Create Longevity With Your Team
Let’s face it: Loyal employees are worth their weight in gold, and keeping quality staff members who are committed to growth and consistent service excellence is paramount to your company’s success. Walk away with a toolkit to build your longevity program including maintaining long-term employees through engagement techniques, individual growth paths, financial security, recognition initiatives, work-life balance, and more. Don’t give them a job, show them a career.
Presented by: Kristin Hundley of Limousine Connection, Mark Kini of Boston Chauffeur, and Scott Woodruff of Majestic Limo & Coach
Give Peace a Chance: Workplace Conflict Resolution
No matter how well your team gets along, conflict is inevitable because of differences in personalities, priorities, backgrounds, and preferences. Leaders who model good interpersonal behavior and effective communication skills can create a culture in which conflict leads to growth and innovation, not alienation. Davis will demonstrate when to take a hands-off approach, when to get involved, and how to use conflict to encourage a growth mindset.
Presented by: Christina Davis of The LMC Group
M&A Day, Part #2: The Nuts & Bolts of Making It Happen
Part two of our M&A content will dive deep into valuating your business and the most common obstacles many face during a buy-out. Ask any operator experienced in M&A to describe the single biggest headache they experience during a negotiation, and they will more than likely say it’s an overly inflated valuation by the seller. During this session, our speakers will tell you how to gauge a fair determination of a business’ worth in its current market, so that when it comes time to sell, you’ll have a smooth transaction that’s beneficial to both parties.
Overview: These sessions will cover the all-important topic of valuating your business and the economic and legal hurdles faced during a buy-out. We have an all-star panel of experts with recent experience in M&A, including leading business consultant Andi Gray of Strategy Leaders, attorneys Marlene Bartolo from the Bartolo Law Group and Drew Morris from Nachmias Morris & Alt, as well as firsthand experience from industry insiders like Leros Point to Point COO Michael Basso, Windy City Limousine & Bus CEO George Jacobs, and Broadway Elite Worldwide President & COO Jason Sharenow. You will leave these sessions with a full understanding of the ins and outs of M&A.
M&A Day, Part #1: Getting Prepared for the Deal
It’s no secret that luxury ground transportation as we know it is shrinking, due both to natural attrition and the competition from disruptors. And with many in the industry aging, it’s high time that operators of all stages in life give serious thought to preparing an exit strategy. With these trends in mind, we’ve devoted our Tuesday education segments to the increasingly relevant topic of mergers & acquisitions. Our morning session will provide insight as to why you should be looking to sell as well as all the necessary preparation required and the pitfalls to avoid. Regardless of whether you’re years or even decades away from exiting the biz, this session will offer a valuable roadmap of where the industry is going, and some of the roadblocks you can avoid along the way.
Overview: These sessions will cover the all-important topic of valuating your business and the economic and legal hurdles faced during a buy-out. We have an all-star panel of experts with recent experience in M&A, including leading business consultant Andi Gray of Strategy Leaders, attorneys Marlene Bartolo from the Bartolo Law Group and Drew Morris from Nachmias Morris & Alt, as well as firsthand experience from industry insiders like Leros Point to Point COO Michael Basso, Windy City Limousine & Bus CEO George Jacobs, and Broadway Elite Worldwide President & COO Jason Sharenow. You will leave these sessions with a full understanding of the ins and outs of M&A.
Reading the Signs to Be a Better Negotiator
Believe it or not, being an effectual business negotiator requires skills that owe more to Sherlock Holmes than, say, Dale Carnegie. The ability to interpret the mannerisms, tone of voice, or involuntary personal tics of an associate or sales prospect will help you gain the upper hand in managing employees and finalizing a deal in your favor. This session will help you identify what cues to read and what to ignore when working with clients, vendors, affiliates, and employees. The presentation will show how to use these “detective” skills to better read people during face-to-face conversations, email, and phone calls, and also provide you with the lowdown on understanding your own emotional intelligence. Are you as emotionally intelligent as you think or do you need to change your approach when reading other people?
Presented by: Dr. Jennifer Beer, award-winning professor at the University of Texas
Lead Smarter By Letting Go
As a business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult for an owner/operator to effectively focus on growth while juggling the many day-to-day responsibilities of a luxury ground transportation company. This session will equip you to be a more effective and efficient leader and give you tools to build a smarter and more-engaged team around you. By being deliberate about where you spend your time and energy, you can develop your team to be more engaged, entrusted, and accountable for the results your business needs today and in the future. Leading smarter by letting go requires you to know WHY you must let go, WHAT you must let go of, WHO you must let go to, and WHEN the right time to let go is. By the end of this session, you will have the answers to all four questions for your own business.
Presented by: Dean Ash, Co-Founder of 360 Consulting and Jolynda Ash, SVP of Human Resources for Gold’s Gym
Rules of the Road: Staying on Top of Bus and Motorcoach Regulations
Eliminate the anxiety of the stress out of DOT compliance with this invaluable and informative session conveniently held on our show floor. Through a mock DOT audit administered by our experienced presenters, attendees will get a clear understanding of DOT and DOL components facing the bus and motorcoach industry, learn the importance of stringent record keeping and hours of service logs, and evaluate the advantages of ELDs. Regulations and guidelines and relating to substance abuse testing will also be discussed, giving you everything you need to follow the rules of the road.
Presented by: Joe Guinn, Owner of Limousine & Bus Compliance
Moderated by: Jason Sharenow, COO of Broadway Elite
Client Retention and Proactive Service Recovery in a Buyer’s Market
Largely due to the rise of TNCs in the ground transportation market, it’s become clear that we are in the midst of a buyer’s market. As a result, if your company isn’t doing everything possible to accommodate and cater to your client base then they’re likely to find another service. This session is designed to help your company be as a proactive as possible when it comes to retaining your client base. You’ll learn the benefits of keeping ahead of the curve and having policies in place to appease clients when a customer service issue arises.
Presented by: Colin Devine, CEO of Devine's Worldwide Chauffeur Services and Mike Zappone, President of All Transportation Network
Moderated by: Jason Sharenow, COO of Broadway Elite
Leveraging Employee-Focused Leadership With Personality Testing
More than just a psychological evaluation, personality tests like the Myers-Briggs are being recognized in the business world as valuable tools that allow managers to more effectively understand and lead their staff. Not only that, teaching your staff to be keenly read people and be aware of different personality traits can help them serve clients better both on the phone and in person. Our team will provide an overview of the different personality tests available to business and show you how you can benefit from their adoption.
Presented by: Stephanie Carnes, Client Solutions Provider of The LMC Group and Sami Elotmani, VP of Operations and Global Partnerships of Destination MCO
Moderated by: Kristen Carroll, Founder/CEO of the LMC Group
2018 State of the Industry
For a candid look and deep dive into the hottest trends and most pressing issues of the chauffeured transportation industry, join CD Publisher Chris Weiss as he moderates this esteemed and diverse panel of operators.
They will offer their perspectives on current—and future—topics facing operators around the world, including the perpetual difficulty of finding chauffeurs and CDL drivers, methods to advance your business in the current climate, different areas in which companies are finding success, and the ways autonomous vehicles may disrupt the ground transportation space down the line.
Moderated by: CD Publisher Chris Weiss, the panel features: Kristina Bouweiri, President & CEO of Reston Limousine; Mike Fogarty, President of Addison Lee Group North America; Mike Pinckard, CEO of Total Transit