MONDAY, DECEMBER
11th
10:00am - 4:00pm
Registration Open
Registration
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Marketing Bootcamp
Workshop
Join Scott Reynolds, co-founder and CEO of The Get Smart Group, for an in-depth marketing workshop to prepare your pool and spa business for 2024. In this class, we’ll cover everything from where you should be spending your ad dollars, to setting a budget, proper sales training and more. Over this three-part course, you’ll gain an understanding of what will work in 2024, what reporting data to pay attention to, and how to motivate your sales team with clear goals. Attendees will develop a 12-month marketing calendar, set realistic goals (along with advertising budgets), and work out an evergreen offer (or two) to maximize the “down times” throughout the year.
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Part One: Where and How to Advertise Your Pool and Spa Store
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Part Two: Developing a 12-month Marketing Calendar
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Part Three: Why a CRM is Critical and Getting Your Team to Use One
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Succession Bootcamp
Workshop
Scot Hunsaker, pool industry veteran, runs the Ardent Group, whose mission is to help business owners prepare for a healthy succession. He is the former CEO of aquatic design firm Counsilman-Hunsaker, where he grew the company's revenue by a factor of 10, opened four new offices and in 2012, sold the firm to his employees for cash. Here he provides a three-part afternoon workshop for those who are considering, or beginning to consider, a plan for stepping away from the business and transitioning to new leadership.
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Session 1: Defining What Is Important for You in a Successful Succession Plan
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Session 2: Preparing Your Leadership Team for a Successful Succession Plan
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Session 3: How to Implement the Ownership Transfer Process
*Note: Registration is required - fee is included in your AQUA Live full conference registration. If you are already registered for the conference, and would like to attend this workshop, please let us know at: questions@aquamag.live
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Reception
Networking Event
Enjoy this private reception for AQUA Live participants and vendors.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER
12th
7:00am - 2:00pm
Registration Open
Registration
7:45am - 8:30am
Breakfast
Networking Event
Mingle with other pool & spa leaders over bacon, eggs and coffee.
8:45am - 10:00am
Cornell University Business:
Becoming An Ambidextrous Leader
General Session
Neil Tarallo • Cornell University
Innovate or get left behind. That is the challenge for companies today.
Companies that foster entrepreneurial behavior among employees and set up processes to support it are more competitive—experiencing transformative breakthroughs and lower employee turnover.
“When you have those opportunities to take responsibility and ownership for an idea, it increases the level of enjoyment employees have in their job, and it reduces the amount of turnover that’s happening,” says Professor Neil Tarallo, Senior Lecturer, Cornell University.
10:00am - 10:45am
Navigating the Labor Shortage:
Challenges, Solutions and Opportunities
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Scott Webb • AQUA Magazine
With good workers in short supply, the importance of all aspects of workforce management are magnified. In our industry, the ability to hire, develop and retain quality pool and spa professionals is essential to profitability. A panel of successful owners and managers discuss new thinking and practical tips.
11:00am - 11:45am
Maximize Revenue in Retail
Breakout Session
How can pool and spa retailers strengthen their showroom design — including their product selection — to increase profits and make the customer’s shopping experience more enjoyable than ever? Ted Lawrence, a well-known retail specialist with over 30 years of experience in the pool and spa industry, discusses best practices to maximize your retail sales. Not only will he suggest new products to increase revenues, he will discuss product placement, of both new and tried-and-true products, within your store to make the most of your retail square footage and warehouse space.
11:00am - 11:45am
Breakout Session
How to Win the Hearts,
Minds and Wallets of Your Prospects
Here’s the bottom line: It doesn’t matter what a customer’s vision or ideas are because when the customer sees that you care as much about their emotional needs and desires as they do, you’ll win their heart and their wallet.
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch
Networking Event
Share lunchtime meal with other pool & spa leaders.
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Tech Splash:
Investing in Technology for the Future
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Scott Webb • AQUA Magazine
Technology continues to drive our business. Game-changers, such as the variable-speed pump, advanced controls and the salt chlorine generator, have transformed the equipment pad, while smaller innovations, such as light, mobile pool vacuums and routing software, offer companies a significant tech edge in day-to-day operations. What new technologies and innovations will shape the future of the pool and spa industry, and where should owners and managers invest to give their companies an advantage in the decade to come?
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Hot Topic Roundtables
Roundtable
Speakers will be on hand to answer any (additional) questions you might have based on their seminars. Each roundtable participant will have the opportunity to discuss other ideas, topics and industry trends freely among their peers. Participants and speakers alike will take away new perspectives and information from the discussion.
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Reception
Networking Event
Enjoy this private reception for AQUA Live participants and vendors.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER
13th
8:00am - 8:45am
Breakfast
Networking Event
Breakfast in common area with all attendees.
9:15am - 10:15am
Pool and Hot Tub Industry Trends:
New Data on Revenue Generation, Project Backlogs, Employment and More
General Session
Sabeena Hickman • PHTA
Scott Hackworth • Industry Insights
How is your business doing compared to others in the industry? What challenges do pool and spa companies anticipate in the coming year?
PHTA and Industry Insights partnered together to launch a data collection survey from a variety of industry companies of all specialties and sizes, giving you a benchmark for your own performance. You will also gain insights into 2022, 2023 and predicted future earnings, and more. The results will give real data on how you can better serve consumers and become more adaptable in this ever-changing post-pandemic market.
10:30am - 11:30am
Employee Engagement
Comes Before Customer Engagement
General Session
Is your business relentlessly trying to enhance the customer experience? Instead, invest in your employees who represent you and your company every day. Helping them apply their talents in their roles is just the first step to your organization’s continuous improvement. In the long run, choosing the right way to onboard and train your employees can bring them up to speed faster and make them more successful. Once we address employee engagement, customer engagement will improve, as happy employees equals happy customers.
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Observations From the Next Generation
Lunch & Learn - Panel Discussion
Chase Decker • Tennessee Valley Pools & Spas
Michael Krause • First Response Pool Service
Maggie Wood • Hansen's Pool & Spa
Quietly, this industry is going through a shift change. Every month, every year, more veterans are stepping away from the job, and a new generation is clocking in, as we look to the energy and ingenuity of youth to steer this industry towards a future even brighter than the one bequeathed by the senior leaders, now putting down their tools. In this session, we talk to three successful newcomers, part of the emerging cohort that will lead the industry into mid-century, about their inheritance and the direction of growth in the coming years.
