Thursday, January 26, 2012

Executive Leadership Training for Residential Cleaning Companies


this picture was taken right around the corner from the hotel!

I am still in Orlando today.  I am on the board of the Association of Residential Cleanings Services International and we meet three times a year in person and this the big annual planning meeting.  We have a great plan for the year.  However I what I am really excited about right now is the ARCSI Executive Leadership Conference.  ARCSI has two big events a year.  The Convention is a 4 – 5 day event with lots of training tracks specific to our industry, big speakers like Annie Duke and Tom Peters, and a trade show with thousands of vendors of cleaning products and supplies.  The ELC is a much smaller and more intimate event.  It is a two day event and it is focused on business issues, not cleaning business, but any business.  This year is no different.

This year is no different.  This year the speakers are on sales, employee law, disaster planning, and pricing for profit.  Disaster planning hit especially close to home this year because two ARCSI members were hit by disasters.  One had her business and many of her customers flood out and another had her office building catch on fire.  Could your business survive this?  This is what one of our speakers will be covering.

I personally am excited about the sales training.  This is not one of those 1 hour previews then they ask you for more money for more details.  This is an all day long sales training starting at 8:30 AM and ending at 5:00 PM.  But we are not done yet.  After a break for dinner we get back together for two hours to break into teams to develop sales plans to take back to our businesses.  We want you to leave with a real actionable plan to take home.  Some people think they do not need sales because we are residential cleaners and not making sales calls on businesses.  I would strongly disagree.  Every in person estimate and networking event is sales.  To be clear, this is not a sleazy style of sales.  Real successful sales is understanding the pain points of your customer and bringing them solutions customized to their needs.  Sales is effective communication.    Here is the link to the official event page.

http://www.2012elc.org/
The board learned the hard way a few years ago to always try out of hotel before we have a meeting somewhere so for this meeting the board stayed in the hotel for ELC.  It is a fantastic hotel.  It is on the Disney campus and it is right across the street from downtown Disney which is full of restaurants and entertainment including Cirque de Soliel. 

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/


The ELC room rate is $99.00 a night and includes parking, high speed internet, and resort fees which is quite a deal.  The rooms are very nice and they include a refrigerator which saves a ton of money because you can keep breakfast and drinks in your room.  There are great pools and free children’s activities on the weekends.

Finally, this is one of the best weeks of the year to visit Disney. This is a great chance to mix some business and some pleasure.   In my opinion it is the best week.  Some weeks like right after Thanksgiving are a little less crowded but it can be cold.  (yes it dies get cold in this part of Florida).  April is a great time because the weather is warm enough to enjoy the heated pools at the hotel if you want but not hot at all.  And because it is right after Spring break ends, the park is largely empty.  You don’t have to take my word for it.  Here is a list of the top 10 weeks to visit Disney and this week is in the top 10.

http://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/10/20/2012-weeks-to-visit-walt-disney-world-ranked-in-order/


I am going and I hope to see a lot of you there too.  You do not need to be a member of ARCSI to attend.  Also don’t worry if you do not know anyone.  Shot me an email to let me know you are coming and I will meet you the first night to make some introductions and make sure you have someone to hang out with and get some meals.  email derek

2 comments:

Dee S. said...

Love this article, Derek. All of it absolutely true. As the co-chair of this event and a year-round resident of the Orlando area, attending the ELC AND being able to enjoy Downtown Disney is a win-win situation. Thank you for writing such an informative and positive article about the ELC and Orlando, FL. It was really nice to see you again. See you in April! Dee Strickland

Jeff Taylor said...

This is a good program. Good luck!

Jeff @ Life Coaching - Future Matters