Posts Tagged ‘meetings’
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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Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
I was invited to speak at an evening meeting for a new, smaller chapter of an industry association. Because I was there anyway, I offered to spend the afternoon speaking on the latest branding trends for experts. Only five people showed up.
Tossed the process (and the PowerPoint slides) to the wind and just had a real conversation. Every single person got more individual help than they ever thought possible. I had a stone-cold blast. (Seriously, time just stopped.) Everybody — especially me — got lucky.
This situation reminds me of two things: 1) there are random rewards for just showing up; and, 2) we get what we make time for. As for the people who didn’t have time to learn about their marketplace: they missed out.
Tags: conversations, meetings, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
What I like best about Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI’s) bi-monthly economic report: the findings are based on the latest data. And so far, no surprises: 39% say attendance is bigger than last year. That’s significant — only 10% saw an uptick last April. The interesting news: that increased attendance will not result in higher budgets. Buyers are only going to pay for what they gotta have.
What else to watch out for: short lead times for more meetings. Negotiations will continue to run rampant in 2011 and possibly beyond. My recommendation: get your fee strategy that you can live with in place now.
Tags: budgets, events, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
What do buyers look at first when you submit an RFP (request for proposal) to speak at their conference? The topic. It doesn’t matter if you are the Pope, if your topic doesn’t fit their agenda your proposal goes into the round file. Immediately.
Yes, this is basic and yet too many speakers don’t make the cut for this reason. My theory: we are blinded by what we offer instead of approaching the conference from a blank slate. The former approach assumes a fit and spins accordingly; the result is a topic buyers roll their eyes at. The latter doesn’t assume a good fit and compares the criteria in the RFP with other hot trends. Combining the two.
Yes, I have more thoughts on this subject. Click here to see my latest video rant. Want more? No problem: the next Extreme Mini Makeover call on Tuesday will explore how to turn your brilliance into a topic that gets picked every time. Click here to get more info and to register for the series.
Tags: events, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Last week I explored major changes ahead for the incentive industry. Here’s another study to back that up: The Incentive Research Foundation’s newest Pulse Survey. Key finding: although positive vibes are on the rise, the budgets aren’t. Reason: buyers still feel stung by the “extravagant” label. Therefore, this will continue to be bad news for any speaker in the general motivation market (i.e., the sports figures, those with compelling stories) who don’t have a heavy dose of substance.
Another thing to watch out for: this study reports that almost half of the respondents believe their involvement in incentives will decline as more procurement departments take over. Prediction: buyers for agenda and speakers will move up the food chain. No one wants to be blamed for a low-fee speaker who bombed.
Tags: events, incentive meetings, meetings, positioning, speakers, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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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 27th, 2010
Want to know what’s going on with corporate meeting spending? Ask the financial execs at the top. That’s exactly what AmEx did with CFO Research Services. Their recent survey of nearly 500 senior financial executives of global companies doesn’t look good for us experts. The stats: 26 percent project an increase in travel spending; 31 percent expect “no change”; while 44 percent plan further cuts. Maybe I’m just a half-empty sorta girl, but that last number isn’t good for corporate meetings.
The silver lining: the trend line for outside meetings is more positive. In 2009, 79 percent of respondents to the survey said their companies were likely to restrict travel to conferences and events; only 35 percent plan to do so this year. That sounds great until we remember that many associations are going the free speaker route to save money.
Bottom line: the paid speaking gigs are not in the usual places. They are in the nooks and crannies. Get out your flashlight and go find them.
Tags: budgets, economy, Marketing, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Gearing up for the NSA Convention in Orlando this week. Know that I’m going to be asked a lot of questions about the market. Two words: cautious optimism. Yes, things are rebounding but look beneath the surface and some cracks are still there. Example: yes, association meetings are back and some groups are posting record-breaking attendance. However, industry insiders point to meetings consolidating and pent-up demand from our year-long dry spell in the association market. And this doesn’t help: the sugar daddy of the meetings industry — the corporate market — remains flat. Until that spending increases, be prepared for a roller coaster ride.
Tags: economy, Marketing, meetings, Vickie Sullivan
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