Workshops - Tuesday
7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Developing Customer Loyalty in the Digital Age
Jim McCann, 1-800-Flowers.com, Carle Place, NY
Jim McCann, entrepreneur, online pioneer and early adopter of new technologies, will share an overview of the most effective online tools and social media outlets and explain how they can be used to help build and maintain meaningful relationships and drive more revenue for your business. (2 CE hours)
Sponsored by Frazer Consultants
Managing Mass Fatality Situations
Presented by CANA
Lance Peterson, Ogden, UT
This workshop will provide an introduction to mass fatality incidents and the various operations that need to be organized and managed in order for a community to respond to and recover from mass fatalities. The course will cover the main tasks that need to be done to plan for, operate at the scene of and recover from mass fatality incidents. (2 CE hours)
Real Directors, Real Technology, Real Results
Mel Pennington IV, Brown Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home, Hartsville, SC
Walker Posey, Posey Funeral Directors, North Augusta, SC
As practicing funeral directors with family histories covering well over 100 years in funeral service, we will discuss what technology has done to increase our business and help us better connect with the families we serve today. Our discussion will include strategies for using the Internet to educate and interact with real-world scenarios; and simple, measurable things you can do today to more effectively use technology in your business to increase call volume, better communicate your brand and more effectively connect with families. (2 CE hours)
Sponsored by Nomis Publications
Small-town America in the Aftermath of Tragedy
Patrick Dean, Wisconsin Grief Education Center, Waterford, WI
Patrick Dean spent two years working with the community of Crandon, Wisconsin, following their tragedy of October 7, 2007, when 20-year-old police officer Tyler Peterson murdered six of his friends (ages 14-20) and then died by suicide a few hours later. Dean's story of grief and its aftermath will increase your understanding of how to help members of your community through a major tragedy. (2 CE hours)
The New Consumer: You Can't Connect With Your Customers if You Don't Know Who They Are!
Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer, Kizer & Bender Speaking! St. Charles, IL
Your customers come in all ages, shapes and sizes, but they're more similar than they are different, right? Wrong. The people who walk in the front door of your funeral home come from different generations, with markedly different values, attitudes and methods of communication. Why should you care about how your customers think? Because each new customer brings with them a set of perceptions and expectations, and your ability to meet their needs depends on how much you know about people. Not an easy task in today's diverse world! (2 CE hours)
Sponsored by Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc.
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Difficult-case Embalming and Creating the Smile
Matt Smith, Oxford, MI
Here's your chance to see a never-before-presented workshop on severe trauma with massive restoration and surgery to the face and body, including rebuilding the skull bones and skin restoration with wax work, cosmetology and airbrush techniques. You'll also learn how to create "the smile," a very popular and requested technique. (1 CE hour)
Employee Motivation and Morale: Getting Results Through People
William Ford, SESCO Management Consultants, Bristol, TN
A workforce that looks forward to work every morning will be more efficient, effective and profitable. Poor morale is the primary driver of dissension, turnover and inefficiency. In order for leaders to motivate their employees, they need to know the underlying principles of motivation and morale. To help them apply these principles, this program balances theory with application and real-world development ideas. This workshop is geared toward managers and owners. (1 CE hour)
Sponsored by Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc.
Formaldehyde – Health Effects, Precautions and Its Future: An Update
Carol Green, Law Offices of Carol Lynn Green, Bethesda, MD
Edward Ranier, Ranier Law, Timonium, MD
This important presentation 1.) will review NEW 2011 domestic and international agency decisions and reports on formaldehyde from the NAS, EPA, HHS, OSHA and EU Biocides; and 2.) guide the audience in how to avoid health risks and safe use of formaldehyde. This is a mustsee presentation for those concerned with safe use and continued availability of formaldehyde as an embalming product. (1 CE hour)
What's So Special About a Funeral Home/Cemetery Combination?
Frank Rosenacker, Rosenacker & Associates, Cincinnati, OH
Consumers are inundated with so-called one-stop shops, with Walmart as the leading example. Consumers frequent these stores for their convenience, and they will frequent one-stop funeral home/cemetery combinations for the same reason. Perhaps consolidation of funeral homes and cemeteries makes sense. All of this while still remaining independent and in control of your destiny. This presentation is for funeral home and cemetery owners or managers. (1 CE hour)