Engage 2010 – A surprising engagement

Photo courtesy of beckyjohns 7 (Flickr)

Does it ever happen to you where you have something you have to do but you really don’t want to and then when you do it, it’s either very rewarding or great fun and you’re really glad you did it? That’s how I felt about attending BMA’s 2010 national conference in Chicago last week. Not a great distance from beautiful Milwaukee but it’s tough to be away from home for three days and two nights when business is busier than ever (and I mean it literally)! The title and theme of the conference was Engage 2010. Engaging it was — from the people in attendance to the quality of the information shared.

As business development director for the agency, my job is to develop relationships with targeted prospects over time so that when they decide to look at agency options, they are aware and familiar enough with us to put us on their list for consideration. My contacts range from the C-suite level to the marketing communications coordinator depending on their influence on decision-making.

The keynote speakers were amazing: 

• Beth Comstock, CMO of GE — yes, ALL of GE!
• Keith Pigues, Sr. VP & CMO of Ply Gem (also an author … Winning with Customers: Do Your Customers Make More Money Doing Business with You?)
• Eduardo Conrado, Sr. VP & CMO, Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks, Motorola along with David Srere, Co-President and CEO, Chief Strategy Office, Siegel + Gale
• Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO & Corporate VP, Kodak (and yes, author … The Mirror Test)
• And more

There were several breakout sessions each day with panelists that I’ve only dreamed of seeing or meeting. The list is too long but suffice it to say that I was in new business heaven — these are my peeps! Companies represented included 3M, Google, Emerson, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Molex, USG Corporation, CDW, ADP, H-P, Aon Corporation, Tellabs, Honeywell International, CME Group, Gallup Consulting, etc.

1. The takeaways were plentiful, and I’m looking forward to implementing a few of them within my own personal approach and well as within the agency overall. A couple of my favorite takeaways came from Jeff Hayzlett: In reference to business — Better is better – grow or die
2. Regarding sales — 8 seconds is the average attention span of an adult. Your elevator speech should be 118 seconds, TOTAL. We have 8 seconds to hook someone and 110 seconds to sell them.
3. Never compete on price — talk about value or something else!

All in all, it was a smorgasbord of opportunity! And, one I look forward to partaking in next year.