Honoring the military was the theme of SavATree’s sales conference this year, which took place at the historic Thayer Hotel, on the grounds of the West Point U.S. Military Academy. Each year SavATree’s corporate team and arborists come together for two packed days of educational seminars, hands on workshops, team building and camaraderie to kick off the start of a new season.
SavATrees’s keynote speaker, Admiral Ray Smith, a Navy SEAL for more than 31 years, shared his insights on using military strategy in the business environment. Team SavATree learned a lot about using military tactics to fight competitive and economic forces in 2008. Their team building exercise focused on another military strength: utilizing teamwork for business success and survival. Business Battlefield, Led by Matt “Boom” Daniel, who has 12 years of experience as a U.S. Marine Fighter Pilot, is a Top Gun graduate and Weapons Officer, works with firms such as SavATree to maximize team building tactics to achieve business and personal goals. The energy and learning continued in break out sessions, led by SavATree’s in-house plant health care, lawn care and marketing teams.
Day two featured an enlightening customer’s perspective. Bringing in a customer to share their SavATree experience provided valuable insight on many areas of the business such as building rapport, sales techniques, landscape success and areas for improvement.
The program also included an awards and recognition ceremony to honor the dedication and achievement of SavATree’s arborists. The final event was a slide presentation led by CEO Daniel van Starrenburg including highlights of the recent Winner’s Circle tip to Morocco. Each year SavATree awards 12 arborists and their spouses a trip to a cultural destination for education and camaraderie. This year's winners will be going to Dominica.
“We want everyone to leave the conference with sharpened knowledge, new tools and motivation for a successful 2008," says Luann O’Brien, vice president of sales and marketing. "We were delighted to see the overall level of enthusiasm and quality of information provided by our speakers and in-house leaders. We have our arsenal ready for spring.”