conclusions that caused eleven publicly held companies to outperform the stock market by a factor of three for a 15 year period of time. His findings are important for small business owners in our industry because they provide a useful compass for self-evaluation and re-direction. This talk will demonstrate in vivid detail how these 6 major conclusions can be successfully applied to the kitchen/bath industry today to lift your company from a surviving mode into the realm of renewed stability and growth.
Thursday, May 13 11:00am – 12:30pm
"1,750 sq. ft., 5 Bedrooms, LEED Platinum Design Home for Under $100K"
Track: GreenBuilding
Stephen McKay, Jr.
An affordable GreenBuilding case study will detail our conceptual design through construction of a 1,750 square foot, 5 bedroom home which was built for under $100,000 in metro Detroit, Michigan. Designed for LEED Platinum Certification, this affordable home offers the latest design trends paired with environmentally sustainable materials and energy efficient construction methods that reduced annual energy consumption to $770. This case study provides an in depth look at designing a market rate, green home and delivering a $100,000 construction budget.Sustainable building does not have to be expensive if you have the right team!
Thursday, May 13 2:00pm – 3:00pm
"How To Create a Linear, Value Engineered Product Line"
Track: Design & Architecture
Patrick Miller
This program will focus on creating a value engineered, linear product line based on historical MLS data. Using the data collected from the MLS, a product line can be crafted to exploit different price points and square foot bands competition may be ignoring.
Using value engineering disciplines and laying out a comprehensive linear product line, builders will begin to systemize their approach to homebuilding based on facts and not guess work. Systemizing your approach to product design and product line creation will add dollars to your bottom line.
Thursday, May 13 2:00pm – 4:00pm
"Adapting Your Building Company to the Remodeling Market"
Track: Construction/Building Science
Christine Fortenberry
It is a natural progression for home builders to consider expanding or redefining their home building companies to participate in the world of remodeling. But, the selling, managing of the project and customer and the marketing are very different.As builders, one must be reminded that there are no real estate agents involved to assist with communication, pacifying, marketing, advertising, customer definition and a marketing plan.One must now be rebranded and the world must be convinced that you will be a competitent remodeler as the public’s perception of the world of construction is quite different from the builder’s perception.The task list for this transition is long and the prioritizing of this task list to enter the world of remodeling will significantly influence the transition and your success or failure.
Thursday, May 13 2:00pm – 4:00pm
"Seven Steps to Turning a Profit"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Leslie Shiner
You probably are a skillful seller and a talented builder, but are you able to manage a business? Study the seven steps to improve your business acumen and increase profitability. Make a commitment to know your numbers and use accurate financial and job cost data to make valuable business decisions. Better understand the financial impact of pricing changes, productivity variations and fluctuating volume. This session is based on the recently published book: A Simple Guide to Turning a Profit as a Contractor.
Friday, May 14 11:00am – 12:30pm
"Replacing the Irreplaceable You"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Clay S. Nelson
The drive to take advantage of all the opportunities placed in front of us over the past few years has done little to build resilience and renewal in the foundations of our companies, and as the market slows down, the temptation of many is to put their noses even closer to the grindstone. But as leader’s “do-do-do”, they risk failing to recognize an opportunity when it comes their way, and this is a possibility that few can afford! Instead of “doing” it all, leaders chose to oversee it all by replacing themselves. This program is designed to wake-up leaders into the realization that the key to the health and growth of their organization is to replace themselves and become the true leaders that they are called to be!
Friday, May 14 11:00am – 12:30pm
"Hitting the Reset Button"
Track: Sales & Marketing
Ray Bouléy, Harold Cunliffe, & Langley Respess
www.hittingtheresetbutton.com
This class is a dynamic panel discussion designed to teach industry professionals of any size or region the skills they need to RESET their business and personal mindset. Three highly accomplished charismatic speakers will inspire, engage and motivate their audience. Langley Respess will share his vast knowledge on how others are managing the financial crisis and offer solutions that will change their perspective on how they looked at wealth in the past and how to build it in the future.
Harold Cunliffe will share how you can walk through the process of re-evaluating the industry and how you should reset for the future.
Ray Bouley will be teaching a disciplined process that will help industry professionals to creatively “think beyond the expected.” He will share this repeatable process that will reset for today and plan for the future.
Friday, May 14 11:00am – 12:30pm
"The Authentic Guide to Green Marketing"
Track: GreenBuilding
James B. Hackler
“Green washing” coupled with “green fatigue” are causing a negative backlash with many buyers. Broad, “feel good” statements don’t resonate anymore in the marketplace. As a journalist with more than 20 years experience covering the sustainability movement, or working for it, James Hackler shares his insight into discovering your own unique green story and how that should be driving your marketing and public relation campaigns. Strategies for telling your story are outlined, as well as low-cost tips that use new media as one of the most effective ways to share your message while driving more customers to your green product or service.
Friday, May 14 1:30pm – 2:30pm
"Pressure Relief"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Rick Porter
Successful community development is a synthesis of four implementation pressures (Physical Pressure on a site, Regulatory Pressure, Market Pressure, and Financial Pressure). The balanced delivery of a new community that manages these pressures is the community builder’s job.
Friday, May 14 1:30pm – 2:30pm
"Raising the Ranch – Using Design to Get the Most from a Ranch Remodel "
Track: Design & Architecture
Steve Robinson
How do you decide how to remodel a ranch? What adds value? What makes it more livable? How can we leverage the existing housing stock to make them more livable, conserve resources and for the right price? Raising the Ranch will look at these issues, as well as several case studies of actual ranch house renovations.Two of these case studies were included in the “Not So Big House” book series by Sarah Susanka. Emphasis will be given to using practical and aesthetic architectural strategies to “raise” the design quality of any house.
Friday, May 14 1:30pm – 3:00pm
"Zero Energy Homes to Boost Your Profits"
Track: GreenBuilding
Stephanie Thomas-Rees
Zero Energy Homes require painstaking attention to details in design, product selections, construction and commissioning. The speaker will present case studies of three true zero energy home models that are being constructed in Gainesville, Florida by two different production builders. She will also present data from several near zero energy homes that have been constructed and monitored for energy usage for over one year validating the design principles. Actual sales data as well as details of sales and marketing techniques will be provided.
Friday, May 14 2:30pm – 4:00pm
"A Written Plan: The One Solid, Underlying Fundamental You Can’t Afford to be Without"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Clay S. Nelson
The change in market conditions caught many builders off guard, not because they weren’t warned that things were going to change, but because they failed to plan for the change, and if we aren’t careful, being ready for the upswing in the market will catch us equally off guard!
This program will give you the jumpstart you need to create a plan for your business that gets the results you want!Learn the real purpose behind writing a business plan, what it provides, and the common business plan mistakes you need to avoid.
Friday, May 14 2:30pm – 4:00pm
"Social Media for Home Builders: Engage in the Online Conversation"
Track: Sales & Marketing
Carol Flammer & Mitch Levinson
Social media isn’t just for teenagers anymore. Learn how home builders, developers and others in the real estate industry use social media for a competitive advantage. From social media to social networking, blogging and social bookmarking, see case studies of how builders are benefiting from Active Rain, FaceBook, My Space, Blogger and more.
This course is geared towards beginners who are just entering the world of social media.
Saturday, May 15 10:00am – 11:00am
"Managing Your Managers: Define and Delegate-Implement and Evaluate"
Track: Business Operations & Finance
Nate Schoen
To survive and grow, builders need to rely on talented, effective managers to run the project sites; handle office operations and bookkeeping; and ensure that customers have a predictable and enjoyable homebuilding experience. Learn how to get the most out of your management staff by first evaluating your own management skills, then defining your company’s management requirements and delegating efficiently.
Saturday, May 15 10:00am – 11:30am
"Reap What You Sow: Increasing Referral Sales by 400% in Four Easy Steps"
Track: Sales & Marketing
Charlie Scott
Studies show a proactive referral strategy can improve a homebuilder's customer referral sales from 11% (the national average) to 45+% (top performer levels). A 400% increase in referral sales can add millions of incremental gross profit dollars to a builder's operations, often translating into survival.
This program teaches four easy steps to increasing a builder’s referral sales rates. Attendees will learn the true cost of a sales by source, learn the requirements of a successful referral sales program, and see best practices and the results of some of the industry’s leading builders who have achieved referral sales rates of 45+%.
Saturday, May 15 10:00am – 12:00pm
"Building the High-Performance Home While Increasing Profits"
Track: Construction/Building Science
John Tooley
Join nationally renowned building science expert John Tooley as he presents a proven process for successfully building high-performance homes. This session will take a practical approach to the technical aspects of building high performing homes, simplifying complex details and providing standard work processes to ensure successful implementation in the field. These processes reduce risk, increase building tolerance, raise customer satisfaction and protect profits. The result is healthy, safe, durable, comfortable and energy-efficient homes that perform as promised.
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