HARDI has come up with a way to turn the formerly regional conferences throughout the year into focused, national conferences hosted by the regions for all members to enjoy. What's in store for the year to come?

Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) has come up with a way to turn the formerly regional conferences throughout the year into focused, national conferences hosted by the regions for all members to enjoy. Each conference has its own unique topic from marketing optimization to human resources and operations management to strategic leadership to optimizing sales.

The first of these conferences - the Marketing Optimization Conference, held March 10-12 at Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, Calif. - centers on optimizing HARDI distributors' marketing and demand creation strategies. With topics ranging from social media and search engine optimization to optimizing store design, attendees will get a full grasp on how to market their business in a fast-moving industry. This conference features speakers Sue Smith, Nicole Leinbach, and brothers Eddie and Brian Bluff.

The Human Resources and Organizational Management Conference - April 14-16 at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa Bay, Fla. - concentrates on developing distributors' internal strategies and improving employee relationships. HARDI service vendor, Gregory & Appel, will decode health care reform and human resources consultant Nancye Combs is set to explore topics on effective wage and salary plans. Sid and Aaron Strickland will tackle vital subjects like managing generational differences and identifying talent.

The third focus conference - Strategic Leadership, held June 2-4 at the Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, Wis. - will gather speakers in leadership and management, to help distributors better those respective skills. Feature sessions will include Brent Grover, who will be cover how to strategically plan in these turbulent times, Mike Workman will cover the future of distribution leadership, and Thomas Gale will provide a strategic scan of wholesale distribution and what the HVACR industry can learn from other wholesale industries.

The last 2013 focus conference is the Sales Optimization Conference to be held, Sept. 8-10 at the Resorts Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J. It concentrates on expanding HARDI distributors' sales and demand creation strategies.

According to HARDI, “this is perhaps the most valuable conference for transforming a member’s company into a higher-performing sales organization.”

Speakers Norm Clark and Tom Reilly will explore these topics.

To find out more, go to www.hardinet.org/networking-and-events.