Kathy Drewien
About Kathy
Kathy Drewien lives in Marietta, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. There she rescues abandoned, ugly, orphaned, broken, and non-productive websites for people and businesses who are ready for a change. She’s an organizer of WordCamp Atlanta, runs a local WordPress Meetup in Marietta, and mentors other Meetups and WordCamps, too. And if that’s not enough, she’s also an organizer of WordCamp US. In her business coaching, Kathy practices what she preaches, and shares insights gleaned from years of observation and personal experience. She is all about forging meaningful connections and holds to the belief that nothing beats the power of in-person interactions for cementing relationships. Bear in mind, that whenever you’re interacting with Kathy, you have her full attention. She enjoys working closely with people interested in evolving and growing and finds the process of facilitating the process gratifying. The true mentor that she is, Kathy doesn’t hand out solutions on a silver platter; one needs to be committed to the process to derive full benefit. A bit of advice? Pay close attention to what Kathy says, because she’s not the type to ‘blow smoke’ or pound you over the head with direction. If you’re not paying attention or ready to receive, you can miss her subtle suggestions. Suggestions that if you grab hold of, and run with, can have life-changing effects on your perspective and by extension your business.
Title: Hot Mess to Favorite Client: Transformation in 24-Hours
Your clients (prospective and active) are not telling you the truth. Maybe it’s about a project that’s gone off track or a website dream they envision. Or maybe they’re not sharing their thoughts on ways their business could grow its sales or improve operations. By demonstrating your ability to be truly authentic at each step in the process, you can aim toward creating projects that are more collaborative and ultimately more successful. Learn why it's critical to: – Restate, in your own words, your perception of the project. – Boldly ask, "So, what do you want from me?" – Authentically and directly tell the client what you want from them. – Test for client commitment and control.
Brent Alexander
About Brent
A designer turned developer, Brent takes a hands-on approach with many Engenius projects. When it comes to website design and functionality, Brent can both dream it and do it: his technical expertise and creativity shine as he drives our custom code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP), integrations, and User Experience (UX) design. Finally, Brent works with our stellar website hosting service, WP Engine, to ensure that your website is secure and functioning at pace. When he’s not working, Brent enjoys hanging out with his wife, working on his 1950’s era home, catching up on his favorite shows, and reading the latest design blog posts.
Title: 10 Things We've Learned In 10 Years Building Websites For Clients
- Creating & Following Systems
- Selling Like A Consultant
- Taking.a Content-First Approach
- Mobile vs Desktop Usage
- Gathering Content from Clients
- Designing with Themes
- Estimating & Getting it Right
- Making a Profit
- Supporting Clients Post-Launch
- Failing Quickly
We will never be able to say we have arrived, but learning these 10 things has been asbsolutely essential to our success.
Engenius is a digital marketing agency based in Greenville, SC. We demystify digital marketing and web design with straightforward strategies: giving you what you need and nothing you don’t. 2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of Engenius. Learn more about us at https://engeniusweb.com/about/mission.
Lauren Jeffcoat
About Lauren
Lauren has been building WordPress websites for almost a decade and is currently part of the OnTheGoSystems WPML Customer Support team. She enjoys creating WordPress websites and has worn many hats in the world of web development including Project Manager, Customer Service Representative, Account Strategist, and Web Designer. Originally from New England, she now lives in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Lauren enjoys sharing her knowledge along with tips and tricks that she has learned either through furthering her education or personal experience. Lauren is the organizer of WordPress Meetup Myrtle Beach, a co-organizer of WordCamp Wilmington, a WordCamp Speaker and a lover of all things WordPress.
Title: Support Starts Here: How to go the extra mile to make and KEEP your customers happy
In this session I will be covering the importance of good customer service and the powerful impact your support team has on your business. I will discuss practices to use and practices to avoid. I’ll take poor customer service examples and show how they could be handled differently and turned into excellent customer outcomes.
I’ll also cover the steps to develop and implement an all star customer service program. This will include the secrets to providing super service, general support standards, and how to get things right for your customers. I’ll discuss why it’s important to go the extra mile to make and keep your customers happy so that they turn into returning customers and brand ambassadors.