EDUCATION

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Knowledge Central

Learn from the best in the business and enhance your skillset at free Knowledge Central sessions on Friday, September 5.
Session details coming soon.

Build Teams That Work (and Want to) with EI

Whitney Bandemer

Whitney Bandemer, WB Consulting

Strong, productive teams don’t just happen. They’re developed by leaders who know how to connect with people. Explore how Emotional Intelligence (EI) can transform the way you lead, communicate, and bring out the best in your team. Whether you’re leading a team or an entire store, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to strengthen your leadership and build a team that works.

Start with the End in Mind: Grow Your Enterprise Value

Rod Bristol

Rod Bristol, Profit Soup

Create a five-year plan based on an owner’s desired sale price and learn what is required in sales and profits to achieve it. Explore how businesses are valued through a store case study that demonstrates how growing sales and profit lift business value.

Unlocking Growth with Customer Stratification in Epicor BisTrack

michael roise

Michael Roise, Epicor

Discover how classifying customers by profitability, revenue, loyalty, and cost to serve (CTS) can drive smarter business decisions for your lumber yard. This session will explore how Customer Stratification leads to better inventory management and optimized pricing strategies–helping you maximize returns on your sales and service efforts.

Managing Vendor Relations 

Greg Barratt

Gregg Barratt, Communico

Learn how to establish strong, mutually beneficial vendor partnerships through clear communications, relationship building, setting realistic expectations, and proactively addressing issues.

True Value Manufacturing Product Overview

dan reed

Dan Reed, True Value

Learn about all the products offered by your paint factory and how you can utilize them to be more competitive and add profit to your store.

Operational Efficiency: Streamline, Simplify, Succeed

scott morrison

Scott Morrison, Do it Best

Discover how to streamline your lumber yard, home center, or manufacturing facility using proven tools and procedures. Explore practical strategies to reduce waste, improve workflow, and maximize efficiency. Walk away with the tools to create a more organized, efficient, and customer-friendly operation.

Hammer Time: Nailing Soft Skills for Retail Success

cody goeppner

Cody Goeppner, NHPA

In the home improvement industry, tools and materials might sell the job, but it’s the people who bring customers back. This session explores the often overlooked yet highly impactful soft skills that transform new hires into high-performing, customer-centric professionals. Learn how to develop employees who not only represent the brand well but also enhance the overall customer journey.

Level Up: Using Coaching Skills to Lead the Next Generation of Employees

Lindsay-Boccardo

Lindsay Boccardo, Lindsay Boccardo Training & Coaching

Leadership has changed dramatically–where we used to have top-down authority, we now see leaders creating conversations with those they are leading. Explore the expectations that different generations have around leadership and how listening and collaborating in teams are now the benchmarks of a progressive workplace culture.

Positively Negotiate Work Drama: How to Stop Complainers & Energy Drainers to Get More Done

linda-swindling

Linda Swindling, Journey On Speaking & Training

Constant complainers take up resources, time, and mental bandwidth in the workplace. Changing even one complainer to a contributor can improve communication, boost morale, and increase productivity. Explore reasons why people are creating drama so that you can diffuse conflicts and address problems productively.

Tile Design Trends & Tile Installation 101

Randall-Sheehee

Randall Sheehe, Emser Tile

Design is a work of passion. Creating spaces that are as beautiful as they are functional does not happen by accident. This session explores design and color trends as well as provides an overview of installation basics including a how-to for shower systems and waterproofing.

Boost Your Sales: Marketing, SEO & Ecommerce Strategies for Success

prows and lehman

Skiler Lehman & Corbin Prows, Do it Best
This session is NOT about why you need to have an online presence. This session is about strategies, tactics, and operational execution to be successful in driving online sales AND customers into your retail locations.

Lumber Panel Discussion

rob-williams_

Rob Williams, Do it Best

Explore the current state of the market with lumber mill representatives during an interactive session that addresses member and retailer concerns through Q&A.

Mastering Inventory with Epicor Eagle Tools

Tom Taylor

Thom Taylor, Epicor

Take control of your inventory with the powerful tools built into Epicor Eagle. This session walks through the full lifecycle of inventory management–from purchasing and receiving to shelf management, pricing, and location coding. Learn how to maintain a healthy balance of high-volume and high-margin items while identifying and managing dead inventory.

Turn Your Paint Department into a Paint Destination

dan reed

Dan Reed, True Value

Learn how to make your paint department a paint destination by learning how to sell paint, not just mix it. Explore how to utilize the “5 Ps of Retailing” to not only grow your paint sales but make your store a paint destination.

DEAL Courageously: The Secret to Negotiating and Influencing Those You Lead

linda-swindling

Linda Swindling, Journey On Speaking & Training

More than ever, business owners and leaders must know how to effectively negotiate in order to be successful. In this presentation, you will learn how to become a better negotiator and leader through research-backed tactics and proven strategies that work in real life. Harness the power of positive influence, persuasion, and negotiation.

Digital Edge: Leveraging Technology, Social Media & AI for Success

Stefanie Couch

Stefanie Couch, GRIT Blueprint

Learn to use technology to transform every aspect of your business. This session will explore the latest AI updates and enhancements, covering everything from streamlining operations and improving customer service to boosting social media strategies and training programs.

Maximizing Use of Member Catalog

campbell and prows

Mark Campbell & Corbin Prows, Do it Best

Join your Do it Best team to learn about the features and functions of Member Catalog.

The Power of a Brand

jenna-magnuson-jessica-jancik

Jenna Magnuson & Jessica Jancik, True Value

This is a great session for both Do it Best members and True Value retailers. When local ownership meets national branding, the result is a powerful combination of community connection and consumer trust. It allows independent retailers to tap into marketing power and nationwide credibility that would be difficult to build alone, while still meeting their community's needs. This presentation explores how the strength of a unified brand can drive individual store success and create a competitive edge in any market.

Business Succession Planning:  Assuring the Successful Continuation of Your Do it Best and True Value companies while Navigating New Tax Law Shift and Labor Challenges

lee and terry resnick

Leon B. Resnick & Terrance K. Resnick, Resnick Succession Group

Typically, the more successful business owners become, they also become more vulnerable. Learn about the 1/1/2026 federal estate tax law change that could have a direct impact on the wealth and future health of your business. Explore why profitable businesses fail, the importance of coordinating business succession plans with estate plans, liquidity issues, and more.

Local Store Marketing: Digital Strategies to Drive More Leads

Chad-Jordan

Chad Jordan, Eulerity

Learn easy-to-implement ideas for using digital marketing tactics to attract new customers and get repeat business. Discover secrets from digital marketing professionals that are NOT complicated to implement, including the Online “Gold Mine,” free methods for increasing online visibility, and next-level strategies for net-level results.

Best in Class Retail By the Numbers

Dave-Gowan

Dave Gowan, NHPA

This seminar will present attendees with highlights from the latest version of the NHPA Cost of Doing Business Study (CODB). Learn how the industry’s best-in-class retailers are consistently delivering stronger bottom-line results by better managing their operations and focusing on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Identify which KPIs can make the greatest impact and how to use the CODB to create a roadmap for improvement and the secrets of the industry’s top performers.