Schedule of Events

Fertile Ground Webinar Series

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Recruit Talent To Your Garden Center for Today and Tomorrow

<p>Are you concerned with building your talent bench for now and into the future? The state of the labor market, especially in the green industry, means we must change our thinking about recruiting for our industry. </p><p>

  • How to recruit and onboard your employees, promoting retention.
  • Organization structure, development and social capital (culture). 
  • How to develop career paths and strategically plan for succession. 
  • Compensation: lead, match, or lag.</p>
Paige Franks
Speaker Paige Franks Senior Executive Search Advisor Best Human Capital & Advisory Group View Bio
Ben Molenda
Speaker Ben Molenda Senior Executive Search Advisor Best Human Capital & Advisory Group View Bio

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

From Digital Marketing Strategy to Winning Tactics
Join Rob Sproule, co-owner and marketing director of Salisbury, a 2020-2023 Top 100 Independent Garden Center, and owner of DIG Marketing as he offers insight into how to move from a broad digital marketing strategy to the daily tactics across digital platforms that will entice your customers and increase sales.
Rob Sproule
Speaker Rob Sproule Co-owner and marketing director Salisbury Greenhouse View Bio

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: How to Retain and Develop Your Team

It’s one thing to catch and another to keep - just because an employee was successfully hired and onboarded doesn’t guarantee tenure or long-term satisfaction with your company. Through positive efforts in professional development, incentives and company culture, your employee retention will improve, not to mention an increase in productivity, performance and morale.

Tina Lee
Speaker Tina Lee Owner DeWayne's View Bio
Karen Van Duyvendyk
Speaker Karen Van Duyvendyk Owner Dutch Growers Home & Garden View Bio

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Power pages: Websites for Garden Centers 101
Catalina Morales offers help with the scary task of improving your Garden Center website. Catalina is Director of DIG Marketing and this is her expertise. She spends a lot of time training owners on how to understand and take control of their website performance, hosting, security, maintenance and results so that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
Catalina Morales Vélez
Speaker Catalina Morales Vélez Digital Manager & Strategist Dig Marketing View Bio

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

What is Your End Game? Succession & Exit Planning Best Practices for the Green Industry
You've worked hard to build a business, and much of your personal wealth and assets may be tied up in your business, but sustaining them over the long term requires strategic planning, whether transferring to a family successor or a third-party buyer. Get ahead of ownership and leadership changes — with the tsunami of exits already occurring in the industry, only the best will sell. If you want the value of your business to grow and remain intact for your successors or achieve a higher selling price, begin the planning process sooner rather than later. This session will examine preparation, planning options, value building and transitional strategies, especially in highly owner-centralized companies.
Chris Cimaglio, CEPA®, Certified Value Builder™, MBA
Speaker Chris Cimaglio, CEPA®, Certified Value Builder™, MBA Managing Director Pivotpoint Business Solutions & BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group View Bio

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Leveraging Your List: Email, SMS and loyalty programs
Rob Sproule focuses on how IGC can use their greatest marketing asset - the lists they own - to create data-driven tactics that will engage Millennial customers in a way that the “one size fits all” approach just doesn’t. In addition to emails, Rob will help you understand how SMS and loyalty programs can add additional value.
Rob Sproule
Speaker Rob Sproule Co-owner and marketing director Salisbury Greenhouse View Bio