MSA Winter Meeting

Marriott Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Eagle Crest, Ann Arbor, MI
February 27-28, 2025

Click here to register. Please join MSA at its winter meeting in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan!

On Thursday afternoon there is an MSA Board meeting (open to all), a golf simulator “tourney,” and a reception and banquet. Friday morning begins with breakfast and general meeting, followed by a seminar, the working lunch, and you’re on the way by 2:30 pm.

Seminars
For small business owners in the sign industry, the path to profitability is anything but easy. Facing fierce competition, tight budgets, and constant price pressure, many are left feeling stuck – trapped in a cycle of cutting prices just to keep business coming in. Customer Focused Selling: 5 Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line, the Friday morning high-impact seminar, is designed specifically to break that cycle and help sign shop owners and sales teams achieve growth without sacrificing profit.

In Customer Focused Selling: 5 Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line, Steve Lowisz won’t teach theory; he’ll share the very techniques he has successfully used to drive profitability, build client trust, and turn objections into opportunities. Drawing from his own journey, Steve created the Customer-Focused Selling approach after realizing that traditional, feature-focused selling wasn’t enough. By shifting the focus to customer needs, he found that he could boost sales, build lasting relationships, and win against much larger competitors. Now, he’s sharing this approach with small business owners who want practical tools they can implement immediately.
 

What You’ll Learn:

• How to Sell with Your Customer in Mind – Understand and address your customers’ needs directly, positioning your products as solutions that matter to them.
• Mastering Objections Without Lowering Prices – Learn proven techniques to turn objections into trust-building conversations that reinforce value and protect profitability.
• Crafting a Sales Script that Works – Develop clear, compelling sales scripts for cold calls and emails that engage prospects and drive conversion.
• Value-Based Selling Techniques – Go beyond features and benefits to articulate real value, allowing you to charge what you’re worth confidently.
• Real-World Practice and Application – Through interactive discussions, hands-on exercises, and group activities, Steve ensures that every participant gains skills they can use immediately.

The luncheon seminar will be Recruiting for Results: 3 Approaches to Finding Skilled Talent. Are you struggling to find skilled team members like metal fabricators, sign installers, or paint booth operators? For small sign shop owners, recruiting for these specialized roles can feel like an uphill battle. Traditional recruiting methods often fall short, and the high cost of recruiters leaves many wondering how to compete with larger shops that have bigger budgets and stronger brand presence.

In this session, Steve Lowisz shares over three decades of recruiting expertise to help you solve these challenges. You’ll walk away with practical techniques that you can apply immediately, combining traditional strategies with cutting-edge AI-powered methods to find and attract skilled candidates.

Right from the start, you’ll learn the six AI prompts every sign shop owner needs to grab the attention of skilled tradespeople, from metal fabricators to vehicle wrap specialists. These prompts will help you craft compelling messages, write job ads that stand out, and engage candidates in a way that leads to real results.
 

You’ll also discover:

• How to Use AI to Identify, Engage, and Attract Candidates – Leverage AI to find skilled trades professionals, personalize outreach, and boost response and application rates.
• Retargeting to Stay Top of Mind – Learn how AI-based retargeting keeps your job ads visible to passive candidates across social media and industry sites with minimal effort.
• New Channels for Skilled Trades Recruiting – Uncover unconventional, cost-effective ways to find candidates, from social media trade groups to partnerships with local organizations.

Schedule of Events

Golf Simulator “Tourney”
The Eagle Crest Golf Club (with its Clubhouse just a few steps from the Marriott) has four golf simulator bays. As a special feature of the MSA Winter Meeting, we have rented the four simulator bays from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Thursday afternoon, February 27. MSA is having a winter golf “tourney”! Plus, there will be some closest-to-the-pin and long drive contests. Snacks, NA beverages and prizes will be provided. Some golf clubs will be available, or you may bring your own. This is intended to be a fun event and will have little resemblance to serious golf. If you have never played golf but would like to participate, that is fine with MSA!
 

Area Attractions
Ann Arbor is many things, including a bustling university town, culinary hotspot, and a tech hub with a walkable downtown that includes world-class arts and culture. Located in southeast Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Ann Arbor lies at the center of a greater collection of communities in Washtenaw County. With so many thriving communities nearby, Ann Arbor has become a cultural melting pot and urban oasis. To plan your trip to the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area, go to www.annarbor.org.

Meeting Registration Fees

Hotel Reservations
The MSA room rate is $134, plus tax. Room reservations may be obtained at: https://book.passkey.com/e/50848508. To contact the hotel directly, call 734-487-2000. Overnight guest Self-parking is $15/car/day, and Valet is $35/car/day. (Parking rates subject to change.)

The MSA room block will be released Wednesday, January 29. All sleeping rooms are subject to an Early Departure Charge equal to one night’s room rate plus applicable fees and taxes.
 

How to Register
Complete the registration form, and mail it with your check to: MSA, 4128 Woodsly Dr., Batavia OH 45103. Make your check payable to MSA. Registrations must be received no later than Thursday, February 6, to qualify for the early registration fee. For registration questions or if you have dietary restrictions or need special assistance in order to participate in the MSA Meeting, contact the MSA office.

Sponsorship Opportunities
 

Sponsorships are available for the MSA Meeting with a variety of benefits depending on the level of promotion your company wishes. MSA appreciates the Sponsorships provided by our product manufacturer and sign supply distributor members. Your Sponsorships help defray the costs of the MSA meeting and allow MSA to keep registration fees low for the sign company attendees.

The “Speaking” Sponsorships are at the Sapphire and Diamond levels and are indicated in the list with **. Sponsorships must be received by MSA no later than February 6 in order for printed materials and signage to be prepared for the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you at the MSA Winter Meeting at the Marriott Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Eagle Crest, February 27-28.

By attending the MSA meeting, you are agreeing that any pictures including you and your likeness taken during the meeting may be used in MSA advertising, social media, and/or marketing materials. To opt out, please contact MSA at DeeMSA@cinci.rr.com or 513-753-8664.