Posts Tagged ‘education’
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Another casualty of the economy: traditional incentive meetings. Industry insiders agree that a new model is morphing for these multi-day junkets. Now it’s a smaller party with a bigger purpose. And that’s good news for experts.
Three ways we can take advantage of the new trends:
- Instead of pure entertainment, a business portion is being added to the agenda. Most popular here: getting feedback from top performers. Facilitators, this is a perfect fit for you.
- I predicted this for years, and this trend is going strong: training is now an important part of the meeting agenda. More opportunities to interact with Corporate America is a good thing. Yes, speakers and trainers are a natural fit for skill-building. Consultants can get in on this act, too.
- And, finally, charitable activities are on the rise. This is a great area for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) experts — especially those with relationships in Sales and Marketing.
Tags: education, events, experts, Marketing, meetings, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Greetings from the NSA Convention in Orlando, Florida. First thing I learned here: humidity matters. I have come to appreciate the “dry heat” of Arizona.
I’m hearing one question over and over again: How do I “get out there?” Folks assume that if they “just get in front of the right people,” they are golden. The good news: there are so many opportunities to distribute your brilliance. The interesting news: these opportunities have created a lot of white noise. Getting in front of people is not the challenge; getting them to pay attention to you is the real first step. The more crowded the market, the harder it is to get that attention.
Throwing spaghetti at the wall no longer works. We have to go an inch wide and a mile deep, not a mile wide and an inch deep. We have to get strategic about what we know, not just tell it. How to create that kind of publicity? Check out the next Extreme Mini Makeovers call next Tuesday, July 27th and leave with a blueprint on what to do next.
Tags: education, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, promotion, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, strategy | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Nutrition, wellness and even stress management folks will see a boost in interest in their programs, thanks to the $200M grants for wellness programs in Corporate America. Spread out over five years, these grants will go to small companies with fewer than 100 employees.
Watch for small business groups to wade into this area — I know, they don’t have the expertise, but that’s where you come in. Beware: don’t assume that these small companies just want you to speak and get out. Experts in these areas will have to take a holistic approach and distribute their content in a variety of ways. Your next big step: bundle your services as a project that includes speaking, internet stuff, whatever and target the smaller companies.
Tags: branding, consultants, education, experts, Health, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, April 8th, 2010
One of my favorite industry insider pubs has gone to magazine heaven. Training Magazine and its website is no more after last month’s issue. I knew it was sick when the issues got smaller and smaller. While I hoped that the community could live via the Internet, owner Neilsen Business Media is getting out of the trade publishing business.
Moral of the story: even a well-respected expo, industry conference and a subscription base of 45,000 couldn’t save this platform. Will be interesting to see what happens in the vacuum Training leaves behind.
Tags: education, Marketing, publishing, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Here we go again…Congress is asking 33 top medical societies for a list of funding sources going back to 2006. What are they looking for? Ties to the pharma and medical equipment industries. “Transparency” is the reason cited.
My prediction: look for a chilling effect. Pharma funding is big here and the last thing they want is an “AIG” incident. There’s no evidence that conference content is bought and paid for — and that doesn’t matter. Watch for even more scrutiny on the horizon. The antidote: independent content from folks like us. Look for topics on soft skills and running a better practice. It won’t completely replace clinical education — just a safe alternative.
Tags: education, Marketing, medical societies, pharma, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Health, Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Think the AIG effect has gone away? Think again. A recent survey by Ypartnership reports that “35 percent of respondents would plan fewer meetings in 2010 because of image / publicity / public policy considerations.” Ouch! That translates to an estimated $2.5 billion in lost economic impact.
The industry’s response is a PR campaign — “Face time. It matters.” Yet another clue that two things — interactive experiences and education — take center stage this year. Position your expertise accordingly…
Tags: branding, education, interactive experiences, meetings, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Want to give web-based classes and let someone else promote them? Check out edufire, who is giving standard education a run for its money. They do the promoting and the registering (and have signed up 50,000 users according to Fortune Small Business) and give their instructors a decent commission. They offer a wide variety of business classes and frankly, the experts look pretty standard. Definitely worth a try.
Tags: education, Marketing, promotion, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, strategy | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Like incentive meetings, fam trips — those hospitality tours to showcase hotels and locations — are undergoing an extreme makeover. What’s hot now: education sessions for meeting planner attendees. Topics are wide-ranging, with the main criteria being CEU credits. Including seminars with these credits has boosted attendance for Las Vegas Harrah’s trip, which gets 1200 applications for just 175 slots.
Why do you care? Let’s stop and think…where do you think they get the speakers for these sessions? Some will be other meeting planners/industry insiders and some will be local folks with something to share. In this age of competing venues for attendees, watch this trend steadily grow next year.
Tags: CEU, education, hospitality, makeover, Marketing, seminars, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »