Proforma Concludes First-ever Planning Retreats

Proforma, Cleveland, recently concluded its inaugural planning retreat, formerly known as Proforma’s Regional Meetings. This seven-city event provided Proforma owners with the opportunity to connect with leading suppliers, learn innovative selling techniques for 2016 and network with industry experts.

Rebranded as “Planning Retreats,” Proforma’s annual meetings featured a new format to facilitate more group sharing and collaboration, and to include motivational presentations from Greg Muzzillo, founder of Proforma, and Laura Scott, executive coach and president of 180 Coaching.

“We want to help our owners experience a true breakthrough and massive success in their businesses this year, so we put together an annual meeting unlike anything we’ve done before,” said Muzzillo. “At the beginning of October 2015, we challenged our owner advisory council [Proforma owners elected by their regions to work with Proforma’s leadership team to develop new business initiatives for the network] to test a new business development process. The results were phenomenal, generating more than $17 million in new pipeline activity and $5 million in new wins between 11 owners in only two months. We rolled the plan out to all owners at their Planning Retreat in a new meeting format that has allowed them to gain new clarity and focus and create an actionable plan for success.”

In addition to learning about the new business development process, Proforma owners and sales representatives experienced more owner panel sessions than ever before, participated in supplier selling strategy group discussions and were given the opportunity to form Mastermind accountability groups.

Scott joined owners in each city to share her strategies for uncovering each attendee’s true motivation, their “Big Why,” to create sustainable motivation and growth.

“Although we often tell ourselves that we need to set goals, plan and do things like figure out our ‘Big Why,’ we get so caught up in our business that I think many of us forget to do any of it,” said Mark Sweet, owner of The Branding Suite powered by Proforma and Million Dollar Club Member. “The [Proforma] Planning Retreat has been a great opportunity to focus on taking the time to work on our business, set goals and reenergize for the New Year.”

New this year, in conjunction with four Planning Retreat locations, were the first-ever Energize Summits. The Summits provided a platform exclusively for Proforma owners, sales representatives and Proforma’s preferred supplier partners to engage in million-dollar idea exchanges as the best-of-the-best in the industry developed mutually beneficial growth strategies.

Participants selling less than $1 million a year were paired together in these 20-minute, pre-scheduled meetings with suppliers, creating an exchange in ideas and programs with at least $1 million in sales potential.

“Proforma events are always engaging, but this retreat has topped them all,” said Najla Furgason, co-owner of CEShoppes powered by Proforma. “The format and interaction of the Energize Summit made this the most valuable industry event I have ever been to. You can get so much more out of a one-on-one meeting. Events like these confirm why joining Proforma was the best decision my husband and I ever made.”

For more information, visit www.onlyproforma.com.