The next VDTA/SDTA Convention & Show will be in
New Orleans, LA
February 27 - 29, 2012
at the Ernest Morial Convention Center

VDTA/SDTA 2009 The Tough Get Going to Las Vegas Show

Michael Guld, keynote speaker at the 28th Annual VDTA/SDTA Convention & Trade Show, gave a presentation titled, “When the Going Gets Tough.” Well, the going has certainly gotten tough over the last year, and thousands of “tough” dealers “got going” to the Las Vegas Show, held March 11-14, 2009.

The convention kicked off on Wednesday, March 11 with a number of seminars, workshops and hands-on training sessions. Seminars from RNK Distributing and Parametric Systems/Needleheads; workshops from HOST/Racine Industries and IQAir; and training sessions from Brother International, Elna, Janome America and Juki, gave dealers lots of learning opportunities. The off-site Central Vacuum Installation Seminar, sponsored by HP Products, offered dealers the chance to help install a central vacuum system in a Las Vegas home.

A highlight of the opening day’s seminars was “SuckCess 2009: The Future of Floor Care – Building Tomorrow’s Floor Care Center,” where an overflow crowd of dealers learned techniques for tactical planning, sales, marketing and growth – all geared to help dealers improve their businesses in the next year and in many years to come. Cliff Brady, Lynette Bullis, Art Butler, Aaron Park and Bill Dedich gave the crowd loads of practical information and ideas.

The VDTA/SDTA Bernie Epstein College Scholarship Golf Tournament was held March 11, as well. This tournament is the main fundraising vehicle for the association’s college scholarship program. The association thanks all dealers and suppliers for their support this year. A complete list of the 2009 VDTA/SDTA Epstein Scholarship Golf Tournament Sponsors can be found on page 5.

Awards Ceremonies & Welcome Reception
The day’s highpoint came that evening with the awards presentations and opening night reception. VDTA/SDTA President Judy Patterson presented a number of awards to some of the most deserving members of the industry. Sam Battisto, the late Jack Dick and Stan Ingraham were inducted into the Vacuum & Sewing Dealers Hall of Fame. Carolina Rodriguez and Cory Carr were presented with the 2009 VDTA/SDTA Bernie Epstein College Scholarships. More than 25 independent dealers were honored by the association as 20-Year Members. Janith Bergeron of Designs by Janith was presented with her Master Sewing Educator Certification, and eight vacuum and sewing independent dealer members were honored for completing the VDTA/SDTA Dealer Certification Program. The dedicated dealers and suppliers who provided more than 70 educational seminars and workshops were honored with instructor certificates. And more than 35 dealers and suppliers were recognized for their support of the 2009 VDTA/SDTA Bernie Epstein Scholarship Golf Tournament.
The Welcome Reception, co-sponsored by DOMEL Motors, packed a ballroom at the Las Vegas Hilton with hundreds of dealers and suppliers. This was only the second year that the reception has been held on the opening night and already it has become a favorite place for dealers to mingle with their old friends and meet new ones. Reception-goers were treated to the musical stylings of the industry’s own Dagon Browning from A-1 Vacuum & Janitorial Supply.

Michael Guld Addresses “Tough” Crowd
Keynote speaker Michael Guld began the day on March 12 with his presentation “When the Going Gets Tough.” Guld shared his insights on how to succeed in the increasingly turbulent economy. He gave dealers tips on re-igniting their passion for the business, recommitting to personal and professional goals, maximizing new business development through sales, marketing and public relations and competing successfully in a crowded marketplace. Guld also gave a seminar, titled “Build Your Profits Through People, Promotion and Passion.”

When asked his impression of the VDTA/SDTA Show, Guld responded, “Given the difficult economic environment, many could have chosen not to attend their industry’s international trade show and convention, but they did attend, knowing the anticipated value they would receive. It’s a testament to the toughness of these dealers. They know they are in for a battle over the next year or two and they attended the show so they could be well-armed for the fight!”

As a business development speaker and consultant, Guld said he was very impressed with the convention. He noted that the participants he spoke to found the event provided extremely valuable content and that attending the show was well worth their time and investment.

Commenting on the attendance, Guld said, “I also understand attendance is down somewhat from previous years. I’ve been to many conventions in the last six months and I can tell you that being only 10% down this year is like being 30% up in most years.”

Seminar Rooms Filled to Capacity
Following the keynote presentation, dealers were obviously in the mood for additional education. Most of the seminar rooms were filled to overflowing. One popular seminar from Advanced Vapor Technologies showed dealers strategies for selling against big box stores. Kirby Home Care Products presented a primer on “Encapsulation” in carpet care products and how dealers can increase sales. M.D. Manufacturing gave Part I of its Central Vac Education Track. JMM Software presented a seminar on Point of Sale Software. Euro-Notions presented a seminar on the new Schmetz certification program. Parametric Systems/Needleheads seminar covered the Monogram Wizard Janome Special Edition. The Grace Company gave a training session on computerized quilting.

Blueair’s seminar focused on clean indoor air and how dealers can add value and revenue to their stores. Simplicity introduced new cleaning products and an extractor rental program available to dealers. A1 Vacuum and Janitorial’s Dagon Browning gave a seminar focused on vacuum cleaner sales, demos and training. Elna provided training on updated demos. And Claude Whitacre from The Sweeper Store presented how to use advertising to increase sales.

Special seminars detailing VDTA/SDTA Member Benefits were presented by Elavon (credit card processing), Siriani & Associates (freight savings), Benefit Resourcing (insurance), and Legacy Financial Group (financial management).

A highlight of seminars on March 12 was “Sew-Cess 2009: Better Business = Higher Profits,” where Claude Whitacre, Amy Baughman, Brad Faber and Howard Anderson shared their expertise with a crowd of dealers.

Recapping their topics, Whitacre talked about how offering a store credit card to first-time buyers can double your sales. He said, “After they buy the first item, offer others. They are in a buying mood. I’m talking about high-end products, not impulse add-ons. Keep talking about the customer and what they want and the sales will follow.”

Baughman’s advice included talking small bites at a time out of your database. For example, don’t mail to 5,000 people if your message is only for 400. She said, “You don’t have to spend huge money on large mailings. Target smaller groups for bigger profits.” She also talked about taking time out of each day to work on your business rather than in your business. She suggested, “Let your customers into your life. Everyone likes to belong to a group and know who they are doing business with.”

Faber shared ideas on a variety of topics, including tips on proper telephone etiquette, creating and placing interior store signage, e-mail marketing and the sale of service maintenance agreements.

And, Anderson discussed using tools you already have at your disposal, but may have forgotten. He noted, “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel – just jump on and ride!”

The day’s seminars came to a close with the “Internet 4.0 Dealer Meeting: Using the Internet to Drive More Traffic to Your Brick & Mortar Stores,” which was co-sponsored by Designs in Machine Embroidery and RNK Distributing. Dealers were provided with dinner and informative presentations on how to make profitable use of the Internet.

Trade Show Opens to Lively Crowd
March 12 also saw the opening of the exhibit hall, where the industry’s leading suppliers displayed thousands of products, including the newest innovations in vacuum cleaners, central vacuum systems, carpet care, air purification, portable heaters, sewing and embroidery machines, quilting machines and products, sergers, parts and accessories and more. Over two dozen companies were first-time exhibitors at the VDTA/SDTA Show, displaying new products now available to independent dealers. Dealers were impressed by the products on display. They were happy to have the chance to talk with their suppliers and learn about the new products and programs that will help increase their sales and profits in the coming year.

Friday the 13th Brings Good Fortune to Dealers
Friday the 13th was a good day for dealers at the 2009 Convention. Educational seminars by Howard Anderson of Stony Brook Sew & Vac, Dagon Browning of A-1 Vacuum & Janitorial, Vincent Ciernick of A1 Central Vacuum, and Leslie Reichert of The Back Door, and Keynote Speaker Michael Guld gave dealers practical information to help improve their businesses and boost sales. More education and training was provided by Elna, ESSCO, Fashion Patterns by Coni, Ghee’s, IQAir, Legacy Financial, M.D. Manufacturing, Panasonic, Parametric Systems/Needleheads, Riccar, RNK Distributing, Sun Cloud Distributing, and Where2GetIt.

A highlight of the day was the panel discussion “Dealing with the Violent Storm,” where successful industry veterans shared their survival secrets and strategies for future growth. Panel members were Keith and Audra Quimby of Don’s Vacuum Villa, Fran Tabor and Dagon Browning of A1 Vacuum & Janitorial, Lynette Bullis of Jeff’s Vacuum Center, and Claude Whitacre of The Sweeper Store. Larry Moritz of AAVAC Center served as moderator.

Dealers found good luck in the exhibit hall, where more than 35 companies gave away valuable door prizes, the biggest of which was an ATV given away at the TTI Floor Care booth. Several dealers were also lucky enough to win the VDTA/SDTA cash drawings given in the exhibit hall. Winners included Danielle Johnson of Sanders Sew-N-Vac, Cheryl Matchell of Chestnut Ridge Sewing, Micah Jacob of Vacuum Boutique, Ron Johnson of Husker Sew Vac and Lourdes Jensen of A1 Vacuum.

And every dealer came up a winner with the 2nd Annual Dealer Appreciation Reception, held in the exhibit hall. Sponsored by leading industry suppliers, the reception offered dealers the opportunity to enjoy hors d’oevres and drinks while mingling with each other and their suppliers. The reception seemed to be good for business, too, judging from the number of dealers and vendors who were still talking shop well after closing.

Another Successful Convention
On March 14, the convention was bought to a close with seminars presented by Fran Tabor of A1 Vacuum & Janitorial, Elna, ESSCO and the Grace Company. The exhibit hall was open until noon for last minute buying. Both dealers and suppliers were pleased with the show. The consensus of opinion was that although attendance was down slightly from previous years, the enthusiasm and seriousness of the dealers and suppliers at the show more than made up for it. As one industry veteran put it, “The economic times are tough, but the best dealers still come out to the show.”

Reprinted from Floor Care Professional, May 2009