Visibility Wins: How to Attract the Best Customers and Create an Army of Raving Fans

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

1.25 Clock Hours | Domain F: Stakeholder Management 

Being great is no longer a differentiator. It is merely the entry fee. Winning is about leveraging competitive advantages, because competition is brutal, choices are vast and quality abounds! Branding veteran David Avrin, CSP will show you how to create meaningful differentiators to earn mind-share and build your brand.

Learner Outcomes:

  • How to discover, reveal or craft meaningful competitive advantages.
  • How to move beyond mere competency and create a visible chasm between yourself and competitors.
  • How to leverage a new generation of creative marketing strategies and tactics to dramatically boost your visibility.
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No One Told Me There’d Be Math Involved …

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

1.25 Clock Hours | Domain A: Strategic Planning

Doing more with less is the new normal. In response, event strategists are leveraging spend, forming strategic partnerships inside and outside their organizations, implementing smart negotiating tactics and getting clever with the money they have available. If you want fresh, clever ideas about how to spend responsibly and be a fiscal rock star, this is the place to be.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Enact a strategy to track exactly how and where their personal dollars are spend.
  • Track and tame ‘pop up’ spend onsite.
  • Create budgets multiple years out with ease.
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Fishbowl: Solutions to What’s Keeping You Up at Night?

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

1 Clock Hour | Domain A: Strategic Planning

Get answers to your challenges from your peers while discovering the power of the Fishbowl, which allows large groups of people to have intimate discussions by creating a revolving panel of participants. We’ll solve the real-world challenges of people in the room—and what’s keeping us all up at night.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Get answers to your challenges from your peers.
  • Find key takeaways you can use tomorrow to enhance your events.
  • Participate in a Fishbowl, and think about how you might utilize it to similar effect at your meetings and events.
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Medical Meetings in Las Vegas Panel

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

Not for Clock Hour Credit 

The panel discussion will cover industry trends, growing and changing medical education needs, compliance and issues, and how Las Vegas as a destination is responding to those trends and needs. The panel will also touch on how meetings planners can incorporate wellness into meetings for all industries, and navigating unique challenges.

Learner Outcomes:

  • By the end of this panel, attendees will be able to understand the value of working with local communities.
  • By the end of this panel, attendees will be able to identify and creatively respond to the changing needs of medical meetings.
  • By the end of this panel, attendees will be able to identify unique venue options for medical meetings.

A Creative Approach to Risk Management

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

1.25 Clock Hours | Domain C: Risk Management 

Risk management continues to be a hot topic in the events industry, but the focus is always on reacting to a catastrophe or disaster. While catastrophes and disasters are horrific, they are the responsibility of governments not event professionals. There is very little information on how to understand, and create, risk management plans. In this session you will get the chance to apply the Robson Risk Management Model to real events. You’ll walk away with an understanding of risk management and with an approach to creating a personalized risk management plan.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Learning to identify resources that can be used for risk management.
  • Get hands on experience applying the Robson Risk Management Model to events.
  • Learn how to effectively identify, assess, and apply strategies for a variety of risks.
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Evaluating Your CEO Readiness

Jun 20, 2017 2:15pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 3:30pm

Credits: None available.

1.25 Clock Hours | Domain E: Human Resources 

Think you have what it takes to be a CEO? This session will help you reflect on your experience, training, perspectives, and assumptions in assessing your viability for the C-suite. Explore what you possess and what skills you need to develop in leading, managing change, and transitioning to executive management.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Participants in this session will begin (or continue) their exploration of their skills and abilities as it applies to taking on senior leadership or top management roles within the meeting planning industry. By reflecting on one’s skills and experience in leading, strategizing, and working on a team, the participant will be better able to analyze what they have (and what they may need) if they aspire to senior management positions.
  • By attending this session, the participant will have a better understanding to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate their readiness to move into the C-suite. In addition, the participant will discover those areas and skills that may need to be improved upon to make a successful and lasting transition into top leadership roles in an organization.
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SUPPLIER MEETUP: What Venues Do that Drive Planners Mad

Jun 20, 2017 3:45pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 4:45pm

Credits: None available.

1 Clock Hour | Domain A: Strategic Planning

Ciara Feely asked a group of planners what their suppliers do to drive them mad. She got 109 responses in just more than 72 hours. Discover the responses she got, and brainstorm solutions to these challenges with your peers. This is an interactive session, so be prepared to share and take notes.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Discover the killer questions to better understand your potential client’s needs.
  • Learn how to build credibility with planners and position yourself as a partner instead of a supplier.
  • Find your “perfect fit” planners (know who your best clients are so you can find more of them).
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Lead Generation: Why Prospecting is the Lifeblood of Your Business

Jun 20, 2017 3:45pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 4:45pm

Credits: None available.

1 Clock Hour | Domain F: Stakeholder Management 

The key to lead generation is knowing the difference between a prospect and a suspect. A prospect is a legitimate potential customer. A suspect is disguised as a prospect but is not going to buy your product and wastes your valuable sales time. In this session you’ll learn how to spot the difference and move forward.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Participants will learn the importance of Lead Generation (Prospecting) to the overall success of their business. They will understand where Lead Generation fits into the Steps of the Selling Process.
  • Participants will learn about the misconceptions associated with Cold Calling. They will gain an understanding of how to implement Cold Calling into their daily sales activity and to soften the blow associated with the rejection that comes as a result of Cold Calling.
  • Participants will learn different methods of Lead Generation and be able to determine what is the right method of Lead Generation that fits their style and can benefit their business.
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Understanding Difficult Contract Clauses: The Big Three

Jun 20, 2017 3:45pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 4:45pm

Credits: None available.

1 Clock Hour | Domain C: Risk Management 

Performance clauses like attrition and cancellation are challenging to negotiate and sometimes expensive to exercise. Force majeure is the very definition of a “grey area.” Using provided scenarios as well as examples from the audience, we’ll talk about the law that supports (and doesn’t support) common contract language and minor changes in wording that can yield huge dividends in protection.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Evaluate attrition clauses to ensure you are getting credit for all you should be, and that you aren’t paying more than the hotel is legally entitled to in attrition fees.
  • Apply the principle of mitigation to performance clauses and understand why it is fine to ask for something you may not be legally entitled to.
  • Modify force majeure clauses with a time element to allow adequate opportunity to relocate a meeting if necessary.
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Our Industry's Future: Meetings in 20 Years

Jun 20, 2017 3:45pm ‐ Jun 20, 2017 4:45pm

Credits: None available.

1 Clock Hour | Domain G: Meeting or Event Design 

Like every other industry, the meetings industry is changing right in front of our eyes. This data-packed session will unveil 20 provocative predictions of what our industry might look like in the next 1-2 decades and introduce ways we can embrace them. The trends addressed will have an impact on our day to day lives, so understanding them will be of utmost importance in being able to embrace them. We will examine the tools you need to stay ahead of the curve during these changing times. The more able you are to talk about the future, the better able you are to stand out amongst your competitors.

Learner Outcomes:

  • Describe the way the hospitality industry has evolved over the past two decades
  • Discover what the future holds for meetings and events
  • Examine strategies to manage these changes
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