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This presentation covers technology areas that are available to installers, service providers and pumpers. It provides a general overview for companies with office and field technicians. Topics include: 1. Benefits and limitations of both PC-based software programs and cloud-based programs2. Working remotely from home during the COVID-19 crisis2. Field service scheduling options3. Mapping and routing options for field personnelJon Denney, owner of SAFE Software, is a Texas native and graduated with a marketing degree from Texas State University in 1994. He played golf in the high school, college and professional ranks until accepting a position with a heavy-equipment company in 1996. His time with that company introduced him to the importance of excellent customer service and allowed him to teach safety training courses. In 2001, he joined his father and introduced the SAFE Software Program to health departments and the private environmental health industry. With more than 20 years of experience, he has become proficient in software design, programming and public speaking.

We will discuss in layman's terms how businesses making small, but impactful moves now end up making big moves upward in the near future ... often for reasons you cannot foresee today.Josh Yudin is founder and CEO of The Academy of Marketing, an institute devoted to studying the fundamentals of consumer behavior and marketing, as well as teaching media companies, marketers and businesses how those fundamentals can grow their brands and businesses. Both a teacher and student of the fundamentals of advertising, Yudin has a keen understanding of those fundamentals and counsels executives at some of the largest media companies in the world, including Comcast/NBC Universal, NPR and Spectrum Reach, and works directly with local companies across the U.S. to develop and grow their businesses.Through the academic Alumni Scholarship, Yudin earned his marketing degree from the University of Georgia in 1995. He then joined the family manufacturing business as vice president of international development. That business was eventually sold, and Yudin began his career in media and sales management — culminating in the founding of The Academy of Marketing as a marketing agency — eventually earning Fortune 500 clients such as Bosch GmbH, as well as regional and local brands in need of sales and marketing development. The Academy of Marketing focuses on three primary business verticals, honing its expertise through years of experience in how consumers behave in these areas specifically: media, health care and home services.

Let’s talk about trademarks, copyrights, patents and related litigation with respect to how these topics relate to wastewater service providers, dealers and distributors. Specifically, we will discuss why trademarks, trade dress, brands, branding, and product and store names are important considerations for these individuals and companies. Learn the steps individuals and companies should take if they are the subject of trademark infringement or accused of infringing another’s trademark. We will also discuss utility and design patents, what protection patents provide to the patent owner, what to do if a person or company is accused of patent infringement, and the law of copyright as it concerns websites and related media. Gary Lambert is the founder of and managing partner at Lambert Shortell & Connaughton. He has obtained hundreds of patents and registered trademarks for his clients in areas as diverse as mechanical, electrical, software, business methods, biotechnology, computer systems, musical instruments, energy and environmental innovations. Lambert has a special interest and expertise in the energy and environmental areas of patent law and worked on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the New Hampshire Senate as the state senator representing Nashua from 2010-12. Lambert has resolved many intellectual property disputes between patent/trademark/copyright owners and alleged infringers, either by litigation, mediation, arbitration or settlement. Additionally, he has an extensive and unique litigation background, having successfully tried hundreds of jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. Lambert holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology and was admitted as an attorney at age 24 in 1984, the same year he graduated from law school with a doctorate in jurisprudence with honors. He is admitted as a registered attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. Lambert also served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for more than 35 years and retired in 2014.

Listen in for an in-depth review of a new selling paradigm, how it works, how-tos and tips on how to make the shift, as well as DIY tasks and tools for creating content to position your firm as a thought leader and the answer provider. Learn how to use social media effectively, when and how to implement email campaigns to convert, must-haves for your website, the virtual selling habits of successful online marketers and more. Suzan Chin-Taylor is CEO of Creative Raven and founder of The TUIT Group. Chin-Taylor has more than 25 years’ experience in creating cost-effective, innovative marketing communications solutions to help clients better understand their market, strategically position their organizations, build brand awareness, generate opportunities and develop business alliances. Chin-Taylor is an Everything DiSC Authorized Partner, delivering bestselling Everything DiSC tools that unlock the potential of an organization's people, improve working relationships and communication, strengthen management skills, elevate leadership, tackle conflict, and create lasting productive and empowering workplace cultures. Current and past clients include manufacturing firms serving the water, wastewater and municipal infrastructure industry, as well as plumbing, septic, portable restroom, trenchless technology and sewer service contractors. Her firms attract a wide range of clients — from fast-track firms that engage her team as an outsourced marketing department to midsize firms that need to improve management skills to international firms that need help with a specific project. Chin-Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and master’s degree in marketing and international business. She is a frequent keynote speaker on branding, company positioning, digital marketing and publicity strategy.

Don't be paralyzed by COVID-19; instead, be motivated. Use the time assets you have now to create a more stable future. Start perfecting your standard operating procedures. We will discuss in detail five standard procedures plumbers, drain cleaners and relining professionals should have in their SOP toolboxes. Attendees will learn current best practices that will help them now and into the future as COVID-19 becomes just a bad memory. At the end of the presentation, we will be sure to take time for questions. I'm passionate about this topic, and I'm grateful to share it with Portable Restroom Operator's readers. As the founding senior vice president of Zip Solutions, Russ Duker realized that plumbing and other service companies needed a way to empower technicians to grow sales without being smooth salesmen. The answer was field service management software, Zip Solutions. With a quickly evolving economy, Duker is passionate about helping business owners and managers grow their revenues and discover greater peace of mind, and he often worries that plumbing companies that don't adopt modern solutions will cease to function. Duker knows firsthand that businesses with inefficient processes tend to own their owners. With four decades of experience in the field service industry, including three decades as an owner and manager of multiple companies, Duker is determined to help plumbing, HVAC, electrical and other service businesses thrive today and into the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about the short- and long-term impact of the virus on businesses. We will explore how the coronavirus will cause your current insurance policies to react to various issues, including current and future loss of business income, workers’ compensation, liability and insurance pricing. Learn actions you can take now to protect your business from getting sued and to communicate effectively with your employees, keeping them happy and working. Tap into the creativity of the larger business community by hearing what others have done to generate new business opportunities and implement precautions and protections. Mark Herring has been a commercial insurance broker for 34 years. He has had a national program for 28 years that specializes in providing insurance coverage to septage businesses. He currently insures more than 200 liquid waste removal/haulers. He has many clients that he has provided insurance to for more than 27 years. When it comes to understanding the industry of liquid waste, Herring has been the go-to guy for 25 years. Keeping a program of any type this long is almost unheard of. He has spent the last 22 years at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, which is one of the largest insurance brokers in the U.S., where he is a senior vice president. Heffernan Insurance Brokers specializes in program business and has done so for more than 30 years. Herring’s office is in Bend, Oregon. He has lived in Oregon for 54 years.

Are you wasting your marketing and advertising budget on campaigns that don’t generate leads? Learn how you can better measure the effectiveness of your print, radio or digital advertising campaigns. You’ll also see what digital campaigns perform best within the plumbing industry. Plus, we’ll show you how to structure all your marketing so you can easily measure the return on investment. Aimée Deraco, chief operating officer, and Brandon Schmidt, director of digital strategy, are part of the team at YDOP, an award-winning digital marketing company that helps home service companies get more leads online.

Explore how switching from time and materials to flat rate affects your bottom line. We will talk about operations changes and leadership concepts critical to a successful transition, as well as the secret to getting your employees excited about flat rate. Anja Smith has owned and operated a service company, All Clear Plumbing, in Greenville, South Carolina, with her parents since 2012. She is also a writer, speaker, coach and consultant under the brand Tradebiz Toolbox. Smith is a regular contributor to Plumber, Cleaner and Pumper magazines and has presented at multiple conferences and trade shows, including the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show.

Contractor businesses succeed and fail by how well they manage just three key areas: people, process and profit. In a successful company, each area supports the others, causing an upward growth spiral that can exceed your wildest expectations. On the other hand, when even one of these areas is weak, it can jeopardize everything you’re working for. Join us to discover how a few easy hacks can set you up for huge wins while avoiding common traps and triggers that destroy growth and make running your company harder than it has to be. Presenters Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill are the co-founders of Spark Marketer, a Nashville, Tennessee-based digital marketing company that works primarily with service businesses. They are also co-creators of the award-winning app Closing Commander, which helps contractors close more estimates effortlessly, and are co-authors of the book, Blue Collar Proud: 10 Principles for Building a Kickass Business You Love. Both regularly speak at service industry trade shows and conferences across the nation.