Presented by: Kurtis Hanni

Revenue is growing. You're adding accounts. But is the business actually getting healthier, or just bigger? Most BSCs don't have a clear way to answer that question until something breaks.

In this session, we'll cut through the noise and give you the short list of metrics that reveal whether your growing business is building real value or just accumulating complexity. You'll learn how these numbers connect to the operational decisions your team is already making every day, and walk away with a simple framework you can put to work Monday morning.

Presented by: Matt Kane, Greg McLaughlin

Most owners don’t start their business thinking about an exit, but the strongest companies are built with that option in mind.

This session gives you a real-world understanding of the exit process. We’ll walk through how transactions actually work, how long they take, and what owners should expect before, during, and after a sale.

You’ll learn how buyers look at contracting businesses, what drives valuation, and how factors like service mix, labor structure, financial organization, and leadership depth influence outcomes. We’ll also discuss what happens after the deal, including owner involvement and transition challenges.

The goal: help you build a business that runs better today, and is ready for whatever comes next.

Presented by: Paul Epstein

How did Paul lead teams to consistently sell out billion-dollar NFL stadiums with 70,000 fans in historically losing markets? The answer lies in a powerful, scalable belief system that can be applied to any sales or service environment: Every seat has a story.

This shift from blanket ‘catch all’ campaigns to a dynamic customer-to-customer approach driven by customization, care, and championship service led to sold-out stadiums and record-breaking revenue that didn’t hinge on wins or losses.

In the sports industry, every seat and fan had a story. In your case, every client has a story. The question is: “Will you get to know it?” Achieving customer success doesn’t depend on perfect market conditions – it depends on consistently making each customer feel valued and seen.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify a playbook to transform a customer into a raving fan
• Discover four key traits that build trust in the short game and long game
• Use a listening strategy that elevates clients, encouraging them to invest deeply in the relationship
• Explore synergies between sales and operations teams that unlock future growth potential
• Know the exact questions to ask when it matters most, so touchpoints turn into transformation points

Presented by: Tim Hull, President and Owner, Violand Management Associates (VMA)

People are one of the few remaining, reliable sources of sustainable, competitive advantage. Competitors will copy marketing strategies, and technology and process advantages will fade over time, but having the best people for your organization will turn customers into raving fans, allowing you to have a more enjoyable ride as you achieve your goals. There are several forces that place pressure on a small business’s ability to attract and retain talented workers. Three such pressures are: an emphasis in the last 20 years on pursuing a four-year college degree rather than working in the trades or non-degreed positions, a lack of skills and tools within small businesses to effectively vet qualified candidates, and an unemployment rate so low that workers are “bidding up” initial employment offers and are tempted to chase alternate offers even after they’re employed. Based on Violand’s book Forging Dynasty Businesses, this presentation explores the keys to unlock the fundamental elements of an organization that serve as the foundation for small businesses to perpetually attract and retain top talent—those who fit with the organization’s culture and core values and who contribute to achieving the organization’s goals.

Learning Outcomes:

• Redefine your company’s employees as its most sustainable competitive advantage.
• Identify 14 critical components that impact employee hiring and retention.
• Create a culture that attracts and keeps the best people.

Presented by: Dan Cline, CBSE, COO, 4M Building Solutions, Rachel Sanchez, CEO, Prestige Maintenance USA; Paul Taylor, CBSE, CEO, ESS Clean, Inc.

This series is designed to move beyond generic HR discussions and focus on operational leadership development in our industry. The emphasis: practical, measurable, and scalable. The objective: help companies build intentional systems that identify, develop, and retain salaried managers who drive operational excellence and long-term growth.

In 2025, we hosted our first Spark Spotlight Sessions at the Executive Management Conference, focusing on topics specific to our industry. This year we’re bringing this session back and helping you address your Employee Development Lifecycle.

Each presenter will have just 20 minutes to share how you can create part (or all) of this lifecycle within your company. Having engaged, active employees helps your company thrive.

Spark Spotlight Sessions: 

Level 1 — Onboarding
Most janitorial companies promote strong operators into salaried roles based on performance. However, performance alone does not predict leadership sustainability, growth potential, or retention risk. This session explores ways to onboard managers properly and set them up for success.

Level 2 — Training
Compensation matters, but visible progress matters more. Many salaried managers leave because they do not see a structured future inside the organization. This session focuses on career mapping and leadership training for management-level employees.

Level 3 — Retention
Once managers are onboarded and shown a clear path for growth, they are better equipped to elevate customer relationships. We’ll explain why employee retention directly drives customer retention.

Presented by: Andy Jedynak, President & Chief Executive Officer, ClientPoint

This session explores how top-performing building service contractors are moving past the hype and leveraging artificial intelligence to gain a definitive competitive edge in a crowded market. Led by ClientPoint CEO Andy during this exclusive BSCAI Coffee Chat, the discussion will unpack practical, real-world AI strategies that automate tedious pipeline tasks and deliver highly personalized proposals at scale. Attendees will learn how to pinpoint exactly when facility managers are ready to buy, eliminate friction in their sales cycles, and implement actionable workflows designed to modernize their approach, scale their businesses, and win more high-value contracts without simply multiplying their workload.

Presented by: Kevin Lodahl, Dave Ditty, Rick Maday, Kory Kinney

Building Service Contractors today are facing rising labor costs, tighter margins, and tougher competition. Many of the BSC’s growing their business are using cleaning equipment as a strategic lever for revenue and margin growth. This session is designed to inspire BSCs with practical, proven solutions for expanding into higher value services by leveraging modern cleaning equipment. We’ll explore how the right tools open doors to new project work, recurring contracts, and high margin add on services that many competitors aren’t offering today. Through real examples and simple business frameworks, you’ll see how equipment can:
•    Enable new services your customers will pay a premium for
•    Reduce labor hours while increasing productivity and profitability
•    Differentiate your company in crowded, price driven markets
•    Support smarter sales conversations built around ROI, not just price
Whether you're looking to win larger accounts, protect existing contracts, or improve your cost to serve, this session delivers actionable ideas to help you grow your business with confidence—using equipment not just as a tool, but as a growth strategy.

Presented by: Nikolas Badminton

Every organization wants to be seen as innovative, the one solving real world problems and leading their industry. The majority fall at the first hurdle: taking a chance and empowering their people to explore possibilities. Leading executives are now finding that the process of innovation can be revolutionized by leading with futures work to speculation on the futures ahead of us and their place in those incredible worlds. Join Nikolas as he shares how to create innovation mindsets, question processes and work from the past and be more collaborative and creative in solving workplace challenges.

Learning Outcomes:
• Build resilience and innovation into your organization
• Learn how to de-risk innovation through future work and clients
• Think like a futurist