HIGH POINT — High Point Market educational seminars are free to all marketgoers unless otherwise noted. All seminars will take place in the NHFA Retailer Resource Center on the First Floor of Plaza Suites unless another location is given.

Saturday, April 2

8:30-9:30 a.m.
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Philip Gutsell, Gutsell & Associates, gutsellassoc@aol.com
Like an airline pilot, before every sales flight your sales staff should check off on a list of procedures, steps and habits. Gutsell will outline the skills and techniques that close sales today, and create follow-up, add-on sales and referrals. This seminar will help overcome the attitude, "They Just Aren't Buying."

10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
First Time Visitor Orientation
Learn how to navigate the High Point Market and make the best use of your time. Tips, suggestions, Q&A, and individual help if needed. You can also view the video on the website www.highpointmarket.org. High Point Theatre, next to the Transportation Terminal on Commerce Street.

10-11 a.m.
Top 10 Highly Successful Advertising Promotions You Need to Run Now
Charles Horich, Jon Parks, Brad Lebow, Chip Hector, Horich, Parks, Lebow Advertising, jparks@hpladv.com
Drive traffic and increase sales with these "best ideas" that are helping retailers sell furniture across the U.S. These proven, top 10 promotions will include campaign ideas for direct mail, TV, category advertising, special events and more. Jump-start your advertising with fresh, compelling, road-tested promotions.

11:30-12:30 p.m.
Why Your Training Programs Don't Work Anymore
Tom Zollar, Impact Consulting Services, tomzollar@impactconsultingservices.com
Common sense tells us that the key to surviving with fewer people coming in the door is to do better with the ones that we get. The problem is that even though customers are pre-shopping, then visiting fewer stores, our performance has not improved. Our odds are better, but our results are not. Why? The answer is that the major driver in this process has changed dramatically over the last decade - the customers. However, most retailers are still using the same training programs and approach they used 15 years ago. Isn't it time to catch up with the new consumer and give them the Discovery Experience they are seeking? Learn what your sales training and sales management effort must include, in order to raise your closing rate and average sale and maximize your return per selling opportunity.

Noon-1 p.m.
Colors, Materials and Trend Inspiration for 2011-2012
Per Nimer, Akzo Nobel
Akzo Nobel is the world's largest paint manufacturer, producing paint and color on items such as furniture, airplanes and houses. Ten years ago, Akzo Nobel created its trend research group Analogue, which is directed by Nimer and consists of 12 designers, architects, stylists and colorists who meet once a year to discuss color trends. The trend publication, Color Futures, is an overview of current and future color trends through lifestyles, furniture design, textile design and architecture. Nimer will present a culmination of this information based upon global trends focusing on lifestyles, product design, interior and exterior architecture. Sponsored by the International Home Furnishings Center and the Assn. of Interior Design Professionals. No reservation needed. Free box lunch provided. IHFC, Green Wing, 11th Floor ballroom B

1-2 p.m.
The Color of Money
Margi Kyle, The Designing Doctor, designingdr@gmail.com
Kyle will help you understand how you use your natural abilities in business and in your personal life, through the colors your eyes go to. Using the Patented Dewey Color System, you will learn your strengths and weakness through color. A fun and accurate way that will deepen your understanding of yourself and intensify your passion for life.

2:30-3:30 p.m.
Turn Up the Volume on Your Advertising
Joe Lapekas, TruckSkin, joe@truckskin.com
Is your message getting out, and what message might that be? Are you taking advantage of all the ways your store can brand itself inside and outside? Visuals are stimulating, create an emotional connection and can say so much about you and your brand. What do your visuals say, or what are they not saying? Join the discussion on the exciting visual graphics that can make you stand apart from the rest of the crowd. See what other retailers are doing to engage an over-stimulated, bored consumer.

4-5 p.m.
The Art of Design
Elaine Williamson, Elaine Williamson Designs
Learn how to choose the right art for your customers/clients and discover the true difference between art and a just a picture. Wine, hors d'oeuvres and light desserts. Wendover Art Group showroom, IHFC, C-215

4-5 p.m.
Renew and Improve
Martin Roberts, M Roberts Design, martin@mrobertsdesign.com
Last year was a challenging one for many retailers and suppliers but the time has come to rethink, renew, and redefine your offering and positioning in the marketplace. Internationally acclaimed retail design professional Roberts will show you how to use new strategies and tactics to improve your business in the new economy. His comprehensive approach to problem solving begins with a thorough knowledge of the consumer mindset, adds the specific needs and goals of the individual client, and uses the latest research techniques and imaginative design solutions to encourage customers to buy more, and more often.

Sunday, April 3

7:30-9 a.m.
WithIt Educational Breakfast - Decorator & Scholar: Considering the Finest Rooms in America
Thomas Jayne, Thomas Jayne Studio
Author and decorator Jayne talks about the qualities that make a room "fine," and how these qualities are reflected in the interiors shown in his new book, "The Finest Rooms in America." He presents a selection of what he believes to be 50 of the most iconic and influential American interiors - from historic to contemporary, opulent to rustic - many never published before. He will also present examples of his own work and will discuss how his approach to decoration has been influenced by some of the masterful spaces shown. Sponsored by IHFC and WithIt. Breakfast and seminar are free. Reservations are required by e-mailing hallred@ihfc.com or www.withit.org. IHFC, Green Wing, 11th Floor International Ballroom A

8:30-9:30 a.m.
The Outlook for The Furniture Industry
W.W. "Jerry" Epperson Jr., Mann, Armistead & Epperson, Ltd., wwe@maeltd.com
Furniture industry guru Epperson will once again enlighten us with his furniture research expertise in the current state of future of the furniture industry and how it affects you today and tomorrow.

10-10:30 a.m.
First Time Visitor Orientation Seminar
Learn how to navigate the High Point Market and make the best use of your time. Tips, suggestions, Q&A, and individual help available if needed. You can also view the video on the website www.highpointmarket.org. High Point Theatre, next to the Transportation Terminal on Commerce Street.

10-11 a.m.
Turning Strangers into Customers
David Lively, The Lively Merchant, david@thelivelymerchant.com
Did you hear that? It was the dull thud of companies who are stuck in the past as they fall to the ground, usually just before complete financial collapse and just after they mutter, "Our only problem is traffic," "Our advertising reaches the wrong customer," "There's enough business out there for everyone," "Our secret is our people," or, "We can't compete on the Internet." This 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of interactive questions will provide real solutions and relevant discussion about your challenges.

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Taking Design to Extremes
Ty Pennington
Through his work as the host of ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," designer Pennington regularly witnesses the joy and excitement good design brings. In this candid seminar, he will discuss the impact media has on design trends, take questions from the audience, and explain why he has become the sworn enemy of interior designers and contractors across the country. In 2008, Howard Miller Total Home launched the Ty Pennington product line. Sponsored by IHFC and IFDA, Carolinas Chapter. $20 includes lunch. Advance registration recommended. Reservation is secured upon receipt of payment. Mail check to IHFC, Attn: Holly Allred, PO Box 828, High Point, N.C. 27261. E-mail hallred@ihfc.com to request a credit card authorization form.
IHFC, Green Wing, 11th Floor ballroom B

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
What Shoppers Want: How Retail Can Thrive in the Post-Recession World
Kathy Juckett, Telescope Casual Furniture, kj@telescopecasual.com
Since May 2009 Telescope Casual Furniture, a manufacturer of outdoor furniture, has been conducting the Telescope National Shoppers' survey, revealing consumers' attitudes during these changing times. The monthly survey reports on shoppers' practices and habits on their homes, vacations, recreation, going-out and at-home entertainment, preferences on furniture and home furnishings style, comfort, national origin and renewability. Juckett will share the results of the research and tell how it applies to furniture design and retail presentation.

Noon-1:30 p.m.
Survive and Thrive: Using Your Passion to Drive Design Business in 2011
Rebecca Miller, Luxury Portfolio International
Economic shifts and new consumer buying behaviors have radically changed the business of interior design. Miller, the voice of Luxury Portfolio International and past president of retailer Gabberts, examines these industry changes and how we have evolved to current strategies and struggles. Most importantly, she will show you how to redefine your passion for design and translate it into a strong strategic tool to work with clients, sources, and the new-world reality. High Point Market Authority Design Viewpoints Series, co-sponsored by ASID. No RSVP required, but lunch is available free on a first come, first served basis. 0.1 CEU credit.
Showplace West, 100 High Restaurant (Plaza Level).

1-2 p.m.
Advertising & Marketing: What's Working and What's Not - How Can You Know?
Alvin Wight, Strategic Decisions, awight@sdiresearch.com
One of the most frustrating and challenging aspects of marketing in this tough economy and with wary shoppers is using your advertising and marketing budget wisely and effectively. Wight, president of industry research company Strategic Decisions, will share key insights into how to determine what is working so you can capitalize on it and what is not so you can stop it or improve it. Every marketing dollar is precious and needs to be aimed to the right shopper, in the right media, with the right message. Not doing so wastes your valuable resources and puts you at a competitive disadvantage.

1-2 p.m.
Help! My Marketing is a Mess!
Mary Larsen, GrowYourDesignBiz.com
Are you clients coming in steadily? Or is it peaks and valleys, with more valleys than you'd like? Are you overwhelmed with all of the marketing options out there, from traditional advertising to social marketing? What should you do? And what should you do first? Join author and design business consultant Larsen and finally get control of your marketing. Put together a plan that works now and can easily be adjusted as your business grows.
Radio Building, Interior Design Society Seminar Room, 8th floor

2:30-3:30 p.m.
Don't Let Words Get in the Way of Your Message
Shelley Parlin, Profitsystems, shelleyp@profitsystems.com
If a customer listens to your presentation, and whether spoken or not, their underlying question is "Huh?" you might have fallen into the "added-value-lingo" trap. Hundreds of thousands of businesses are all shouting to get attention. Many have fallen into the trap where every time they open their mouths they try to jazz things up so much they lose their message. If you use technical jargon, imposing adjectives and put so much effort into making it sound fancy that the customer has no clue as to what you said, then why do it? In this workshop you will learn to make every word work in your favor, so you can stop talking and start communicating.

2:30-3:30 p.m.
Spring Into 2011 with the Latest Fabric Trends and Color Palettes
Leah Guttersen, director of product, Greenhouse Fabrics
Guttersen will discuss the latest fabric trends this year, ranging from painted florals, mix and matching, to tribal patterns. A beautiful color palette for the year that will accompany any room, whether as an accent color or the main vocal point, will also be showcased. From traveling, looking at mills and in-depth analysis, Guttersen has found the designs and styles we will see throughout the year.
Radio Building, Interior Design Society Seminar Room, 8th Floor

4-5 p.m.
Developing a High Performance Sales Team
Bob Moorman, JRM Sales & Management, bob@jrmsales-mgmt.com
Discover the potential of your sales team. Learn how to dramatically improve your company's sales performance, use appropriate measurements to understand variances in individual sales performance, use measurements to coach improved salesperson performance, properly set sales goals, hold salespeople accountable for goal achievement, find, interview and hire top salespeople, and create a positive and fun selling environment.

Monday, April 4

8:30-9:30 a.m.
Sales Stimulating Promotions and 5,000 Bucks
Stephen Wisocky, Home Furnishings Insurance Group, swisocky@hfig.net
Learn about a new and different sales promotion that can offer your customers a chance for free furniture. This session will cover insured promotions (sports concepts, holiday and weather-related chance games). Learn how to leverage powerful consumer incentives to boost sales. Bring your business card to drop in the bucket and one lucky attendee will be selected to play "The Lucky Envelope Game" with a chance to win $5,000.

10-10:30 a.m.
First Time Visitor Orientation Seminar
Learn how to navigate the High Point Market and make the best use of your time. Tips, suggestions, Q&A, and individual help available if needed. You can also view the video on the website www.highpointmarket.org. High Point Theatre, next to the Transportation Terminal on Commerce Street.

10-11:30 a.m.
What's Hot and What's Not Design Review: Straight from NY, The Future Cafe Home Trends & 2011 NRF Convention
Connie Post, Connie Post Global Media, missconniepost@aol.com
Post will preview the emerging trends from Benjamin Moore Color Pulse 2012 and the latest in surface design and materials. She will also discuss the latest in retail and wholesale design ideas from around the world in a fast-paced review of all that is new for 2011.

Noon-1:30 p.m.
How to Build a Successful Design Business - Incorporate Your Passions and Adapt to Change Bunny Williams
Williams opened her interior design company, Bunny Williams Inc., in 1988 after 22 years with the venerable decorating firm Parish-Hadley Associates. Schooled in the classics, restraint and appropriateness are hallmarks of her style. She will share where she started and will tell about her mentors and what she learned from them. She has navigated and adapted to changing times. Sponsored by IHFC and IFDA, Carolinas Chapter. $20 includes lunch. Advance registration recommended. Reservation is secured upon receipt of payment. Mail check to IHFC, Attn: Holly Allred, PO Box 828, High Point, N.C. 27261. E-mail hallred@ihfc.com to request a credit card authorization form.
IHFC, Green Wing, 11th Floor ballroom B

Noon-1:30 p.m.
Eco Living and Design
Lori Dennis, designer and author of Green Home Design; Gat Caperton of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and Gat Creek; and Erik Van Mehlman of BuildSense.
A panel of eco-designers offers the newest options and products in the green category, discusses how the economy has affected eco-conscious design, and showcases how to combine sustainability and style. High Point Market Authority Design Viewpoints Series, cosponsored by ASID. No RSVP required. Lunch is available free on a first come, first served basis. 0.1 CEU credit.
Showplace West, 100 High Restaurant (Plaza Level

1-2 p.m.
New Tactics for Effective Online Advertising in Your Local Market
Sharon Gillis, vice president of client services, JG Sullivan Interactive, sharon.gillis@jgsullivan.com
Learn how to use search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, social media and your website to capture consumers who are using the Internet to make their furniture buying decisions, and bring them into your showroom to increase sales offline. Gillis will offer actionable Internet marketing tactics.

2-3:30 p.m.
VandM.com's Yearbook 2010-2011: Trend Forecast For The Antique and Home Décor Industry
Bill Indursky , co-founder of www.VandM.com
VandM.com (Vintage and Modern) is an online source for vintage furniture, antiques, art and jewelry from hundreds of dealers around the world. More than 125,000 clients visit the site every month to find their perfect items and read design and art news, original stories, interviews, and more. Indursky is an award-winning designer, architect, Realist painter, author of the upcoming book, "Emil Carlsen: The Complete Known Works," and sometimes sleeps. For more information, visit www.hpadc.com, e-mail info@antiqueanddesigncenter.com or call (336) 908-2735. Sponsored by VandM.com.
Market Square, Antique & Design Center - Mezzanine

2:30-3:30 p.m.
If You Plan, Your Business Can Survive and Thrive
Mike Egan, Ron Cooper and Hector Mustafa, Profit Management Promotions, ron@pmpsales.com
Your business model may have worked in the past, but it may not be the right model for today. New competitive and brand positioning planning strategies are needed and a host of new considerations must be addressed (i.e., restructuring, liquidation or capital improvements and expansion). In this seminar, senior consultants from Profit Management Promotions will outline the key strategic, financial and operational questions you need to be asking today in order to position your store for substantive growth tomorrow.

3:30-5 p.m.
Antique Furniture - What to Know before You Buy
David Lindquist, Whitehall Antiques
Educate your eye and guide your clients to acquire legitimate antiques. Lindquist will discuss the types of values so that you can share with your clientele the bargains to be found in every range of the antiques world, from collector quality to remade pieces, which deliver a lot of bang for the buck. Your clients will gain confidence in your guidance when you not only share style points with them but also value and authenticity points. Lindquist has been a full-time antiques dealer, appraiser and authenticator since 1974, and works as a consultant to appraisers throughout America. For more information, visit www.hpadc.com, e-mail info@antiqueanddesigncenter.com or call (336) 908-2735. Sponsored by VandM.com.
Market Square, Antique & Design Center - Mezzanine

4-5 p.m.
Don't Think Sales...Think Profit!
John Egger, CEO, Profitability Consulting Group, johne@profitabilityconsulting.com
Learn from Egger how hundreds of his clients have put the emphasis on profit during this recession and have survived and even flourished. Sales are important but profit is the key. Many of Egger's clients are not only doing great but expanding in this down market. This seminar offers real time examples and ideas.

Tuesday, April 5
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Three Critical Questions for Sellers and Managers
Jody Seivert, One by One Companies, jody@onexone.com
Whatever you are selling or coaching, your skills at knowing and asking the right questions the right way are critical to your effectiveness and results. Come and learn the "what and how" of questioning mastery.

9-10 a.m.
Life's a Stage, Stage it Right! Step into Home Staging - How to Safeguard Your Business in Any Market
Marcyne Touchton
Home staging expert Touchton is a featured speaker and an expert source on real estate trends in news articles and TV segments throughout the Southeast. She has the prestigious Masters designation, ASPM, and was recently selected as one of the "10 Kirkland's Finest Decorated Minds" and is a featured MyKirkland's Designer. She will help you to adapt your interior design business to weather the storms of a difficult economy. Free continental breakfast provided. No reservation needed.
IHFC Green Wing, 11th floor, Ballroom B.

10-10:30 a.m.
First Time Visitor Orientation Seminar
Learn how to navigate the High Point Market and make the best use of your time. Tips, suggestions, Q&A, and individual help available if needed. You can also view the video on the website www.highpointmarket.org.
High Point Theatre, next to the Transportation Terminal on Commerce Street.

10-11 a.m.
Store Lighting Options: LED, Compact Fluorescent and Halogen
Tom Borga, Regency Lighting, tom.borga@regencylighting.com
Using product samples, this seminar will review the newest lighting sources used in stores today, explain the pros and cons of each and dispel rumors concerning LED and compact fluorescent lighting.

10:30-Noon
Classic Elements of Modern Design
Charles Hanlon, antiques dealer/designer, Mayfair Antiques
Florida dealer Mayfair Antiques has been in the business some 35 years. It deals primarily in 18th and 19th century French, English and Italian furniture as well as a collection of reproduction and modern pieces. Hanlon also is the antiques and design consultant on NBC's "DayTime," airing weekdays. For more information, visit www.hpadc.com, e-mail info@antiqueanddesigncenter.com or call (336) 908-2735. Sponsored by VandM.com.
Market Square, Antique & Design Center - Mezzanine

11:30-12:30 p.m.
Real Talk. Real Results.
Randy Stewart, GE Money, randy.stewart@ge.com
A focused session on driving new and repeat purchases from the post-recession consumer. Who are they, how do they shop and what appeals to them?

Noon-1:30 p.m.
Alfresco Design
Norman Hamilton and Cinde Ingram, Casual Living
Casual Living Publisher Hamilton and Editor-in-Chief Ingram will host a presentation on what consumers are looking for in their outdoor living areas. Hamilton will present research from the most recent HGTV consumer survey on consumers' shopping and buying habits for outdoor furnishings. Ingram will moderate a panel of four interior/exterior designers who will share strategies for creating outdoor style for their clients. Free boxed lunch provided. No reservation needed.
IHFC Green Wing, 11th floor, Ballroom B.

Noon-1:30 p.m.
Marketing Yourself by Design
Moderator Julia Noran of Editor at Large and panelists Michelle Adams, co-founder and editor of Lonny; Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy; Margot Austin, senior style editor at Style at Home; and Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of Décor Demon.
A panel of experts will provide pointers and tips for marketing yourself online through blogging, e-mail outreach, social media and more. Need more? Following the one-hour presentation, sign up for 15-minute intensive tutoring sessions that put you one-on-one with nationally acclaimed bloggers and online gurus. The presentation is open to all, but tutoring sessions are limited and open on a first come, first served basis. High Point Market Authority Design Viewpoints Series, cosponsored by ASID and Editor at Large. No RSVP required. Lunch is available free on a first come, first served basis 0.1 CEU credit.
Showplace West, 100 High Restaurant (Plaza Level).

1-2 p.m.
Selling for Dummies
Mark J. Lacy, The Furniture Training Co., markl@furnituretrainingcompany.com
Everyone is looking for the "magic" or "secret" technique that'll sell more furniture. The truth is there is no secret and there is no magic. Everybody can lean the techniques that lead to real success. In this seminar, Lacy will teach what every dummy (and you, too) needs to know to start turning "I'm just looking" shoppers into satisfied customers.

2-3:30 p.m.
From Business to Brand: How to Go from Unlocking the Doors to Unlocking Your Potential
Shayne Hart, principal, Guild Inc.
Hart advises emerging brands, visual and performing artists, corporations, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, foundations and cultural organizations in strategy, holistic branding, development, design integration, creative direction and innovation. He engages in this work by tapping creative teams across a wide spectrum of skills and. With Guild, Hart also returns to his early favored role of merchant and maker as the firm launches its own brands, the designs of others, exhibiting artists and artisans. For more information visit www.hpadc.com; e-mail info@antiqueanddesigncenter.com or call (336) 908-2735. Sponsored by VandM.com.
Market Square, Antique & Design Center - Mezzanine.

2:30-3:30 p.m.
Selling to the Hot Buyers, Generation X and Y - Why a Powerful e-Commerce Presence is Necessary
Tim O'Neill, business development manager, Storis Management Systems
Many retailers are changing their e-commerce selling strategies to entice today's key purchasers: the "Under 45s," Generation X and Y (aka the Millennials). This presentation includes top features required for and e-commerce solution to gain the attention of Gen X and Y buyers, while also generating revenue and increasing your selling power and market to the younger generations with your online presence.

3:30-5 p.m.
The Value of Social Media in Today's Design World
Barbara Segal, founder, Interior Designer Chat
Segal has been a thought leader on the Internet since 1995 and has worked in public relations, social media and new/old/ancient media. She is a communications gal, but also has a passion for interior design. She also is president of Noir Blanc Interiors, a design firm that works with multimillion-dollar projects and focuses on the luxury market, specializing in coastal living, high rises and yacht interiors. For more information visit www.hpadc.com, e-mail info@antiqueanddesigncenter.com or call (336)908-2735. Sponsored by VandM.com.
Market Square, Antique & Design Center - Mezzanine.

6-9 p.m.
WithIt Competitive Intelligence Trend Forecast
All Market attendees are welcome to join us for a discussion of the latest design trends. Complimentary beverages and appetizers will be served.
Outer Limits & TemaHome showroom, 220 Elm 311.

Wednesday, April 6

9-10 a.m.
Market Trend Wrap-Up
Jenny Heinzen York, Home Accents Today
The editorial team from Home Accents Today spends each High Point Market seeking out all the latest product styles and trends. Heinzen York, editor in chief, leads this exclusive review of the hottest trends from the current show.
IHFC Green Wing, 11th floor, Ballroom B

9 a.m.-4 p.m.
GREENleaders Ceritified Sustainability Training
The Sustainable Furnishings Council offers the most comprehensive training program available in green home furnishings, providing manufacturers, reps, retailers and designers with the knowledge and credentials to become experts in sustainability. 6 CEU credits. Cost is $299. Registration: admin@sustainablefurnishings.org or call (919) 967-1137.
Showplace, top floor.

Thursday, April 7

9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Internet Marketing for the Home Furnishings Industry
High Point University's International School of Home Furnishings and Design will sponsor a symposium to help furniture designers, retailers and manufacturers engage their customers, create brand loyalty and drive sales through Internet marketing. Brian Thornfelt, general merchandise manager-furniture for e-commerce giant CSN.com will discuss successful elements of online marketing. Lisa Foote, president of MixMobi.com, will present an overview of mobile marketing, along with typical costs and benefits. Leslie Carothers, president of the Kaleidoscope Partnership, will explain how manufacturers and retailers can work cost efficiently with national and local interior designers and design bloggers to drive traffic to websites and into stores. Seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis. Register now at www.furnishings-hpu.com. For more information, contact Richard Bennington at rbenning@highpoint.edu or (336) 841-9110.
High Point University, Francis Auditorium at Phillips Hall.