CE Pro February 2023 - 45

on engagement, " Robbins
says of the Fall Conference.
" We do a much longer group
discussion period, and we've
got subject matter that is
applicable to both members
and vendors. Our big thing
is to open up discussion;
we want best practices
talked about, sharing of
ideas. We're talking about
focus, and part of the members-only
discussion was on
their financial houses. "
Robbins says HTSA
provides members various
services that sometimes go
underutilized, and now is
certainly the time to take
advantage of benefits such
as website refreshes and
email newsletter marketing
campaigns.
" One thing to focus on is
we need them to step out
of the box maybe a little bit,
whether it's in marketing, engaging
with some of our other
resources that they never
got around to... and see that
there are resources there
to make their operations
run tighter, " Robbins says.
" Marketing's a huge part -
now is not the time to not
be marketing. Even though
everybody's got pretty full
pipelines, now is the time to
be getting your message out
there, delivering the message
in the right way. "
Toward that end, Keith
Esterly, HTSA's chief learning
architect, provided numerous
marketing initiatives
and calls to action that integrators
could take during
the group's State of the
Union presentation, while
also leading the session on
company culture.
" We realized that in the
spring, we were still talking
about expanding, thinking
big, seek the summit... and
since then the economy's
gotten weird, so we needed
our folks to zoom in a little
instead of only zooming
out, so we really got into
the details with them, " Esterly
says. " With financials,
with labor efficiency, with
culture - big picture, but
also how do you execute
really, really well so that you
weather any headwinds or
any economic issues that
are coming. I think our
vendors and our dealers got
a lot from it. "
Meanwhile, to help spur
some thoughts about
leadership goals and skills
Dealers look on as HTSA's Tom Doherty, tees off on a simulator
from Ace Indoor Golf, one of the consortium's recent
vendor additions.
to implement, conference
keynote speaker Steve McClatchy
offered insights into
changing the way you look
at business, relationships
and personal priorities. McClatchy,
founder and CEO
of Alleer Training & Consulting,
says leaders can adapt
and inspire their personnel
in ways they might not have
thought about, especially
when faced with challenges
outside of their control, like
the economy or COVID.
" In the wake of things
Steve McClatchy, founder and CEO of Alleer Training &
Consulting, tackled tough topics for company leaders to
consider in his keynote presentation.
that you can't control, can
you make parts of your
lives better? Because the
first thing I did [during the
COVID lockdowns] was
lose 30 pounds, " McClatchy
recalls. " I then wrote my
second book. Why? I
needed something to be
excited about when there's
stuff I'm not excited about.
I redid my website, I redid
my speaker video - and
my goodness, it won a Telly
Award at a time when nobody
was hiring speakers. "
HTSA used its group
discussions to spark conversations
around many
important topics including:
examining the current lightcepro.com
ing
fixtures category; cash
management best practices;
maximizing labor efficiencies;
hiring and onboarding tips;
leveraging co-op dollars;
getting into electrical; and
improving company culture.
The integrator members
appreciated the amount of
learning opportunities along
with other ways to take
advantage of a conference
whose attendees are highly
successful in their respective
categories.
" The biggest takeaway
for me at an HTSA conference
- while the education
tracks and the presentations
we have are always fantastic,
equally important is networking
with all the fellow
members and vendors, " says
Brian Perreault, COO of Barrett's
Technology Solutions
in Lombard, Ill.
" There's just such a
wealth of experience within
the room that we're in that
getting to know new people,
talking about how others
are doing businesses, the
pain points, where we're
having successes - there's
just so much to be learned,
especially for those who are
new to the group. "
February 2023 CE Pro | 45
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CE Pro February 2023

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