Above: ASI President and CEO Tim Andrews (center left) and PPAI President and CEO Paul Bellantone, CAE (center right), with the Proforma Annual Convention & Family Reunion hosts Greg and Vera Muzzillo.

 

Proforma’s 2017 Annual Convention & Family Reunion, held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, recently concluded with more than 700 industry professionals in attendance. The distributor’s four-day event included education sessions, motivational presentations, networking opportunities and more for attendees.

“It is exciting to see how Proforma’s Convention has evolved into one of the premier events in our industry,” says Greg Muzzillo, founder of Proforma. “We are fortunate to have the industry’s most driven, talented and successful distributors, supplier partners and support staff come together to share ideas, collaborate with one another and help each other achieve even more success.”

Headlining events included a keynote presentation from Jack Canfield, New York Times best-selling author of Success Principles and the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, in which he shared strategies and sales principles designed to help attendees double or triple their sales. Muzzillo introduced a motivational business development program designed to inspire owners and sales reps to be proactive in executing wealth-building activities, while Vera Muzzillo, CEO of Proforma, updated the network on the advancements recently integrated into Proforma’s proprietary ecommerce platform, ProStores.

“PPAI’s presence at Proforma’s Convention gives us a tremendous opportunity to meet with, learn about and build stronger relationships with successful distributor owners, suppliers and the Proforma support team,” says Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI’s president and CEO. “It was also an opportunity to announce Proforma’s expanded meeting presence at The PPAI Expo 2018, and I personally appreciate the invitation, support and hospitality of Greg and Vera Muzzillo and the entire Proforma family.”

Several new programs were also introduced, including a new direct mail marketing campaign and “Proforma Show & Grow,” a program in which Proforma owners and sales reps are paired with supplier partner reps to grow sales through direct client interaction.

"The dedicated one-on-one time with our supplier partners is just one reason Proforma’s Convention is so unique,” said Andy Fornaro, owner of Proforma R&E Graphics and Million Dollar Club Member. “There is no other place that I can build relationships and learn about more than 300 of the top suppliers in our industry in a private and confidential setting.”

During the annual awards ceremony, a record-breaking 34 Proforma businesses were recognized for qualifying to apply for the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Proforma’s top performers were recognized with the top 12 Proforma businesses alone accounting for more than $110 million in sales. Fred and Suzette Albrecht, co-owners of Proforma Albrecht & Co., took the top honors with $34.2 million in sales in 2016. Proforma presented Centurion awards to 79 owners who increased their sales by more than $100,000 and 28 suppliers who increased their sales with Proforma by more than $100,000 in the 2016 calendar year.

“You seldom have the opportunity to be among this many successful people one place,” says Fran Ford, president of supplier Castelli North America. “That is what makes Proforma’s convention so special. It speaks volumes about Proforma’s resources and partnerships to draw this many high-caliber industry professionals to one event.

The 2018 Proforma Convention & Family Reunion will be held August 26 – 29, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand.