October 2025 Mastermind Recap

As you Ace dealers already know, while AceNet offers useful sales tools, many agreed it falls short when it comes to customer relationship management. Innovators compared its capabilities to true CRMs like HubSpot, which can better track customer interactions, automate reminders, and provide visibility into sales opportunities.

Consistency, not coincidence, closes deals. Innovators shared that the most successful accounts are often the result of 10-15 meaningful touchpoints over time. Relying on a salesperson to make all 15 touchpoints is a mistake. Getting your marketing and sales folks on the same page, leveraging a revenue strategy together, is the key to success.

Using a CRM like HubSpot makes that process easier to manage, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks and every contact is followed up with.

A newer B2B Lead asked for advice on building customer relationships. Innovators agreed that early outreach should focus on connection, not sales. Whether it’s a quick visit, a call, or a casual check-in, the first few minutes are about listening and showing up — not pitching.

One of the biggest untapped opportunities discussed was property management. Although it’s on top of the list for most trainings, there aren’t a lot of long-term, nurturing strategies for our B2B folks to use. Innovators pointed out that property managers often oversee dozens of units, making them repeat customers for everything from maintenance supplies to seasonal products.

One team’s current win: working on snowblower deals for property managers at ~$4K each. With the right outreach, one contact can turn into a long-term, high-volume partnership.

A Florida-based innovator shared their process for setting up a tree lot that sold all but five of their 500 trees. The layout included an 80-foot run that held 200 trees at a time, built with custom two-by-four stands for stability. They focused exclusively on 8-9-foot trees after identifying that smaller sizes didn’t sell in their market.

Adding carryout service and an on-site netting baler completed the experience — turning their parking lot into what one attendee called a “winter wonderland” that customers look forward to each year.

Timing for holiday transitions sparked lively debate. Most stores reported setting up Christmas displays by mid-October, with one innovator starting as early as October 1 to maximize sales and reduce the bottleneck between Halloween and Christmas.

Another shared that they now put Halloween upfront near impulse items and transition Christmas décor toward the back, creating natural overlap and extending both categories’ shelf life.

Innovators discussed how social platforms see major engagement spikes during November and December. The takeaway: don’t slow down your posting cadence. Increase frequency, boost your top-performing posts, and double down on content that highlights people and communities. That’s what customers want to see this time of year.

Innovators compared holiday traditions that work: one store hosted a hot cocoa station without needing a food permit by simply selling cups and offering the cocoa for free. Others invested in community “Santa photo” stations with consistent backdrops and even shared Santas across small towns to build familiarity and reduce costs.

Simple touches like this not only drew families in but generated easily shareable content for social. Scroll down for examples from our innovators!

With nearly half of Gen Z’s shopping happening online during the holidays, innovators discussed ways to make in-store shopping feel just as convenient. One standout idea: promote a gift-wrapping service as a value-add to pull in younger, time-strapped customers.

This might be especially appealing for shoppers buying gifts for others in their household, who don’t want product boxes showing up at their door and spoiling the surprise.

The group discussed how unbalanced holiday bonuses can hurt culture. For instance, if a store’s garden center brings in the bulk of seasonal sales, those employees may get bonuses while others don’t. This setup can unintentionally create frustration among the wider team.

 One innovator shared a transparent bonus spreadsheet that broke down qualifications by department and tenure, helping staff understand how payouts were calculated. Another suggested reframing department-specific bonuses as commissions, since those rewards are tied directly to sales, and even switching to quarterly payouts to help manage cash flow.

While some chains are experimenting with automation, innovators reaffirmed that personal service is what sets local stores apart. As one GM put it, “Our differentiator is customer service.” Instead of self-checkout, discussions centered on labor optimization, cross-training, and improving efficiency while keeping customer touchpoints human.

Incremental raises tied to training milestones stood out as a simple but powerful retention strategy. Innovators shared that connecting pay bumps to measurable skills not only reduced turnover but also helped new hires see a clear growth path. It’s a model designed to keep employees engaged from day one and is especially crucial during the holidays when new seasonal staff need quick wins.

Several GMs raised the concern that fast-food jobs in their regions now pay $18–$20/hour, higher than entry-level wages in hardware retail. The consensus: while matching pay isn’t always possible, stores can compete through culture, recognition, and flexibility. Our innovators didn’t have time to cover everything they wanted about payroll issues, so we’ll continue this conversation next month!