Posts Tagged ‘meetings’
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
That’s the total industry output meetings play in the U.S. economy, according to The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy study put together by 14 meetings organizations. This is the industry’s response to the bad press (and the AIG effect) from the economic meltdown.
This study confirms what I’ve said for almost 20 years: Corporate America is the 500-lb gorilla in this industry. They have the most meetings — 1.2 million out of a total 1.8 million meetings in 2009 (and that number will get bigger for 2011). Their meetings have over half (52%) of the almost 205M participants. The stat we care most about: speakers/trainers get 3% of the total expenditures, totally almost $4M in 2009 alone. Sounds worse than it is, as the category was in the top ten by percentage and amount. (The biggest expense: food and beverage at 28%.)
Why do we care about this study? Because it shows where the money is and where it is going. Great top-line information for anyone who wants to know more about the environment where most speaking engagements reside. Click here for key findings.
Tags: economy, experts, meetings, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Do you send RFPs (requests for programs) to speak at meeting industry events? Many of us do, as this is a target rich environment. Then check out this poll by Meetings and Conventions magazine. The #1 reason why your buyers show up at these events? Educational sessions win by a wide margin, garnering 83% of the respondents’ top pick.
More good news: a vast majority — 90% — will attend more or the same number of events as last year. My recommendation: focus on topics that align meetings to business objectives. Help them craft a new role with content on strategic thinking, rebranding, and how to sell their ideas/role to the C-suite. This is not the place for your canned presentations. If you speak here, bring your “A” game.
Tags: education, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Earlier this month, I passed along Mary O’Hara Devereaux’s predictions for the economy. Need more industry evidence? According to Smith Travel Research, hotel room rates will skyrocket in 2011 and 2012, with the average daily rate rising over four percent this year alone (and a whopping 6.8 percent increase in 2012). The CEO is predicting 2012 rates to “rival the boom years of 2006 and 2007″. One reason: demand is rising, but supply remains flat.
Why do you care? Because buyers are already skittish about meeting spend. Between these increases, air fares rising and an almost 30 percent increase in food prices, what do you think their reaction will be? You guessed it…anything that can be cut (such as speaker fees) will be cut. Combine this will more free speakers hitting the market (thanks to all those PR agencies) and what do you have? A big hassle on getting your speaking fees, especially those under $5,000.
The antidote: be someone they want bad enough to pay for.
Tags: experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Well, it had to happen sometime. Speaker RFPs (request for programs) for last Spring’s NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference were posted online for all members to admire (and comment on). You better believe those comments made a difference on who got invited to speak.
Why would an association do this? To build attendance and online engagement. By deciding what topics — and speakers — would be included, the community would own the agenda. And if the members chose the topics, how can they gripe about the program lacking relevance?
Moral of the story: attendees are now seen as assets and will contribute to the meeting in a variety of ways. (Another example: flash mobs as entertainment. Yes, it happened last year at several big conferences.) Don’t be surprised if more associations try this method. Keep this in mind when you write your proposals.
Tags: associations, meetings, Speaking, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, February 17th, 2011
The bimonthly Business Barometer for December 2010 from Meeting Professionals International shows a continued trend of good news. Hiring full-time folks is up for 23 percent of the more than 300 senior meeting professionals surveyed with 28 percent hiring more contractors (like us!).
Other findings you care about are on the meeting side. Compared with a year ago, 51 percent are seeing the greatest increase in domestic corporate meetings, with 22 percent reporting more association events.
The dark cloud here is still the budget. Yes, resources have grown one percent compared to October. But again, I don’t think any upswing means the return of high speaking fees for those experts who cut their fees (some as much as two thirds) during the downturn. Watch for more opportunities to get out there and figure out how to leverage the opportunity.
Tags: budgets, consultants, meetings, speakers, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
Heads up: many meeting planners want to limit their speakers’ availability for other events. Check out the language alert reader Dave Paradi found in this Request for Presentations (RFP) for an industry event: “It is a policy of XYZ that all speakers at XYZ agree to not present their session within 6 months prior and post XYZ 2011 in the City of ABC. Do you agree to this policy?”
That’s right — you can’t speak in that city for SIX MONTHS. Why do meeting planners care? According to Dave, many are concerned about speakers who schedule events right before/after the conference that would compete for the same attendees. The good news: this is negotiable and many groups have changed the wording or dropped the issue entirely.
I can see both sides here. Competition for attendees is fierce. And… six months is ridiculous. Moral of the story: read the dang RFP and don’t be afraid to question the policies. Many thanks to Dave for giving me the heads up and the backstory.
Tags: meetings, positioning, seminars, speakers, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Just when you thought it was safe, here’s another study about meetings and conventions. Conducted by ConventionSouth magazine, this is a good snapshot into the minds of meeting planners, especially those who plan association conventions. Another good sign: 67% of the respondents are senior people, with at least ten years in the biz. This study provides much more relevant findings than the general NBTA (National Business Travel Association) and American Express. (Which is why I didn’t report on these findings.)
The upshot: most of them are in a holding pattern for 2011, with 86% expecting their world to stay the same or slightly improve. A vast majority expect the number of meetings to increase or stay the same; ditto with attendance.
The response to this good news: a significant number are slashing budgets anyway, especially in food and beverage. Expect intense negotiations to continue on all fronts. Other interesting findings we need to care about:
- The perception issue is still with us, as 46% cite this concern for selecting destinations. The perception of unnecessary lavishness will also impact speaker selections. Celebrity and sports figure speakers will continue to fight this trend. Anyone over $10,000 better bring their A-game content.
- Another reason why content will continue to be king in 2011: ROI (return on investment). Planners report that they are still getting hounded to prove their value. Meeting spend will also be a part of that equation, but also look for more sophisticated measurements coming up.
- Buzzword for 2011: value. Three criteria will be used for this definition: building relationships and networks, creating a positive emotional climate, and capturing attention.
See for yourself with this link to the study.
Tags: meetings, positioning, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Tired of “cautious optimism” from conference planners? Go outside the U.S., where other countries have bounced back.
Exhibit A: Canada. It’s business as usual according to a Spring poll conducted during the IMEX hosted buyer event in Frankfurt, Germany. Over 200 North American buyers note that Canadian events didn’t get hit with the perception issue, and the economy wasn’t as painful. The result: their GNP is up over 6% as of the Spring.
If U.S. speakers are dropping their fees anyway, might as well head north. The caveat: these audiences expect an acknowledgment that they are indeed different than their neighbors of the south. Don’t assume that the same old messages work there as well. If you are willing to adjust, this and the Asian markets are worth checking out.
Tags: meetings, Speaking, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Interesting article from a meetings industry magazine this Fall about getting more value from speakers. Yes, it’s standard to ask for more than one session. What’s becoming standard now: travel expenses.
That means speakers need to include airfare and incidentals in their fee. And no, that doesn’t mean that you are paying for travel from the meager fee you get. Raise the dang thing to include travel and use your points if the airfare is an unpleasant surprise.
What’s the new standard? More stuff after the meeting. Buyers are looking at coaching, consulting, and facilitation after the event for implementation help. Remember, buyers are looking to us to change behavior. They know that can’t happen in one 60-minute segment, so they are demanding more help.
This is good news for experts who speak. Bad news for the general motivation folks as well as self-help/personal growth. My vote: do a pre-emptive strike by offering a “XX point ‘do it now’ program for implementing the ideas presented”. Those who do will have the inside track.
Tags: events, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Here’s more fuel for the virtual attendance movement. For associations, event management company Glasgows has launched EventCast, a webcast service with interactive technology. The big deal here is two-fold: first, the service sends responses instantly to the event for real-time display and analysis by presenters. Watch for more polls and questions rather than comments. Demands for facilitation and “on the fly” content will spike. If canned speeches weren’t dead before, they are now.
For corporate markets, Unisfair introduces “Virtual Classroom” Training Environment. The reason behind the fanfare is the price. According to Unisfair, companies that have used the classroom have reported a 95 percent reduction in training costs, with the average cost per attendee going from roughly $2,000 to $100. They also report that industry giants such as IBM, Intel, and Intuit are happy customers.
Both companies tout that this can replace face-to-face conferences and training. Don’t believe it. Many organizations will use this as an adjunct, not a wholesale replacement. But experts will be expected to be comfortable with the technology and use it creatively. Let the learning begin…
Tags: education, events, Marketing, meetings, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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