On August 22, ProSource, a specialty and consumer electronics merchandising group, announced the next evolution of lighting training: Lighting Launchpad.
In November 2021, ProSource welcomed its inaugural class to the Lighting Technology Training Center in Dallas, Texas to take the Lighting Technology Certification (LTC) Level 2 course. Since then, over 125 ProSource members have attended. After a year of LTC Level 2 classes, the team at Light Can Help You spent several months re-evaluating the content and thus, Lighting Launchpad was born.
Lighting Launchpad was announced to a group of ProSource members at the 2023 Lightapalooza in Phoenix, Arizona and at the 2023 ProSource Summit in Las Vegas. The first class of six memberships just wrapped up the inaugural session in early August.
“We are proud to announce the next evolution in lighting education” says Jim Pearse, CEO of ProSource. “Three years ago, ProSource established a leadership position in lighting education when we opened the “Lighting Training Center” in Dallas, Texas. Since the inception of the Lighting Training Center, we have been successful in training hundreds of our members on how to enter the lighting category. It became clear that we must evolve the curriculum to support our members as the lighting becomes a core part of their growing business. After months of planning, ProSource, in partnership with our valued fixture vendors and the Light Can Help You leadership team, are now ready to introduce a completely new lighting training called Launchpad! Based on the pilot feedback in early August, the team has really hit the mark in meeting our mission to expand our focus into how to grow the lighting business. For our members who attend the event, we will coach and teach you on how to execute an effective sales process, drive profitability, and execute the best-in-class design service for your clients. We look forward to seeing you all in Dallas!”
What Is Taught at Lighting Launchpad
Day 1 is intended for business leaders and sales teams and will include:
- Lighting Business 101 and 102 sessions led by ProSource members to learn departmental structures, discuss staffing needs, develop training plans, learn how to monetize the design process, develop vendor, and margin strategies, and discuss product demonstrations.
- Trade Partner session to develop strategies for identifying, engaging, and strengthening trade partner relationships, supported by Light Can Help You marketing materials and CEU webinars.
- Hear and participate in role play to strengthen your ability to talk to different influencers in the lighting fixture business.
- Short Stories session with a demonstration of the customer experience in the Dallas Lighting Technology and Learning Center, augmented by discussion of client introduction techniques.
- Marketing session to develop a solid, comprehensive marketing strategy with dealer mentor insights and materials for web, print, and video from Light Can Help You, including a “virtual showroom” overview of new pitch deck slide shows.
- Concurrent live filming of participants in the ProSource Lighting Technology and Learning Center for branded video creation.
Day 2 is intended for sales teams and business leaders and will include:
- Identify & Qualify Leads session co-led by ProSource dealers and Light Can Help You staff to develop strategies for reaching different individuals and methods or prequalification.
- Client Introductions & Service Menu session featuring an overview of Light Can Help You service offerings and a demonstration of the client introduction process and proposal generation. Watch a live “Introductory Meeting” conducted by LCHY so you can see the sales leverage available to you and your team.
- Design Process session led by Light Can Help You designers to prepare participants to engage their clients throughout the design process from CORE to Unlimited, including clips from actual client conversations for discussion.
- Budgeting session to dig deep into the budget ranges of lighting fixtures and design, discuss setting budget expectations for clients and trade partners, as well as discuss fixtures and brands in each budget category.
- Fixture sales session to better understand the specific fixtures typically specified by Light Can Help You, discuss fixture categories, and develop a sales story for performance fixtures.
Day 3 is intended for project managers and those engaged with purchasing and implementation and will include:
- Deliverables session to familiarize integrators with the comprehensive deliverables provided by Light Can Help You and identify items that will need to be completed by others.
- Purchase session led by ProSource member mentors to equip integrators with the tools, contacts, and experience to purchase fixtures from Light Can Help You specifications.
- Scene Setting session featuring live programming demonstrations in the LTLC.
- Aiming session featuring hands-on discovery of typical fixture adjustments and focusing strategies.
- Construction session focused on answering contractor questions, how and when to walk through projects and check for accuracy, and solve problems on the fly.
Prerequisites to Attend
- Apply, be accepted, and enroll in the Light Can Help You Signature Partner program at $300/month. $750 one-time setup fee to be waived for ProSource members
- Agree to support ProSource vendor partners by engaging, signing up, purchasing sample kits, etc.
- Send at least 1 person to Launchpad Live to cover leadership, sales, and project implementation sessions. For larger operations, this may require several people to attend to cover all areas.
- Agree to make (1) qualified client introduction to Light Can Help You per month for six months following the event.
The Difference Between LTC2 and Lighting Launchpad?
Launchpad’s 3-day learning and training event shares roughly 45 minutes of overlap with LTC2 training. Launchpad is less focused on general lighting education and sharply focused on setting up dealers with a comprehensive business strategy to grow in the fixtures category in partnership with Light Can Help You. Launchpad is co-led by ProSource dealer mentors with demonstrated success in the lighting category and leaders and designers from Light Can Help You. Vendor participation is limited to support of the design and sales process; no sessions will be led by vendors.
“We are honored to partner closely with ProSource to bring the next level of lighting fixture advancement to its members at Launchpad” says David Warfel, Light Can Help You Chief Evangelist of Light. “A highlight of the event was the open and honest mentorship from ProSource dealer Mike Ruetz of Fusion Audio & Video, South Carolina. Mike’s generosity and patient insights helped dealers gain the confidence to take the next steps in their lighting growth trajectory. And those steps are clearer than ever as a result.”
ProSource members can take part in the new Lighting Launchpad training by attending the upcoming training session at the Lighting Technology Training Center in Dallas, Texas. The date is October 3 – 5, 2023
Interested in attending the October session? Contact marcom@prosourceinfo.com for more details.
Not a Light Can Help You Signature dealer? Contact Mark Langston mark@lightcanhelpyou.com to see if the Signature Program is a right fit for your business.
