The Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show (Mid-Am) has added a new educational feature to the popular industry event shceudled for Jan. 19 through Jan. 21 at Chicago’s Mccormick Place. The new Management Workshop, offered on Tuesday Jan. 18, before the trade show begins, will feature two popular motivational speakers offering educational sessions focusing on issues important to the unique needs and interests of horticulture industry business owners and managers. The addition of the Management Workshop on Tuesday to popular Midwinter Conference, which begins on Wednesday, will provide horticulture professionals with a comprehensive educational opportunity at Mid-Am.
“The Management Workshop will feature two exciting and informative sessions on marketing, customer service and management issues,” says Mid-Am President John Hendricksen of The Care of Trees, Wheeling, Ill. “Both speakers are articulate, inspirational orators and will offer great tips on increasing sales and improving customer relations.”
The pre-trade-show Management Workshop provides an opportunity for busy industry owners and managers to obtain a full day of uninterrupted education from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The workshop begins with author and strategic planner Mark Mayberry offering tips on how to make word-of-mouth marketing a dynamic part of the marketing strategy. Mayberry, who was a popular speaker at the 2003 Midwinter Conference, weaves humor and excitement into his talk while offering inspiration and innovative strategies for increasing sales and obtaining business goals.
The afternoon portion of the program features entrepreneur Marty Grunder offering a practical, no-nonsense, how-to session on the “Nine Super Simple Steps to Entrepreneurial Success.” Grunder, the 34-years old founder and president of Grunder Landscaping, Dayton, Ohio, started his company in 1983 with a $25 mower as a way to make money for college. Today, Grunder Landscaping employs more than 45 professionals and boasts sales of over $3 million. Grunder will share his passion for success and will show anyone of any age how to be successful by using the tools he has developed to assure business success.
The theme of the Workshop is “Invest in You Future.” “Successful company owners and managers know that learning new methods and staying on top of industry trends is the key to improving business,” says Hendricksen. “Mid-Am is conscious of that and is always looking for ways to offer horticulture professionals opportunities to increase their knowledge and skills to become more effective leaders. Attending the Management Workshop and the Midwinter Conference at Mid-Am is a great investment in the future to ensure success in our businesses, careers and the industry.”
Details of the Management Workshop are available at the Mid-Am Web site. A separate registration fee is required to attend the Workshop with substantial savings available when combining the Workshop with the Midwinter Conference. The workshop registration fee also includes lunch for the day, entry into the Mid-Am Trade Show all three days, as well as the keynote address on “Customer Specialness and Motivation” by humerous and nationally known speaker Mike McKinley on Jan. 19.