TRSA’s Marketing, Sales & Service Summit reached its highest attendance on Nov. 18, with 80 participants gathering in Boston for a full day of education, networking and idea sharing.
Shane Gibson kicked off the summit with his keynote address, titled “Future Proofing Your B2B Sales and Marketing,” which highlighted artificial intelligence’s (AI) growing role in revenue generation. During his presentation, Gibson outlined strategies such as refining ideal client profiles, improving discovery conversations and leveraging thought leadership – all supported by AI acceleration and automation.
Steve Cooker from Infinite Laundry by TEXO followed with “Effective Email Strategies for Engaging Customers in Commercial Laundry,” emphasizing email’s high ROI, the AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action) framework, list hygiene, automation, segmentation and CRM (customer relationship management) integration, along with practical tips for sustainable success. Another session led by Ray Shabandarian, director of service consulting, Performance Matters; and David Goolsby, service director, rental division, Swiss Uniform Services, focused on aligning service, sales and marketing through actionable strategies, role-playing and enhanced training to improve communication and team performance.
For the first time, four TRSA board members – Randy Bartsch, Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service; Jake Gurtler, Gurtler Industries Inc.; Josh Wildman, Wildman Business Group; and Rich Kramer, City Uniforms & Linen – joined a panel moderated by TRSA’s Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Amy Vogt to discuss trends, innovations and the importance of communication. Later, Cooker and Jim Adler, Saratoga Cleaners and Launderers, showcased tech tools that drive return on investment (ROI), including AI-driven follow-up, CRM enrichment and customer experience (CX) automation, noting that early engagement can increase conversions up to sevenfold.
A one-hour facilitated discussion session allowed attendees to choose from five topics where they shared conversations and thoughts on topics including modern-day lead generation, social media, recruiting and retaining sales teams, developing sales leaders and the current mix of media types for companies. Between sessions, attendees viewed “Best of the Best” submissions highlighting top sales and marketing successes, with American Dawn Inc.’s new brand story video earning first place.
Next year’s summit will be held on Oct. 13 in San Diego.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Receive the latest updates on the linen, uniform and facility services industry from TRSA delivered straight to your inbox.
