First Timers Reception Resort Casual First-time at an SAF Convention? Stop by and chat with members of SAF's Convention and Member
Services Committees. They'll be glad to help you get the most out of SAF'S 125TH Annual Convention
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Opening Reception Resort Casual
Re-connect with old friends and make new ones while enjoying the beautiful desert evening.
7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
American Floral Endowment Dinner ** Business Attire Join the American Floral Endowment (AFE) for their Fundraising Dinner. AFE supports the floriculture
industry by funding research, education and scholarships benefiting all segments. Grow the floral
industry and support AFE by attending this important event. Sign up on the registration form to
attend, or contact AFE for sponsorship information at (703) 838-5211.
**Separate registration fee
required.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
7:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.
Registration
7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Cinda Baxter
Kick-Off Breakfast: Dare to be Exceptional Speaker: Cinda Baxter, Always Upward
Today’s economic climate has become challenging for most companies, regardless of their size or position in the supply chain. As a result, business owners have a choice: to look backward and dwell on what got us here, or to look ahead for new paths and possibilities. In this powerful session, nationally-known small business champion Cinda Baxter will turn our collective attention to finding new, inspired routes to success when the economy is stuck. She'll also detail her pro-local business movement, The 3/50 Project. Baxter is a respected small business consultant, coach and former retailer whose company, Always Upward, specializes in analyzing and improving retail operations and helping vendors build stronger relationships with retail accounts. She will challenge you to change your point of view, inspire change around you, and dare to be exceptional.
Want to see the best fresh product on the market today? Growers show off their finest fresh cut flowers, greens, potted flowering plants, bedding plants and foliage in this annual event that's open throughout the convention
Learn: About the best fresh product on the market today. Take Home: An expanded perspective about the range and quality of fresh goods available to you.
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Educational Sessions:
Making Friends and Influencing People: Using Social Media to Connect with Customers
Panelists: Bob Aykens, Memorial Florists & Greenhouses; John Higginson, FTD, Inc.; Chad Kremp, Kremp Florist; Jim Talarico, Teleflora
Gee, it’s nice to have friends — especially when they bring in business. Relationship-based online marketing is one of the most exciting new avenues in business communication today. Bring your laptop and get ready to sit down with industry experts and tackle Facebook, Twitter, MySpace on the spot.
Learn: Why social networking is invaluable, what others are doing, and what you need to do to build (and keep) online relationships that bring customers to your door.
Take Home: The know-how to set up your own Facebook, MySpace or Twitter page and start "friending" and "tweeting" right away.
YOU Should Attend: If marketing, public relations, advertising and promotion are on your to do list you need to be at this session. Material applies to all segments of the industry.
Treasure Hunt! How to Find the Hidden Money in Your Retail Business
Speaker: Dan McManus, TeamFloral
Stop wishing you had more money and start digging for what’s already there. Discover surprising new ways to cut operating costs, boost efficiency and increase output…all of which goes right to your bottom line.
PLUS! Cost-Cutting Idea Exchange! Bring your best penny-pinching ideas to share during the last part of this session.
Learn: How to find and plug, the profit leaks in your retail operation.
Take Home: Cost-cutting tips that will go right to your bottom line.
YOU Should Attend: Owners and managers of retail florist businesses.
Yes You Can...Attract More Sympathy Business
Ready to direct your sympathy business in a more proactive way? Listen in as an expert panel, including a funeral director and florists with competitive sympathy segments, dish out advice on how to best serve the diverse sympathy market.
Learn:The latest tips on how to build relationships with funeral directors and how to navigate the sometimes tricky “in lieu of” issue.
Take Home:Targeted trend information on U.S. funerals, memorial services and end-of-life celebrations that will improve your marketing efforts and give you a serious advantage over the local competition.
YOU Should Attend: Retail florists who want to capture a bigger share of the sympathy market.
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
42nd Annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition The Sylvia Cup is the longest running, annual, live, national floral design competition in the industry and draws designers from the American Institute of Floral Designers, winners of state and regional contests, and designers of the year. The winner receives $2,500 and two honorable mentions receive $250 provided by Smithers-Oasis. All entries will be on display and winners are announced at the SAF Industry Awards Dinner Thursday evening. Designers ... do you enjoy camaraderie and the thrill of competition? Then why not compete for the Sylvia Cup this year? Space is limited to 25 contestants and registration is required by August 8. Contact Jenny Scala,
; 800-336-4743.
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Live Commentary at the 42nd Annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition
Commentators: Coby Neal, AIFD, PFCI; Deborah De La Flor, AIFD, PFCI
Watch the contestants and get the scoop on the action when PFCI breaks the fierce competition silence to tell you about the fresh and hard-good products and design techniques being used.
Learn: insider tricks on design mechanics, concepts and products.
Take Home:innovative floral design ideas and cost-saving design techniques that can boost profit and keep your business on the leading edge.
YOU Should Attend: retail florists, independent designers, and wholesale suppliers who want to be able to share tips and ideas with their customers.
1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Educational Sessions:
Training Your Retail Sales Team to Sell! Sell! Sell!
It's time to update your sales training with powerful, proven methods already being used by successful flower shops across the country. Find out how to train your sales team to make more effective sales over the phone and face-to-face, from a small cash and carry transaction to a lavish wedding!
Specific details of a customer-service based way to sell (easy for even the most timid employee) plus information on staff incentive programs and building team morale.
Take Home:Out-of-the-box methods guaranteed to empower employees to increase sales values while better serving customers. Your staff will learn to value every customer not just for today’s transaction but also for all future business!
YOU Should Attend:Retail florists (especially owners), managers and sales team members.
Capturing Customers. Best Practices in Wholesale/Supplier Sales
Learn:How to recession-proof your business and captivate customers with comprehensive initiatives that span customer service, core business philosophies, staff training and incentive programs.
Take Home: Hit the road with concrete ideas – and a network of peers to call upon for advice.
YOU Should Attend: Wholesalers, growers and suppliers, especially managers, sales team members and customer-service specialists.
Treasure Hunt! Cut Operating Costs and Find the Hidden Money in Your Business (repeat)
You never know who's going to come up with that next great idea that's going to change your life. If you've put a good idea to work successfully or know about one that's working well for someone else, come and share it at this fast-paced and fascinating new session. Then take home all the ideas everyone else has brought to share with you. Ideas about sales, marketing, customer relations, business operations, management, inventory, product care, merchandising, delivery and anything else floral-related are welcome — as is everyone in the floral industry.
This session was so popular last year we had to move to a larger room!
We've expanded the space, and the timeframe this year, so that everyone has a chance to share their best ideas.
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Awards Reception and Dinner Business Attire
Enjoy a delightful dinner and entertainment as you celebrate the accomplishments of some of our industry's most outstanding citizens. Toast new members inducted into SAF's American Academy of Floriculture and Professional Floral Communicators - International. Celebrate with the recipients of SAF's Alex Laurie, Gold Medal, John H. Walker, Century Award and Paul Ecke Jr. awards. Share the thrill as winners of the Sylvia Cup Design Competition and the Tommy Bright Award are announced. And cheer for the recipient of the industry's highest honor — the SAF Floriculture Hall of Fame.
Did you know that Gen Y consumers prefer single type flower bouquets, while Baby Boomers prefer mixed flowers? Are you targeting your product offerings and services to different types of customers? Join SAF for a real "telling" experience as Dr. Jennifer Scott, Ogilvy Public Relations Managing Director of Insights and Research, presents an in-depth look at SAF's new Generations of Flowers Study. The research explores the motivations and barriers of how different age groups perceive, buy, and use flowers, plants and floral outlets, and which generation presents the biggest challenge.
Learn: Which promotions and advertising hooks are most likely to work with consumers from different generations. What motivates cost-conscious consumers, young adults (Gen Y), millennials, boomers, & Gen X'ers to buy, where they're most likely to shop, and how to attract them to your store.
Take Home: Generation-focused marketing tips, plus ways to use the information from the SAF PR Fund's Generations of Flowers research to generate news coverage of your business.
YOU Should Attend: Anyone who wants to help boost floral sales for themselves and for their retail customers. Content will be particularly useful for retail, wholesale and grower managers involved in consumer marketing, promotion, sales or public relations.
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Outstanding Varieties Open
9:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.
Educational Sessions
Stand Out from the Crowd with Signature Designs
Sassy. Sophisticated. Structured. Sweet… Do you have what it takes to create a signature look for your designs? A standardized look can set you apart from the competition and increase your brand’s recognition in the marketplace. How do you develop the right look and make it profitable? Learn from a panel of experts and see samples of effective, profitable designs that stand out from the crowd.
Learn: Secrets to creating profitable signature designs.
Take Home: Tips on incorporating signature elements into day-to-day and special event work.
YOU Should Attend: Designers, as well as retail owners and managers who want to enhance their image, and their market appeal, with a branded approach to design.
Website Physical: An In-Depth Look at Google Analytics Speaker: Renato Sogueco, Society of American Florists
The Web doctor will see you now. A healthy web site brings the people you want in, engages and points them in the right direction, and gets them to take the action you want. With free web site analytics tools from Google, you can read your Web site’s vital signs easily and, if needed, find just the right Rx for what ails it. Bring your laptop to this interactive, information-filled workshop and get ready to see your Web site through fresh eyes.
Learn: How to optimize your Web site’s productivity using Google Analytics and Google webmaster tools.
Take Home:> The skills to set up and use Google’s powerful analytical tools, plus a list of other Web-related business tools available at little or no cost.
YOU Should Attend: Anyone who wants to maximize the productivity of their Web site. Content is appropriate for all industry segments.
Acquiring Your Next Floral Business
Facilitator: Paul Goodman, CPA, Floral Finance Business Services
Panelists: Lane DeVries, The Sun Valley Group, Arcata, CO; Scott Kitayama, Greenleaf Wholesale Florist, Brighton, CO; Debbie Keys, Pealer’s Flower Shop, Camp Hill, PA
Learn: The do’s and don’ts of business acquisition from determining how much you can afford to finding the best business to purchase to negotiating customer list purchases.
Take Home: Tips for finding the right price, the best acquisition, negotiating to buy customer lists and more. No detail will be too small in this ultra-practical session.
YOU Should Attend:Industry members from all segments who are considering an acquisition.
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Educational Sessions
Creating Profitable Designs at Every Price Point
Do your customers demand designs on a dime? Don’t pass the buck. If you understand cost and materials – and how to communicate with customers — you can make arrangements profitable at any price point. Get insight on simple tools used to evaluate and price profitable designs. Learn: How to effectively stretch their dollars to create recipe-based designs at various price points, including the popular $35 to $40 range. Take Home: How to showcase and sell high-quality, high-value designs to customers who need to stick to a budget. YOU Should Attend: Retailers, especially design team members
Brilliant on the Basics of Leadership
Speaker: Barry Gottlieb, Coaching the Winner's Edge
A tough economy calls for dynamic, top-down leadership. Are you up to the task? Now, more than ever, we are depending on our leaders to guide us through these turbulent economic times. Join us for a powerful seminar as author and nationally-known business coach Barry Gottlieb, shares the best practices and best principles of winning leadership.
Learn: How to define and translate your goals and organizational vision to everyone in your company.
Take Home: Team-building, leadership and communication skills and techniques you can put to work right away.
YOU Should attend: Owners and managers who want to lead their companies forward and increase profitability no matter what the current state of the economy. Information will be helpful for growers, wholesalers and retailers.
Create Eye-Popping Displays that Do the Selling for You
Don’t you look smart? Discover how you can create fresh, compelling displays that don’t break the bank. This session will focus on display theories, groupings and signage, among other topics.
Learn: Visual examples will guide you through a sensory-filled tour of display possibilities, including window displays and point-of-purchase set-ups.
Take Home: Real-world advice, sound feedback and dozens of ready-set-go, picture-perfect ideas for everyday, holiday and special event displays.
YOU Should Attend: Industry members from all segments, especially people charged with creating memorable displays or providing display suggestions to customers.
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Tennis Tournament
Whether you
volley and lose track of the score or strive to win, SAF Phoenix 2009
Tennis Tournament serves up a good time. Participants play a mixed
doubles round robin match. To sign up, see the registration form.
You might not play like Tiger Woods, but
that’s no excuse. Join your peers at the 19th Annual golf tournament,
a fundraiser for SAFPAC, the floral industry’s political action
committee. All skill levels are welcome. Want to tee it up? Check the
box on the registration form, or contact Brian Gamberini at
800-336-4743 or
for more information.
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Gila River Indian Community Program and Walking Tour Presented by: Ginger Sunbird Martin, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Discover the story of the Pima and
Maricopa People and how it is they progressed to the present day. The
Gila River Indian Community made history in December 2004 for their
Water Rights Settlement – the largest and longest-running water case in
U.S. History. It is a story of compassion, survival, and justice.
After this inspiring story, tour the hotel property with Ginger while
she highlights the many interesting and historical areas on property.
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
SAF's 125th Anniversary Party! Bring out
the bells and whistles and put on your happy shoes…. When you hit 125
years it is time to paartee! Get to know new friends, share memories
with old buds or and relax as we celebrate our first century and a
quarter of growing together.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Business Session & Buffet Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Educational Sessions
How to Forecast Retail Sales
Speaker: Paul Goodman, CPA, Floral Finance Business Services
Worried about stormy (economic) weather? No problem. Floral Management Magazine contributor and industry finance expert Paul Goodman, CPA, has you covered. Profitability depends on a solid grasp of sales trends, and Goodman will show you how to make sales forecasts and set labor budgets to be in sync with changes. It will consider the differences between forecasting and staffing for holiday versus non-holiday periods. Learn: An understanding of how to forecast your sales and associated labor needs year-round. The differences between forecasting and staffing for holiday versus non-holiday periods, plus much more.
Take Home: An understanding of sales forecasts and associated labor needs, plus handouts that will walk you through the process step-by-step so you can create your own forecasts.
YOU Should Attend:Owners, managers and those responsible for sales projections for wholesalers, grower and retail floral businesses.
Managing the Manager Speaker: Marcia Reynolds, Ph.D., Outsmart Your Brain
Employees are often promoted to management because they are skilled at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they know how to think and act as a manager. Doing a great job is very different from helping others do their best. How do they know how to deal with uncooperative former peers or other unmotivated workers? How do you, as the “Big Boss,” offer support without undermining the new manager’s authority? In this workshop with world-renowned leadership coach Dr. Marcia Reynolds you’ll find out how to help your new managers think and make better choices in every situation.
Learn: Strategies to create productive teams and develop strong middle managers.
Take home:Specific coaching techniques you can use to build your middle managers’ confidence and leadership skills.
YOU should attend: If you want to help your mid-level managers become more effective, or just want to become more effective as a manager yourself. Content is appropriate for all industry segments, especially larger companies.
Over the Rainbow - The Next Hot Colors and Trends in Floral Design
Speaker: Aimee Desroisers, CMG: Color Trend Expert
The newest color trends in a word? Wicked. Prepare to be blown away by the hot color trends taking the country by storm. This hands-on session will shine a light on color trends in flowers, fashion and textiles, and help you plan for the future.
Learn: Find out which colors are “in” and which colors are “out” during a high-energy session set to include information on both short and long-term planning.
Take Home: Specific information on what to buy – and what to forgo - in upcoming seasons.
YOU Should Attend: Industry members from all segments.
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m
Educational Sessions
Growers' Roundtable
Get ready, growers. SAF is pleased to present a facilitator-led roundtable, exclusively for you. This is your chance to exchange ideas, share challenges and find out what's working at other farms. Topics are up to you. Want to talk about labor issues ... plant health ... customer relations ... equipment ... something else? You tell us, and we'll put it on the list. Participants are encouraged to come with prepared questions and topics or submit them in advance to Laura Weaver by phone, 800-336-4743; fax, 703-836-8705; or e-mail,
Learn: This frank discussion will provide a forum for growers to share their unique ideas and viewpoints on current and future challenges, innovations and general trends.
Take Home: A plethora of ideas, along with contact information for peers and friends.
YOU Should Attend: Grower owners, managers and other key personnel.
Speakers: Vince Butera, AIFD, PFCI; Deborah De La Flor, AIFD, PFCI;
Jerome Raska, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, CAFA, MCF; Tina Stoecker, AIFD, PFCI
Buckle up for a fast-paced action-packed show ’n tell thrill ride as PFCI commentators unveil brand new items to revolutionize the way you do business. See, touch and try them after the demos.
Learn: Innovative strategies for using the latest products in flower care, marketing, displays, add-on sales and event work.
Take Home: Great ideas and loads of samples of containers, care and handling packets, foam, wristlets, boutonnière holders, note cards and more.
YOU Should Attend: Retail florists and independent designers, plus wholesalers interested in finding new products for re-sale.
SUPPLIERS: To reserve space in the Showcase for your new products, download the Exhibitor Information Packet (PDF) from www.safnow.org or contact SAF’s Jenny Scala at
or call 800-336-4743.
SAF President Rod Saline invites you to
enjoy an elegant dinner with friends, wonderful entertainment and time
to dance the night away at the crowning event of SAFs 125th Annual
Convention.
Cinda Baxter
