Event Offers Targeted Education to Manufacturers and Dealers
Fenestration Day™

“Continued education is a key to success in today’s challenging business environment. Fenestration Day™ is a unique single-dayopportunity to attend a variety of seminars that offer insight into marketing, sales, legal and manufacturing topics,” says Ron Crowl, president FeneTech. The company, a past and current sponsor of Fenestration Day, wants companies to know that they will gain valuable insights through attending.

“FeneTech is proud to be associated with this event as there truly is something for everyone here.”

This “something for everyone,” includes tracks for both dealers and manufacturers, and some joint sessions (see information to the right for schedule). The event will be held April 12 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, where it will be co-located with Glass TEXpo™. The event is sponsored by DWM magazine.

Sponsors at press time include Deceuninck North America, FeneTech, improveit! 360, NT Window and Quanex Building Products. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with suppliers during the registration/coffee break and the networking lunch.

“With an industry that’s always evolving, meetings like Fenestration Day are important opportunities for us to share best practices and to hear first-hand about the challenges dealers and manufacturers are facing,” says Erin Johnson, director of marketing for Quanex. “This year’s lineup of seminars is the best so far. We look forward to taking part in the day of learning and networking with the fenestration industry’s top professionals.”

Joint Sessions Tackle Housing, Getting Social and Dealer/Manufacturer Feedback
The day will kick off with a joint session for both manufacturers and dealers, “Looking into Housing Markets’ Crystal Ball,” presented by David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. Crowe will highlight the current and forecasted economic and housing market activity as well as offer insights into the remodeling market.

The session is sponsored by Deceuninck North America based in Monroe, Ohio.

“The people speaking at the event are up to date on what’s going on as far as trends,” says David Jacobson, director of marketing for Deceuninck. “And it’s a way for us to communicate with the industry as well.”

After lunch the group will come together for, “Social Media Like You’ve Never Seen It.” The session will be co-presented by Tara Taffera, editor and publisher of DWM magazine, and Debra Levy, president of Key Communications Inc., DWM’s parent company, and is sponsored by NT Window in Fort Worth, Texas. The large group will then split into their respective tracks and Taffera and Levy will then drill down into more specific advice on how attendees can get the most out of their social media efforts.

“It is important for NT Window to act as advocates for our dealers and their changing needs. An event such as Fenestration Day helps to minimize that disconnect sometimes experienced between dealer and manufacturer,” says Ryon Ray, chief operating officer, NT Window. “Because of this, NT Window is excited to participate in this year’s event and hopes that our involvement will create further dealer participation.”

"The people speaking at the event are up to date on what’s going on as far as trends."
—David Jacobson, Deceuninck

NT’s Dennis Northcutt, national sales manager, will also be one of the participants in the closing joint session: “What Manufacturers and Dealers Want.” The panel will allow both dealers and manufacturers to lay it all on the line and share their thoughts regarding what they want from the other, and attendees will be asked to weigh in with their own feedback. Joining Northcutt will be Dan Wolt, president and founder, Zen Windows, Columbus, Ohio, with 22 years of experience in the window industry, and Scott Barr, steward, Southwest Exteriors, in San Antonio, Texas.

Individual Sessions: Manufacturers and Dealers Gain Specially Tailored Information
Michael Collins, managing director, building products group, Jordan, Knauff and Co. and a blogger and columnist for DWM magazine, will present two separate sessions—one in each track.

The Door and Window Industry Update for manufacturers will highlight his latest statistics on the door and window industry, including mergers and acquisitions. That session is sponsored by FeneTech.

When he speaks later in the day to dealers and distributors, Collins will highlight dealer trends and how to survive challenges. He will offer a look at market statistics regarding the door and window industry, as well as talk about some of the challenges facing two-step distributors and how to survive these challenging times. Attendees will also learn what successful dealers are doing to succeed.

Other sessions for manufacturers include “Guarding Against Green Claims; Green Certification Program Overview.” The first speaker in this session, Arlene Stewart, AZS Consulting, is known as an energy expert in the industry and will advise attendees on what to do when it comes to making green claims. She will also provide real-world applications and legal cases to prove that groups such as the Federal Trade Commission are indeed cracking down on green advertising or promotional materials that are sometimes misleading. The second speaker, Tracy Rogers, Quanex Building Products, and a member of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, will provide an overview of AAMA’s green certification program that is being finalized and planned for introduction later in 2012.

Another session for manufacturers, “The 10 Keys to Maximizing the Success of Your Dealer Network” will be presented by Jason Barr, president of improveit! 360. Find out why some dealers in your network succeed, rising and staying at the top, while others never seem to get out of the starting block or struggle to stay afloat. Barr will share tips to help manufacturers remove costly network fragmentation and improve network communication, collaboration, efficiencies and effectiveness.

Later in the day Barr will tell dealers, “How to Generate and Close More Leads for Less.” With the price of an issued lead around $300 each, the ability to generate quality leads and close these expensive investments is critical to a healthy bottom line, says Barr. He will demonstrate the importance of consistently nurturing leads until they’re ready to buy and how communicating regularly with all your prospects and customers can result in growth of 30 percent and more.

Dealers will also learn from an informative session, “Financing Options—Let’s Get Creative.”

Learn from Jim Plavecsky, owner of Windowtech Sales, who works with window companies on financing, as well as home improvement companies who have been especially successful in this arena. Additionally, Peter Micciche, CEO/president at Renewable Energy Equipment Leasing, will talk about different financing options available. Micciche works with various industries, including window companies, on financing solutions.

Register Today
Go to dwmmag.com/feneday to register. The event is free to those in the industry. Advanced registration deadline is March 23. Contact Tara Taffera at ttaffera@glass.com or 540/720/5584 x113 with questions.

Reserve your Room
The El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel is offering a discounted room rate of $110 per single/double, plus tax. This discounted room rate will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, until March 9, 2012. You can make your reservations by phone at 877/214-9768 or go to dwmmag.com/feneday and click on the hotel tab. Use group code: “KCI” for the discounted rate. Be sure to mention you are with Glass TEXpo.

DWM
© Copyright 2012 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.