(Editor: Leona)

The North American Home Furnishings Association (NAHFA) has announced its schedule for the 2015 Las Vegas Winter Market Seminars, January 18-21, 2015. The NAHFA educational seminars, which are free to market attendees, are held in the Retailer Resource Center (RRC), Building B-1050.

The NAHFA hosts seminars during both Las Vegas and High Point Markets in the RRC—a place designed to give retailers access to information, vendors, workshops, and speakers that can help improve and grow their businesses. Seminar topics include everything from sales and sales management to social media, operations, promotions, technology, and more.

“We work hard to bring relevant education to our members and market attendees,” said NAHFA’s CEO, Sharron Bradley. “We all know it’s important to keep learning in our professional lives and to keep up with what’s going on in business. Our complimentary seminars are just one way we help retailers do that; we make it convenient and accessible.”

Seminars are offered Sunday, January 18 through Wednesday, January 21 during the Winter Las Vegas Market.

A complete listing of the dates and times of NAHFA’s seminars follows:

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Passing the Torch: Top 5 Keys to Family Business Success
Mark T. Green Ph.D., Family Business Consulting (NGN-endorsed seminar)
Dr. Mark Green is an expert in helping people overcome the challenges of employing people with different goals, work ethics, expectations, and communication styles. He speaks as a researcher, a professor, a consultant, and from his personal experience. Mark will cover succession planning for both the successor and the generation taking the lead, share best practices and research based insights, and tips for clear communication between generations.

Thinking with a Pencil
One by One Companies, Jody Seivert
Consumers need knowledge, salespeople need information. Here’s how to teach your staff to create a visually interactive conversation with a customer that will include qualifying questions, standard sizes of furniture and simple room layouts. You’ll also learn how to easily execute this process with every customer, every time.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
How to Get Your Entire Team on the Profit Bandwagon!
Profitability Consulting Group, John Egger
The most profitable stores in our industry develop systems and processes that hold everybody on their team accountable to profit and they share that profit with all their employees. John Egger has helped hundreds of stores of all sizes increase their profits. This seminar is good for anybody in the industry and will be your most profitable hour at market!

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Discover How Tools, Systems, & Automation Will Help You Crush Your Big-Chain and Department Store Competition.
Automated Mattress Profits, Jeff Giagnocavo
Jeff will cover unique business tools, discover new sales and marketing systems and discuss how to automate your systems to allow you to crush your local competition. If you operate a furniture or mattress store that competes with a large chain store or department store, this is a must attend session. By the time you leave you will see how following his simple Automated Mattress Profits Blue Print will make running your business profitable and fun again.

3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Selling to the Modern Man & Woman
JRM Sales & Management, Joe Milevsky & Lorna Hunter
Words can mean different things to men and women; so can body language. Sometimes what you think you sense or see is not really what’s being conveyed. Lorna Hunter and Joe Milevsky of JRM Sales & Management will present this clever, informative and entertaining seminar. Get ready for them to act out their roles as they demonstrate man versus woman, woman versus man, how they read each other, and make the emotional connections needed to succeed in a sales interaction.

MONDAY, JANUARY 19
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Make the Most of Your Online Presence!
MicroD Inc., Ron Gordon
Current surveys show that 89% of consumers begin their shopping online, even when they anticipate buying from a local brick-and-mortar retailer. As a result, your website has never been more important! Using technology properly will enable you to stand out against the competition, succeed in bringing customers into your store, and close sales. In this informative seminar they will present several practical ideas that you can use to market your products and services more effectively, more attractively, and in a way that will better engage your customers, making better use of your web presence to create greater opportunities on an affordable budget.

Four Digital and Direct Mail Power Plays that Drive Traffic!
Knorr Marketing, Doug Knorr
Learn how to get a bigger return on your advertising by combining the latest digital strategies with direct mail, “Fusion Marketing”! During this power-packed 60 minutes Doug and Dan will present four advertising power plays that combine digital and direct mail strategies to increase store traffic and frequency shopping while reducing incremental advertising costs. This seminar includes case studies and handouts to empower you to start getting a greater return on your advertising and marketing budget immediately.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
3 Ways to Boost Your Facebook Marketing
Crystal Media, Crystal Vilkaitis
Are your fans seeing the posts you publish to your Facebook business page? Chances are only about 6% are, if not less. Facebook is changing at what feels like lightning speed and in order to get the most out of your efforts (and to get your posts seen by fans), you have to follow best practices and you need to pay for it. During this seminar you’ll learn how to instantly increase fans through free and paid platforms plus you’ll learn a few tips that could potentially save you a lot of money.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Retail Performance Metrics – Your Key to Sustained Success
PROFITsystems Performance Groups, David McMahon
In this presentation David will show you what the best operations in the industry track to maximize their performance to beat their competition. These metrics form the basis for strategic direction and help develop specific operational tactics that produce results. Leave this seminar knowing what to look for in your business to improve sales, profits and cash flow. Attend this seminar and receive an invitation to participate in a special industry study that will allow you to benchmark your business against your peers.

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The Rise of E-commerce
American West World Wide Express, Noah Brown & Reed Cullum
Noah and Reed will discuss the effects of e-commerce in the marketplace, its growth and current trends. You’ll leave with a good understanding of e-commerce and what can be done to capitalize on its growth and how to prepare for the future.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Social 2.0—Wait, What Happened to Social 1.0?
R&A Marketing, Kevin Doran
It’s not just about being social anymore…it’s about your brand being in front of the consumer in a manner that tells a story that helps you create growth and revenue. Social media has turned into social content. It is the way a consumer connects, learns and informs herself about you long before she shops you.

Successful Direct Marketing Strategies
Mail America, Leo Bartsch
Learn tried and true methods for ringing the register and share your own successful direct marketing promotions with the group. With more than a billion marketing pieces delivered, the team at Mail America has observed retailer best practices for driving both sales and store traffic using direct marketing. You’ll leave this presentation with several fresh marketing ideas to implement. This interactive give & take session will be a rewarding hour that will deliver ROI on your market trip.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

The Be-Back Bus Isn’t Coming Back
IAS Training, Brad Huisken
Brad Huisken will lead participants through a fun and motivational seminar on how to implement a productivity improvement program. He will discuss the five benchmarks for productivity improvement along with detailing non-negotiable sales and customer service standards, training techniques and his training checklist for sales people and sales managers. In today’s sales environment the only thing that separates one company from its competition (other companies, the Internet and other places where people are spending their disposable income) is its people. The main responsibility of a sales manager is to give their people the help, training, and guidance they need to achieve success. Only through the consistent application of sound business principles can we achieve increased productivity both now and well into the future.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Styles Evolve . . . So Should Your Lighting
Service Lamp Corp, Jan Jucho
Keeping up to date means more than the furniture styles you carry... it also applies to the lighting you
select for your store. Learn how to enhance your store while keeping your budget in check. Jan will discuss the importance of using LED technology to save money on your maintenance costs and energy bills. If you are considering any lighting renovation in your showroom or warehouse, come learn firsthand what to look for in LEDs. Understand the terms used when discussing LEDs and feel comfortable investigating utility rebates for your location.

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
10 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Email Broadcast, Ken Mahar
In this fast-paced talk you’ll learn the top 10 mistakes businesses make with their email campaigns and
how to fix them. Business owners and marketing executives looking to get the most from their digital marketing efforts will have immediate actionable items they can implement in their own campaigns, or what to avoid when launching one. Ken is the founder and CEO of Email Broadcast and has 14 years’ experience in this field. His company drove more than $6 million in sales for Mor Furniture for Less in 2013; which was directly attributed to email marketing.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
The Social Shopper: How Retailers Can Connect with Shoppers
The Strategic Peacock, Marisa Peacock
Considering that four in ten social media users have purchased an item online after sharing it on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest, there is much to gain by leveraging the loyalty and sustained satisfaction that social media can bring. Successful social media campaigns start with understanding the behaviors associated with your audience. Learn best practices designed to get the most out of social media as you launch campaigns to connect with customers.

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Get a Grip on Your Marketing: Mobile Marketing for Today’s Businesses
ReachLocal, Pete Di Stefano
Today’s consumers own multiple devices and move seamlessly between them throughout the day, with 85% of consumers citing their mobile devices as a central part of everyday life. Local businesses need to ensure they have the right mobile strategy in place to capitalize on this trend and ensure they’re not missing out on leads and potential revenue. You’ll learn about trends in mobile usage, including multiscreen behavior and its impact on local search; how to add mobile to your advertising strategy to get found at the right time by the right consumers and which elements a mobile-ready site needs to convert traffic.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Inspired Selling - Simple yet Powerful Techniques
Furniche.com, Marty Grosse
Create sales meetings with lasting impact on the selling staff. Discover practical methods to systemize sales meeting processes. Learn how to find fresh, relevant, and energetic selling ideas everywhere you go. Learn how to develop a selling atmosphere that improves the individual salespersons performance and creates ongoing salesperson participation. Hear real world examples that you may take and implement immediately in store. You will leave this session with the tools to easily develop inspirational sales meetings on a consistent basis.

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Is Your Store Ready for the Modern Consumer?
Furniture Wizard Software, Evan Faller
What does the modern shopping experience look like? Do you know what experience your customers have when they walk into your store? See modern technology put into place where and when consumers want it and make your retail establishment the place to invest in home furnishings.