MARCH/APRIL 2008

FEATURESTORY

Inside the Meeting Planner's War Room: A Field Guide for the rest of us

Many full-time managers and executive assistants charged with planning meetings are not professional meeting planners. In fact, they rarely have any meeting planning training. Instead, they learn on the job, oftentimes discovering shortcuts, cost-saving tactics and potholes to avoid (the next time around because it's too late for the current event) through trial and error...

8 Off-Site Tips to Keep You on Course

So many decisions, so little to base them on.  Even veteran do-it-yourself planners can feel overwhelmed with the number of decisions that must be made for a multiple-day off-site event...

All Together Now!  Too many meeting planners focus on heads in beds and forgo group travel savings

So much thought and effort is devoted to selecting a site for a meeting and ensuring that everything necessary for the event is in place that a key step in every off-site is usually overlooked: How will participants get there?...

What’s Behind Door Number 2136?  Room Gifts Add Buzz to an Off-Site Event

Travel experiences can be some of the most memorable events in people's lives. It doesn't hurt, however, to give participants in off-site meetings or incentive travel programs something more tangible to remember the event by...
 

PUBLISHER'SNOTE

DIYers, The Cavalry Is Here  **

Wit and wisdom from our Publisher, Mike Murrell...
 

SCRATCHPAD

Another Failed Sales Process?  **

Stop the finger pointing and figure out what’s really ailing your sales approach...

Behind Every Successful Sales Process…  **

Before imposing yet another process on your sales team, consider the following...

Don’t Disregard the Power of Pocket-Sized Paper  **

In an age when people Google to find gardeners and store their key contacts in a BlackBerry, it’s easy to disregard the importance of a business card that gets noticed. Yet business cards continue to be an important step in creating that first impression, so make it memorable, experts advise...

Stop Slashing Price and Start Adding Value  **

When down markets make sales tougher to come by, slashing price often is a knee-jerk response. There is a better way to add value while not giving away profits, says sales consultant Art Sobczak...

Secret Weapon In A Downturn: Focus On People  **

When the economy is on edge, it’s crucial for managers to  create clarity for the people who work for them, says HR consultant Dennis Zeleny...
 

XPILLUSTRATED

The Part-Time Meeting Planner  (interactive web feature)

What’s the first rule of thumb for the do-it-yourself sales manager (or the blindsided assistant) forced to play part-time meeting planner? Don’t look like one. Who knows this better than you? We surveyed our readers and 74 percent of you said you are the decision maker for meetings and the destinations. You average almost four meetings per year, with a typical head count around 45.  So how do you get it right the first time?...
 

SALESU

Chumming For Sales  **

The most successful fishermen use chum to “school-up” or lure target fish to their boat. This strategy increases the activity and raises the odds of catching more and larger fish. Effective sales organizations and salespeople apply a chumming strategy by using something of value (aka an SOV) to attract potential customers to their product or offering...
 

MEETINGS&INCENTIVETRAVEL

Las Vegas: Because Business & Pleasure Go Well Together

According to Michael Goldsmith, Director of Convention Sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the city hosted 24,000 meetings and conventions last year and more than half of those were for groups of less than 500 attendees.  The average Joe who suddenly finds himself shouldering the Las Vegas meeting planning responsibilities is in luck: the LVCVA and each of the city's casino resorts is eager to make you look great...

Groups Find Gaming Far From Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas for visitors, but from a business perspective, what works in Vegas quickly spreads to other casinos around the country. "The intense competition in Las Vegas breeds experimentation to attract customers. It's the laboratory where new trends emerge," says Holly Thomsen of the American Gaming Association, an industry lobbying group...
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INCENTIVEPRODUCTS

Product Review: Household Products as Incentives  (360KB PDF document. Requires free Adobe Reader)

Hit your best performers with enhancements to their favorite sanctuary...their home. You can encourage them to perform by offering these new household products as rewards and incentives...

Incentive Alley  (560KB PDF document. Requires free Adobe Reader)

Take advantage of these exclusive offers to SalesForceXP readers on merchandise, gift card and travel incentives from our advertisers...
 

COACHES'CORNER

Lame Leads Are Clogging Your Sales Funnels  **

Attracting the wrong kind of clients is like dumping trash in your sales funnel. A full funnel is only valuable if it’s filled with the kind of clients that are right for you. There is so much that is wrong about the traditional sales funnel, and it’s gotten worse in the Sales 2.0 world...
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SFXPADVERTISERS

Visit http://www.SalesForceXP.com/AdIndex for more information from this issue's advertisers!
 

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