Looking Toward Long Beach
Del Ellis of Del Ellis International has been training retailers for about 15 years, with a focus on leadership. “Everything rises and falls on leadership,” Ellis said, adding that this is the topic he plans to discuss at KnowledgeFest. “Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. Selling is influence, nothing more and nothing less. They go hand in hand.” Ellis noted that the last time he attended an event, it was about three or four years ago in Dallas. This will be his first online KnowledgeFest. “I work with individuals one-on-one and teams,” Ellis said, adding that one thing he’s noticed during his time in the industry is that employees who quit are often quitting people—not the company. “Eighty-six percent of all managers think people leave because of money.” It isn’t always a money thing, he said, adding, “It’s about the ability to lead and inspire
your team.” Detailed Presentations Make Up for Lack of Hands-On Interaction Brandon Green, owner of The Car Audio Shop in High Ridge, Mo. taught at KnowledgeFest.Live in December and will be presenting again at the upcoming event in March. Green said his classes cover best installation practices, proper tools and techniques. “We’ve been doing this class since KnowledgeFest Dallas in 2018,” he said. “We’ve done lots of Zoom meetings this year, so we’ve gotten used to talking to a screen. We were also able to show a couple things on a vehicle here at the shop last time.” Additionally, Green said Josh White and Adam Devine participated and were also able to show off vehicles and projects at their respective businesses. “It
went very well,” Green added, seeing this as a definite plus to having an online event: After all, “we can’t bring a demo car into a conference room at a convention center.” Because of this, Green doesn’t feel too much is lost by holding the event in a virtual setting. “We try to do a bunch of slides, as many as we can, and show as much as we can,” he explained. “We also show videos of some of it. We go over everything from specific tools to how to use them, so I don’t feel like we lose a whole lot.” However, he added, “A longer class with more hands-on is always nice.” What Green misses the most, he said, is the interaction, and he hopes students get something out of the classes—but he isn’t able to tell while he’s teaching. “When you’re online, you can’t see who’s there or their reactions,” he added.
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