CE Pro February 2023 - 44

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HTSA Fall
Conference Puts
Dealers into 'Focus,
Focus, Focus'
Getting financials in order, continuing
to embrace lighting fixtures, increasing
marketing mettle among the topics at
HTSA's meeting in Indianapolis.
By Arlen Schweiger
HOME TECHNOLOGY Specialists
of America members
are bracing for continued
tough economic conditions
ahead by doubling down
on their highly successful
adoption of lighting fixtures,
ramping up marketing
efforts and tightening
business processes. The
group mantra was " Focus,
Focus, Focus " at the recent
HTSA Fall Conference, and
that message was resonating
loud and clear as 325+
HTSA leaders, vendors and
integrator members shared
ideas and best practices
during the mid-October
event held at The Westin in
Indianapolis.
A full crowd of energetic
dealers were treated to a
busy slate of breakout group
sessions, vendor meetings
and networking activities as
well as a standout keynote
presentation.
" We did a survey of our
members as a whole on
44 | CE Pro February 2023
where they're seeing the
market trends, where's the
pipeline moving forward,
what's their optimism, " Tom
Doherty, HTSA's director of
new technologies initiatives,
explained to CE Pro about
planning for the group's Fall
Conference.
" What they see in that
is clearly lighting is still
the growth [area]. Not
just lighting [fixtures] but
lighting control, lighting
design services amongst the
group. That's a big takeaway,
to maybe give them
confirmation that where
they're wanting to go in
their business and decisions
that they're making are
either correct or incorrect, "
Doherty adds.
The major announcement
to come from the
Fall Conference, something
Doherty as HTSA's original
lighting fixtures evangelist
was particularly excited
about, is the return of
Home Technology Specialists of America welcomed 325+
attendees to Indianapolis, where they participated in
breakout sessions, vendor meetings, networking and more.
Lightapalooza for a second
staging in February 2023.
On the heels of a successful
inaugural lighting-focused
educational conference
HTSA held in 2022 in
Dallas, the group's second
Lightapalooza will have
more vendors and more
participants when it takes
place Feb. 20-23, 2023, at
the Renaissance Phoenix
Glendale Hotel & Spa.
" The sales reps now adding
lighting lines were just
hungry for learning and being
competent. We will have
more than twice as many
exhibitors, and because it's
open and there's greater
awareness there'll be a
substantially higher number
of attendees, " Doherty says,
noting that the conference
will be open to the entire
industry. At press time there
were over two dozen lighting
companies signed on to
participate.
HTSA Executive Director
Jon Robbins says the Fall
Conference takes a bit of a
different approach than the
group's Spring Conference,
which was held in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., back in March
2022. At that time and still
today, there was plenty of
economic strife as well as
the invasion of Ukraine by
Russia created a landscape
of uncertainty. Heading into
2023, that " recession " word
keeps looming as indicators
point that way, and Robbins
wants his integrator
members to be in the best
position possible.
That means some reality
checks around financial
discussions, sales & marketing
tactics, entering new
technology categories or
vertical markets and other
considerations.
" It's much more intense
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CE Pro February 2023

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