April 17-20, Orlando, FL

Coverings is the best educational and purchasing event in North America. The FREE Featured Sessions below will empower and educate you and maybe even change the way you view your industry.

TUESDAY, APRIL 17

8:30 AM–10:00 AM
Marketing an Installation Company: The Web is Your Best Marketing Tool
Moderator: Christine Whittemore
Panelists: Amber Fox, Wirtz Quality
Installations; Martin Howard, David Allen
Company; Paige Smith, Neuse Tile Service; Dan Welch, Welch Tile and Marble; Chris Woelfel, Artcraft Granite Marble & Tile.

Christine Whittemore is owner of Simple Marketing Now LLC, and a proven marketing consultant with expertise in the floorcovering industry. She has been working with several tile contracting companies for over a year in assessing their social media campaigns and will moderate a discussion with these companies in which actual tile installation firms can show the audience what they are doing in this crucial area of marketing. 

12:30 PM–1:30 PM
Future Color Trends: Fantasies and Realities
Speaker: Leatrice Eiseman, Eiseman and Associates

In order to create the “magic” in the marketplace that ultimately leads to sales, colors for 2013 will need to coax and cajole, soothe or astonish, renew and replenish. At the same time, there will be the consumer’s expectation of practicality – what colors have staying power and can be relied upon as a steadying influence in unsteady times. Skillfully balanced color palettes that play to their practical side, while satisfying their aspirations, hopes and needs for something novel will remain key to enticing the would-be consumer or client. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18

9:15 AM–10:15 AM
How to Prosper in the “New Normal” — Strategies for Navigating the Terrain During Turbulent Times
Speaker: Sandy Smith, Sandy Smith Seminars

Discover innovative ways of leading and thriving “in spite of” exponential change, increased customer expectations and a volatile international economy. Sandy Smith will spell out the kind of mindset and skill set required to compete in today’s “whitewater” business environment.

2:45 PM–3:45 PM
NEW Featured Session Revealed!
Speaker: Jamie Drake, Drake Design Associates

Coverings 2012 is thrilled to announce a new addition to the conference program: New York-based designer Jamie Drake. Author of some of America’s most glamorous spaces, Drake believes that the best décor expresses personality and place. Renowned for his exuberant color sense, his eye for the unique and telling detail, his practical approach to planning, and his equal facility in traditional and modern styles, Drake creates inviting, delightful, and resolutely livable environments.
More details on Drake’s Featured Session coming soon.

2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Triple Your Profit: Stop Being a Profit Soldier and Start Being a Profit Winner
Speaker: Albert Bates, Profit Planning Group

Dr. Albert Bates, popular speaker and professional author on profit planning for small businesses, has penned a new book titled “Triple Your Profit”; Stop Being a Profit Soldier and Start Being a Profit Winner. The book is a practical business training and online template for hard working business owners and managers.
Triple Your Profit is a four-part Profit Improvement System that offers a step-by-step plan to drive higher return on your bottom line. Twenty-one profit improvement exhibits will show how every concept works in your company. A planning template to quickly and easily develop a high profit plan is included.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19

9:15 AM–10:15 AM
Reinventing Your Organization...Tools for Leaders/Managers to Develop and Retain Talent in Uncertain Times 
Speaker: Sandy Smith, Sandy Smith Seminars

Learn practical and proven methods for creating an organizational culture of “peak performers” who are highly engaged and committed to each other’s success.

9:15 AM–10:45 AM
Open for Business: Why Transparency is Mandatory in the Online Marketing Age 
Speaker: Marty Gould, Focalize Now

The Internet has empowered customers. They’re now in charge, dictating all aspects of the sales process, from what they’ll pay to how and when products and services are packaged and delivered. As home buying and remodeling customers emerge from the worst recession in nearly a century, their mindsets are permanently altered. The information they seek is more than research; it’s the test they put each and every business through to see if they meet a high standard of trustworthiness. The more open the business, the more likely it will pass the test. NOTE: Marty works with many stone and tile companies and relates this important topic to our industry. 

1:30 PM–2:30 PM
The State of the Union: Architectural Trends & Influences 
Facilitator: Marc Kushner, Architizer.com

Join Marc Kushner, Founder of Architizer.com, to continue the lively discussion he has created online. With panelists recruited from the Architizer community, Kushner will moderate an interactive session in which the latest trends and influences in architecture across various vertical categories such as retail, education and healthcare will be examined. It promises to be a dynamic program with an exchange of ideas, opinions and involvement from audience members, as well.