CRI Participates in Facilities Management Summit

CRI's James Beach Participates in December 7, 2009 Facilities Management Summit, Dallas, TX

Carpet and Rug Institute Offers Facility Managers Proper Carpet Maintenance and Cleaning Solutions

Typically, the last month of the year tends to be mostly about getting ready to hit the ground running for the New Year. This means closing end of the year accounting books, finalizing market plans for the future, and best of all, time in the office to get it all done.

One of the things I most relish about the month (other than the excitement of Santa Claus coming to visit) is that I rarely, if ever, hop on an airplane and roll the dice as to whether or not my luggage is going to end up at the same place that my body is. After flying across the country for most of the year, December is usually my lone refuge.

I say all of this because I got talked into participating in a Facilities Management Summit in Dallas last week and it turned out to be one of the best events I attended all year. Much like the BuildingsXchange event we did in Utah earlier that I raved about [see CRI Finds Success at BuildingsXchange], this was a similar “speed-dating” kind of event.

Instead of one-hour meetings, though, the organizers matched you up with interested parties in 30-minute meetings, so it was all business. One of the great things about CRI attending these types of events is that CRI, unlike everyone else that these facility managers will meet, doesn’t have anything we are trying to sell them. As you can imagine, companies send their slickest sales people to close deals with these facility managers so it has to be refreshing to not get hit over the head with the “my product is the greatest” hammer at every turn.

And it’s true. The thing that CRI offers to these folks are solutions; a better way to do business; a way to be most satisfied with their carpet investment. Typically, these type events are set up for the vendors to request meetings with delegates and vice versa and if everyone has an interest in conducting the meeting, well, it happens. My philosophy is to meet with people who want to meet with us, so I tell the organizers I’ll meet with anyone who wants to meet. The good news there is that my calendar is always full.

I had 10 formal meetings and several other side meetings where people tracked me down for carpet information between the formal meetings, and I have to say, I like the things I am hearing in the marketplace.

All of these people love their carpet and recognize the place it has in their facilities. They are anxious to find the best way to clean and maintain it and are eager for any kind of help CRI can provide. This was especially true on the education market side of it. [See CRI's Carpet in Schools; Creating a Learning-Friendly Environment.]

I had two great meetings with two of the country’s larger school district: Albuquerque Public Schools and Dallas Independent School District. I was able to show them the value of what we call the four-legged maintenance stool: Using the right carpet cleaning products (Seal of Approval), using the right carpet cleaning equipment (SOA), having the right carpet cleaning service provider manning the equipment and solutions and finally having a proper carpet maintenance plan in place.

And I knew I had made an impression when I had three other school districts find me during lunch and networking opportunities away from the formal meetings and tell me one of their colleagues I had met with told them they needed to get my CRI information.

And as always, I learned some things as well. Or rather I came away with some new ideas and opportunities. One, in particular, sprung from a meeting with Glazers Distributors, one the nation’s top wine and spirits distributors. The gentlemen who heads up their facilities told me that they have a grand showroom at their headquarters, and as you can imagine in such a business, have some pretty big get-togethers where the spirits flow. Unfortunately, these spirits, especially the wine, often times flows onto the carpet and they have a devil of a time returning the showroom to pristine condition for the next big foray.

My plan is to follow up with the gentleman and put together a plan with one of the local SOA service providers in his area that utilizes SOA equipment and chemicals and can solve his wine problem.

When I offer up such services, I always get this look and sometimes even the question: “So what do you get out of it?” And the answer is really quite simple: if you are happy with your carpet purchase, you’ll continue to utilize carpet.

~ James