SEMINARS

Key to Seminars: E Executive And Leadership S Sales And Sales Management O Operations H Health, Safety & The Environment T Technology I Industry Workshops SE Specialty Events & Peer Networking

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) Walkway Auditor Certification
Training — Part 1
(Separate registration required; registration will be limited to 25 attendees; continental breakfast and lunch will be provided both days.)

The NFSI program is designed to train individuals on the different types of flooring materials and how to properly maintain them. Participants will be given the NFSI Walkway Auditing Guidelines, and the instructor will cover the material systematically to ensure attendees are fully trained to perform a walkway surface audit for customers. “Slip and Fall Prevention Made Easy” gives attendees an overview of slip and fall problems and how to reduce accidents with proper prevention strategies. On the last day of the program, attendees are given an exam that they must complete on-site. Participants who complete the program and score 80 percent or higher on the exam will be issued a certificate of completion and recognized by NFSI as a Walkway Auditor Safety Specialist. – I

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) Walkway Auditor Certification Training — Part 2
(Separate registration required; registration will be limited to 25 attendees; continental breakfast and lunch will be provided both days.)

The NFSI program is designed to train individuals on the different types of flooring materials and how to properly maintain them. Participants will be given the NFSI Walkway Auditing Guidelines, and the instructor will cover the material systematically to ensure attendees are fully trained to perform a walkway surface audit for customers. “Slip and Fall Prevention Made Easy” gives attendees an overview of slip and fall problems and how to reduce accidents with proper prevention strategies. On the last day of the program, attendees are given an exam that they must complete on-site. Participants who complete the program and score 80 percent or higher on the exam will be issued a certificate of completion and recognized by NFSI as a Walkway Auditor Safety Specialist. – I

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

8 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Manufacturers Rep Forum: Best Practices & Competitive Advantage for the Independent Manufacturer’s Representative Firm
Speaker: Michael Marks
Michael Marks will share some recent channel research that demonstrates the effectiveness of the independent rep over the factory sales force. Also being shared are core business practices of high-growth rep firms. Marks is well known to rep groups in many market verticals, NEMRA, MANA and other rep associations. – E, S, SE

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
IICRC Floor Care Technician Certification Course — Part 1
(Separate registration fee)
Have your technicians attend this introductory-level course in hard-surface floor care to receive specialized training and to earn professional certification. Topics include Industry Overview; Health, Safety & Liability; Floor Covering Materials; Chemicals; Tools and Equipment; Floor Care Principles & Procedures; Specialized Floor Care Procedures; Problem Solving and Trouble Shooting; Managing the Floor Care Function; and Industry Resources. – I

8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
ISSA Certification Expert Workshop
(Includes I.C.E. designation examination; separate registration fee; limited seats available; registration required)
Better understand what it takes to manage your customers’ cleaning operations, and how you can help prepare them for certification to the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard. Become I.C.E. certified. – I

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Slips, Trips & Falls Prevention Symposium
ISSA/OSHA Alliance Program
(Limited seats available; separate registration required; program is complimentary to tradeshow attendees)
The symposium will help attendees better understand the scope of the issues related to slips, trips, and falls, while providing practical guidance on how to best promote floor safety by controlling and otherwise reducing the incidence of slips, trips, and falls. The symposium will address the following subjects: Defining the Problem; Recognizing Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards; Proper Floor Maintenance Procedures; Housekeeping Best Practices; Current and Emerging Standards; Legal Perspective: Slip and Fall Liability; and Case Studies. – I

10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Seven Industry Mega-Trends Impacting Your Business, The Future Of Our Industry
Speaker: John Delany
Learn about seven major insights developed from a year-long, strategic trend study conducted by ISSA to help gain insight into the future of the cleaning industry. An industry makeover is not out of the question. – E, S, O

10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
It’s Not E-Commerce, It’s R-Commerce
Speaker: Terry Brock
In an age of too many cell phone messages, instant messaging, e-mail and all-around information overload, today’s technology advantage is not about e-commerce (electronics); it’s about r-commerce (relationships). Great businesses are built by establishing, nourishing and maintaining profitable relationships. This session will help you learn to implement concepts to build relationships that are right for both parties. Plus, discover ways to boost productivity and profitability by leveraging key technologies for building relationships in business. – S, T

Noon - 1:30 p.m.
All-Industry Networking Lunch: Talent, Energy, and Connections! Why You Should Use Everything You’ve Got
Speaker: Molly Cox
(Separate registration fee; registration required)
The most successful people are those who recognize their resources and tap into them. While we are born with certain gifts, others must be cultivated and nurtured to reach their full potential. Celebrate, connect and laugh in this inspiring and fun program. – SE

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Industry Career Coach Panel: Adding Value Through Effective Management And CIMS
Speaker: TBD
CIMS offers everyone in the cleaning industry an opportunity to improve their current value proposition through the understanding and implementation of effective management practices. Learn from those who have gone through the program as to how facility service providers have used CIMS to more efficiently operate and provide quality cleaning services. Additionally, learn how distributors and manufacturers are using the Standard to offer value that extends beyond traditional sales. – E, SE

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Green Cleaning Fundamentals: Overcoming Confusion And Getting Down To Business
Sponsored by Housekeeping Solutions
Speaker: Stephen Ashkin
If you don’t have time to sort through all the green cleaning claims and confusion and want the straight story on the growing requirements for our industry, this is the session for you. Learn how to best define green in context of this industry, the most common roadmaps used by building owners and facility managers, to certify or not to certify, identifying prospects and more. – H

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Profitable Growth In Turbulent Economic Times
Speaker: Michael Marks
The economy is not an excuse for poor performance. Competitive ranking in any market tends to be more volatile on the shoulders of any cycle, so well positioned businesses can gain shares going into and coming out of a recession. Well run companies succeed at all points of the economic cycle, and attendees will be provided with effective economic cycle practices specifically tailored to the cleaning industry. Marks will draw on practical steps that can be used in pricing, territory management, prospecting, cost management, and receivable and inventory optimization techniques. – E, S, O

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Improving Your Quality Control IQ
Speaker: Charles Crowe
Differentiate what is and what isn’t considered quality control in today’s custodial environment. Touted as the cure for performance issues in custodial contracts, how well can we really control outcomes using a system of catching people in the wrong? The session focuses on process-driven results rather than futilely trying to control the people you need to trust to make your operations a success. – E, O

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Sales Tips For Supporting Green Schools
Speaker: Rochelle Davis, Healthy Schools Campaign
Learn how you can best meet the needs of a growing educational facility market and become a key player in their transition to green cleaning. Attendees will get an update on the current status of green cleaning in schools and practical resources to help manufacturers, distributors, and BSCs improve indoor air quality, protect the health of students and staff, prolong the life of facilities, and save money on cleaning and maintenance. – S, H

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Building An Effective Redistribution Program
Speaker: Dave DeWalt
This session examines the factors that distributors must consider in order to take advantage of sourcing through wholesale redistributors. Distributors can learn how to analyze the impacts of product cost, cost avoidance, inventory turns and growth opportunities on their bottom lines. Distributors can also find out which obstacles prevent them from optimizing their use of wholesalers, and the enablers that must be in place to support an effective redistribution program. – S, O

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Competing For Sales Talent: Finding Knockouts, Not Knockoffs
Sponsored by Sanitary Maintenance
Speaker: Bryan Arzani
If you repeatedly hire salespeople with a track record of success that don’t sell effectively for you, learn how to turn the situation around. Find out what headhunters wish they knew about hiring knockout salespeople and the differences between pretenders and producers through fun, accurate and user-friendly tactics to interview anyone, anytime and anywhere. – E, S

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Beyond Clean: Advanced Environmental Discussion For Executives
Speaker: Stephen Ashkin
Learn what it means to work beyond products and services to truly advance your operation into an environmentally conscious organization. You’ll learn about LEED certification for your own facility, greening the supply chain, running vehicles on biodiesel, driving hybrid cars, facility energy reductions and more. Plus, address how climate change, sustainability and take-back can fit into a green program. – E, O, H

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
A Best Practice Approach To Innovation And New Product Introduction
Speaker: Michael Marks
Learn how you can shake up your product launches for better results. Senior-level executives from manufacturing, rep firms and distribution will gain valuable research information, plus receive a checklist for opening up a new sales opportunity with more effective introductions. – E, S

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
The Skills Of Motivation: Bring Out The Best In Yourself And Others
Speaker: Peter Land
Effective leaders accomplish three critical tasks. First, they ensure that the members of their team are well trained to perform effectively. Second, they take positive and timely action to secure the required resources to accomplish their goals and work properly. Finally, the most complex and challenging task is to create a climate that motivates the team to enthusiastically work together to accomplish the mission and serve customers. – E, O

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Selling Services: Inside The Head Of The New Purchasing Manager
Speaker: Jim Haining
Find out who professional purchasing managers are and what they look for from cleaning service providers. This seminar discusses the scope of work, terms and conditions, as well as the process purchasers take in finding a vendor. Attendees will be able to provide superior service performance and greater customer satisfaction after this session. In-house managers will also learn how to better work with purchasing departments. – E, S

3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Pocket-Sized Technology: Packing A Powerful Punch
Speaker: Terry Brock
This session covers the latest sales and productivity-boosting tools that you can implement immediately in your distribution or cleaning operation. View live demonstrations and see how other industries are using PDAs, smartphones, Internet-enabled transcription devices, and more to ricochet ahead of the competition. Also learn how to use affordable video technologies for training, promotion, and a host of other business-boosting options. – S, T

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
7th Annual Women’s Forum Session: Improvise This!
Speaker: Molly Cox
Today’s top businesses find that improv skills increase confidence, spontaneity and quick thinking. This highly interactive, practical, and fun program will facilitate development of each individual’s intuition, team interaction, and creative problem solving. – E, O, SE

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Distributor Peer Exchange Session: Powering Goals From The Bottom Up: Action Plans For Distribution Managers
Group Discussion led by: Peter Land
Traditional business dictates goals down the chain of command, often resulting in puny plans, little action and weak results. This interactive session will help decision-makers within a distribution organization learn to identify, set, prioritize, and measure organizational goals and contingency plans at their actionable levels of leadership. – E, S, O, SE

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Creating An Uncontestable Business Model
Speaker: Dave Frank
Today’s sanitary supply business climate is hyper-competitive. Margin compression, consolidation, changing influencers, and invisible competitors create uncertainty for executives, sales teams, and owners. Frank discusses these market forces, ways to establish an uncontestable business model using the new ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS), dollarization techniques and boardroom selling tools to help you reach important decision-makers. – E, S

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
BSC Peer Exchange Session: Cleaning NOT As Usual — Profit Through Diversifying Your Business
Sponsored by Contracting Profits
Panel Discussion
Join in a discussion of successful BSCs regarding the many avenues for expanding services beyond traditional cleaning. Consider niche cleaning options as well as non-janitorial services. Take this great opportunity to step back from everyday business to evaluate new ways to meet growing customer needs with your most valuable assets flexibility and people. – E, S, O, SE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
IICRC Floor Care Technician Certification Course — Part 2
Speaker: Bill Griffin
(Separate registration fee)
Have your technicians attend this introductory-level course in hard-surface floor care to receive specialized training and to earn professional certification. Topics include Industry Overview; Health, Safety & Liability; Floor Covering Materials; Chemicals; Tools and Equipment; Floor Care Principles & Procedures; Specialized Floor Care Procedures; Problem Solving and Trouble Shooting; Managing the Floor Care Function; and Industry Resources. – I

8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
The Bigness Of Smallness
Speaker: John Moore
Small businesses dream of being big, but once you’re there it’s time to act small again. Deep down you know that being big can be bad. Learn from Moore, marketing mastermind behind Starbucks and Whole Foods, why you want to be the jumbo shrimp of your market, so your customer care gets you market share, and your story is about being unique, not convenient. Take away actionable methods for how small businesses can look bigger, and conversely, how big businesses can appear smaller. – E, S

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Succession: Are You Ready To Pass The Mantle?
Sponsored by Contracting Profits
Speaker: Bart Basi
The two greatest threats that face your business today are not competition or the economy; they are lack of succession planning and the potential for estate taxes. Are you and your business prepared? Don’t let your business or estate become assets of the government and taxing bodies after decades of hard work. – E

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
How To Sell Green Cleaning Without Greenwashing
Speaker: Scot Case
Providing false or misleading information about the environmental benefits of a product or service is known as greenwashing and it is a growing issue in the cleaning industry. It has become enough of a problem that the U.S. Government launched an investigation of the practice in January of 2008. Learn how to identify and avoid the six signs of greenwashing, how to recognize suspect claims, and how to grow your green cleaning business without greenwashing. – O, H

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Legal Quiz Show & Sing-Along: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Employment Law
Speaker: Mark Toth
Toth, chief legal officer, chief compliance officer and vice president-franchile relations for Manpower Inc., will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about employment law (but didn’t want to pay a lawyer to ask), then tackle the world’s toughest HR legal questions in an entertaining and educational quiz show. Toth will conclude this session by leading you in his world-renowned “Employment Law Sing-Along Song,” which will forever embed key legal principles in your brain. – E, O

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Contented Cows Give Better Milk
Speaker: Richard Hadden
Learn how the top companies become “employers of choice” in the most unlikely of industries. Discover how cleaning can be sexy enough to keep your workforce committed, productive and profitable, if you take the right approach. Also learn how you can reduce turnover, build commitment and grow your profits. – E, O

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Supervisor Skill Builder: Avoiding People-Skill Pitfalls
Speaker: Nancye Combs
Learn the 10 biggest mistakes supervisors make, and how to avoid them. Plus, discuss the reality that people work for people, not companies, and the implications that has on your organization’s motivation. Attendees will learn how to coach employees, including how to influence performance through motivation and inspiration. – O

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
How To Win Whether You’re Buying Or Selling Your Company
Speaker: Bart Basi
At any given moment, your business should be in a position to buy another or be sold with maximum benefit. Are you ready for either move? Three factors have combined for a “perfect storm” environment for buyers and sellers today, and you’ll learn the ins and outs of each. Gain expert insight and ask your burning acquisition questions during this informative session. – E

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
From Floating Cities To Your Facility: Pandemic Preparedness
Sponsored by Sanitary Maintenance
Speaker: Dave Forney
The cruise ship industry has been on the forefront of responding to global public health challenges, as its members attempt to protect their “floating cities” from falling victim to outbreaks. Forney will share valuable insight regarding how one industry prepares against, inspects for, and at times handles actual outbreaks such as SARS, influenza, and norovirus. Discuss how public health concerns are changing the face of cleaning and maintenance and how you can better prepare to protect your occupants. – O, H

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Growth! The Right Reason And Right Time
Speaker: Don Aslett
Contractors and suppliers want to expand and improve, and in-house staffs want to grow and fight turnover. Learn from a 50-year veteran of the industry who has taken cleaning operations from a one man show to national presence. Topics include the differences between budget and employee management and how to maximize both. Plus, discover how to break away from the low end of the annual budget in a world of more, for the benefit of your business, your employees, and your own well-being. – E, S ,O

10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
From Here To Sustainability: Profits And Pitfalls Of The Green Economy
Speaker: Joel Makower
Companies are expected to be engaged in cleaner, more efficient business practices, in addition to any cleaning products or services they might offer. Environment-conscious customers pay close attention to the environmental impacts of everything you do – from paperwork to power usage. How do you create and communicate an environmental strategy, especially when, like most companies, you’re far from perfect? Attendees will learn how to succeed in a world gone green. – S, H

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
The Brighter Side Of The Broom
Speaker: Don Aslett
We are in a profession where the public takes the positive for granted and reports the negative. Focusing on and emphasizing the brighter side helps our image, popularity, efficiency on the job and the treatment we receive. Learn how to put cleaning in its proper place of importance, through laughter, humanizing our profession, and showing how essential it is in all aspects of life. – O

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Bidding and Estimating Cleaning Costs In 2008
Speaker: William Griffin
Learn the latest techniques and information on preparing winning proposals for all types and sizes of accounts. Topics range from determining realistic pricing to analyzing production rates, insurance and bonding issues to independent contractors. Learn how to estimate job costs and prepare bids that are profitable, accurate, and effective in today’s competitive marketplace. – S, O