Breakout Sessions I

Soft Skills: The Interpersonal Skills Everyone Should Have to Be Successful in Life and Business
Grunder Landscaping has focused on teaching their team members work skills for years, but they recently added soft-skills workshops to their training program. They've found that a little bit of training helps their team to work more cohesively and communicate better with clients. In this session, Marty Grunder will teach the soft skills that he teaches his own team and will give you the tools to lay out your own soft skills workshop for your team.
Lone Star Ballroom

Work Perks: Top Tips on Effective Hiring to Beat Out the Competition for Your Open Roles
Learn ways to improve job design and interview process that will help you fill your open roles with David Garza of McFarlin Stanford. He'll cover how to go through the selection process, offer and call out effective recruiting tips to give you the best shot at filling your open roles.
Breakout Room A

Efficiency Masters: How Maintenance Companies Streamline Operations
Malone's Landscape in Seattle, WA has the maintenance model figured out. The renewing revenue that comes from maintenance work is appealing to many companies, but being cost-competitive and staying efficient on each visit is important to the company's competitive advantage and profitability. In this session, Ryan Malone and Jason New will share how they manage maintenance services to keep clients happy and also keep the company on track.
Breakout Room B

Safety Training: How to Create a Program Approved by Safety Steve
Vermeer Corporation has safety in mind in everything they do. In this session, learn from Trevor Koolmees how you can create your own safety training program so that your team members are working safely out in the field.
Breakout Room C

Bad Economies Happen to Good People: Managing Cash Whether the Economy Goes Up, Down, or Sideways
In this session, you will learn the principles of cash flow and how to leverage cash as the overall health of the US economy changes or stays the same. Led by Jennifer Murray, this session will show you how to manage your cash accordingly so you can thrive whether the economy goes up, down, or sideways.
Breakout Room D

Not Just Order Takers: Sales and Marketing Efforts to Drive Business Growth, No Matter the Economy
The economy has been great for years now, and that may continue, or it may not. Either way, the landscaping companies that continue to get ahead will be the ones that align their sales and marketing efforts, go after the business they want, and communicate well with their ideal clients. In this session, Emily Lindley will share best practices for aligning your sales and marketing efforts to reach your goals for 2023.
Breakout Room E

Lights Out: How to Use FX Luminaire's Free Tool to Quickly Sell More Lighting Projects (Hint - lighting makes great winter work!)
Landscape lighting extends the value of a landscape, allowing us to enjoy and feel safe in these spaces as night falls. This value relates directly to project profitability as landscape end-users see and realize the importance of investing in these spaces. Join us as we review fantastic lighting techniques and go-to-market approaches to expand your outdoor lighting services.
Breakout Room F

Breakout Sessions II

An Engaged Team is an Efficient Team: A Case Study on How Our 2023 Hosts Summit Landscape & Design Drove Engagement Within their Team
An engaged team is a more productive and stable one, and studies have shown that higher engagement leads to lower turnover. In this session, Megan Parker and Tracy Wallingford will show how Summit Landscape & Design used the Gallup Survey to take feedback directly from the team to improve engagement.
Lone Star Ballroom

Award-Winners: How Companies Design and Build Beautiful Properties While Scaling Their Operation
There's no question, these companies do beautiful work. They work on beautiful properties, and they make them even more stunning. In this session, Gene Freeman from Complete Landsculpture, Jason Cromley of Hidden Creek Landscapes, and LeAnn Ostheimer from Lifescape Colorado will share how their family-run business has scaled up their design-build work as the company's grown, and what they do to manage their sales and installation process. This panel will be moderated by Tommy Cole.
Breakout Room A

Make Water, Make Money: How to Link Automation, Labor Efficiency, and GROW Irrigation Profits 3x!
Learn how the industry’s top 150 use SmartLink technology to link automation, labor efficiency, and sustainability for 3x profitability. We all know irrigation labor is the hardest to find and most expensive, so now is the time to take action and make money! Join Weathermatic’s Brodie Bruner as he shares how you can use smart irrigation technology and mobile app-based inspections with automated proposals to generate 20% of your maintenance revenue through high-profit water-management services. You’ll leave with a formal program you can execute immediately to achieve your customer retention and business development goals—with no additional labor or upfront capital investment.
Breakout Room B

Production Hour Management: Maximize Every Hour, Every Time
While our companies do landscaping work, what we're all really selling is hours. When it gets down to it, you have to plan to manage every hour, every time to be successful in the landscaping industry. Join Gage Roberts and the Aspire team to learn how to not only manage hours but educate your operations team on how to live and die by them. 
Breakout Room C

Adding Profit Centers to Your Business
Once you have established your business base, our industry has other profit centers that are natural add-ons. Whether it’s tree work, maintenance, construction, pest control or lawn care, this session, led by Chris Psencik and Michael Bosco, will show you how to evaluate and grow new profit centers to expand your existing business and grow your company.
Breakout Room D

On the Defensive: How to Lock Down Your Key Employees
You've likely heard it before: Employees don't leave companies, they leave managers. In a tight labor market, your key talent is likely getting calls and LinkedIn messages from headhunters. How do you make sure your company is where they want to stay? In this session, Vince Torchia and Jennifer Murray will speak to the leadership and financial tactics you and your company should be taking now to play defense and retain your key team members.
Breakout Room E

Life-Cycle of A Business: A Letter from Future You
Most entrepreneurs have a vision for their business when starting. It is always a glass-half-full view, or they wouldn’t have started. In reality, many ‘surprises’ can cause the plan to go off track, and either the road to success is longer and more difficult, or they fail altogether. There are ways to avoid the ‘surprises’ or be prepared to respond before it causes problems, including systems for managing CRM, Schedule, Accounting, Time Keeping etc. The key is connecting your staff, your management team, your customers and your subs to the system and each other. This session will be lead by Peter Guinane in conjunction with LMN/Greenius.
Breakout Room F

Breakout Sessions III

Quality Matters: Creating Quality Standards You Can Train Your Team To
If your unique value proposition is all about quality work: this session is for you! Marty Grunder of The Grow Group and Grunder Landscaping Co. will share the quality standards they hold their team to for residential work and how they train their teams to deliver on every job they do.
Lone Star Ballroom

From Gas to Battery.  Considerations, Challenges, Opportunities
Many states have already begun the movement of transitioning equipment and cars from gas-powered to electric. With this movement taking full force in states such as California as early as 2024, many landscape companies are not ready for this transition. Whether deciding for a market advantage, in response to customer requests, or in response to regulatory pressures, Roger Phelps (STIHL), Andrew Bray (NALP), and Dan Mabe (AGZA) will discuss some of the considerations, challenges, and opportunities to aid you in the process of transitioning to an electric fleet or equipment.
Breakout Room A

Time Management for Landscape Teams: How to Manage Teams and Time to Win
Manage your time more effectively and establish a rhythm within your team that will make everyone more productive and efficient. In this session, Jason New and Jim Cali will walk through how leaders can improve communication and run efficient meetings to give everyone more time back in their days.
Breakout Room B

Learning to Lead Through Strengths
Research shows that managers are the single most influential factor contributing toward team engagement and performance. Whether you're looking to better your company culture, increase employee engagement, or improve relationships with customers, it all hinges on the quality of the managers. Join Megan Parker and Tracy Wallingford as we explore the 7 key things managers need to do to positively influence their team.
Breakout Room C

Stair Stepping Growth: How to Know When It's Time for Your Next Hire
Many companies have worked hard and managed rapid growth over the past few years, leaving many asking, "When should I hire a general manager? A salesperson? An HR expert?" In this session, Vince Torchia and Chris Psencik will boil down how you should be watching to know when it's time to hire the next salesperson or operations manager. You'll leave with a clearer understanding of whether it's time to hire or whether you should wait a bit longer.
Breakout Room D

Fluent in Finance: How to Read and Understand Financial Statements
Understanding what key financial statements, like your profit and loss statement, are telling you is critically important both for owners and for landscape leaders. In this session, Liz Helton and Tommy Cole will break down the key financial statements you should know how to read, what to look for, and what the numbers mean for your business. By the end, you'll have a better understanding of your financial statements and how to use the information in them to make business decisions.
Breakout Room E

Okay, What am I Worth? Basics of Your Company Value and How to Grow It
Join Jennifer Murray to learn the basics of how the valuation process should work. She'll arm you with knowledge so you know what to expect, and what warning signs to look for. This is not just for those looking to buy or sell their company, but for those who want to understand what their company is worth and how they can drive more value. 
Breakout Room F

Breakout Session IV

Q&A with the Summit Team
This is your chance: any questions you had for the Summit Landscape & Design team that weren't answered during the tour or during our Start, Stop, Keep session can be answered here. Their leadership team will be available to take your questions and this session will be moderated by Tommy Cole. 
Lone Star Ballroom

Don't Take the Monkey! How to Coach Your Team Members To Problem Solve
Empowering leaders to grow their skillsets and encouraging team members to problem solve is one of the many ways that great leaders create more leaders. In this session, Megan Parker and Tracy Wallingford will share tactics leaders can use to encourage their direct reports to take control of their own "Monkeys" with open-ended questions like "What do you think is our best option?"
Breakout Room A

Follow the Recipe: How to Create a Business Plan to Set Your Company Up for Future Success
Often we are successful because we "take care of business." When it matters, we take advantage of opportunities for our clients and team, and our hard work allows us to win. That strategy often works in the short term, but it doesn't work in the long term. So, what can you do about it? Make a plan. In this session led by Jason New and David Marlow, you will learn how to make a plan for your business and, more importantly, how to stick to it. 
Breakout Room B

Warning Signs: Fix Production Issues Before They Become Critical
When economists try to predict what will come next, they look at leading indicators. Numbers that, in the past, have accurately predicted what would come next. In landscaping operations, what are your leading indicators? When you see one start to falter, what can you do to right the ship before your whole season is sunk? In this session, we'll outline what metrics can be a sign of issues within your production operations and what to do when you start to see the numbers slip.
Breakout Room C

Are You Well? Financial Signs You Should be Watching
In landscaping, what are your leading indicators? Are there symptoms of potential illness in your company? In this session, led by Jennifer Murray, you'll learn what you can do to improve the overall health of your business and follow a case study of our hosts, Summit Landscape and Design, that shows what results can be achieved with a simple financial check-up. 
Breakout Room D

Sell More to Your Existing Clients: Maximize Your Revenue Per Property in 2023
There’s one source of additional revenue that is often overlooked: your existing clients. Adding services or selling enhancements for existing clients is one of the best ways to increase your profitability and revenue simultaneously. In this session, Marty Grunder and Emily Lindley will share the sales and marketing tactics that Grunder Landscaping uses to increase their average revenue per client.
Breakout Room E

Set Future Leaders Up for Success: Give New Team Members the Information They Need to GROW
Now more than we are giving our team members opportunities to grow within our growing organizations. Setting up your new leaders for success is critical to their success and your growth, especially in their early days in a new role. In this session, you will learn the things you must do to set your new leaders up for success the first time around from David Garza and Chris Psencik.
Breakout Room F

Breakout Sessions V

Keep Gas in the Car! How Sales Professionals Can Close More Sales, Even If Demand Wanes
Sales are to your business what gas is to a car, it can't run without it. In this session, fan-favorite sales teachers Marty Grunder and Chris Psencik will share the strategies, tactics, and tips they rely on to sell even when demand declines. As landscape professionals who were selling in 2008, they've seen economic downturns before and helped their companies weather the storm.
Lone Star Ballroom

Modern Workforces: How to Create a Workplace Where Everyone Wants to Work
GROW! 2023 Host Summit Landscape & Design has intentionally built a company culture where everyone feels valued and welcome. In this session, owners Jonathan and Josiah Peterson will share their philosophy on managing their team and what they do to nurture their fun-loving and inclusive company culture.
Breakout Room A

Innovations in Operations: Using the Latest and Greatest Best Practices To Operate More Efficiently
In this session, led by Jason New and Tommy Cole, you will learn about all the innovations you should be leveraging, from landscape & irrigation to maintenance & lawn care and event fleet & equipment. This is a can't-miss for operations leaders looking to drive margins, increase efficiency, and reduce headaches for them and their direct reports. 
Breakout Room B

Organizing Your Financial Team For Success: CFO vs. Controller vs. Clerk
Setting your finance team up for success means having the right roles for your company and its needs. In this session led by Jim Cali and Liz Helton, we will explore what a CFO does, what a Controller does, when you might need clerks for AR and AP, and how they work together to get you financial information you need at your company. 
Breakout Room C

Buying and Selling: What to Do and Not Do In Acquisitions No Matter Which Side You Are On
Whether you're a buyer or a seller, navigating acquisitions can be tricky. In this session, Vince Torchia will outline what companies can do to avoid common pitfalls and ensure a successful acquisition. 
Breakout Room D

On Camera: How Video Content Can Build Your Social Media Presence
This session will lead attendees through the different social media platforms, and the importance of using video content to grow your business. You’ll leave the session with a content calendar to assist in planning your own engaging video posts for various social channels. Mark Linkletter, Manager, Business Development for AriensCo along with Travis Cleven, Social Media Specialist will introduce you to ways that AriensCo utilizes video content to engage prospects and customers.
Breakout Room E

Manage Change Within Your Organization: Change is Constant, So Let's Learn to Manage It
To survive in today’s business environment, you need to be agile and adaptable, and you need to embrace change. Great leaders can help their teams overcome challenges and change course. In this session, we will review what you can do to lead your people through change. This session will be led by Damien Leibold, Change Management leader at SiteOne. 
Breakout Room F