Because they’re too busy? No
Because they already know it all? No.
I’ll tell you what I think. Oh, and by the way, that statistic is from our own client research.
It can seem like we’re getting ‘conferenced out’ these days. There are just so many. And let’s be honest, some are better than others. But why do so many peiple avoid conferences all together?
As well as having attended conferences all over the region as a speaker in the last 20 years, I also go to a lot as a delegate. So I’m lucky to get the two perspectives.
So here’s my take on why people, or some people at least, don’t like the traditional style conference.
- They are just too expensive! At least $1,000 per conference day is the norm, and if you go to a few per year that soon mounts up. And what if you want to take alomg some of your team? That starts to get really expensive.
- Sales Pitches! Many conference presentations are just glorified sales pitches. I know conference companies take a lot of care to avoid this, but once the presenter is up their on stage, you kind of lose control of proceedings.
- Death by PowerPoint. Let’s face it, most conference presenters are not professional presenters, And why should they be! God forbid. And due to pressure of time the easiest thing to do is to prepare a deck of PowerPoint slides and walk through them. But sadly this doesn’t always make a great experience for the audience.
- Lack of Detail. It’s really hard for some conference presenters to fit in enough detail, as they are usually limited by time and are often limited by confidentiality in what they can share with the audience.
- Little 1 on 1 time. Again the traditional conference doesn’t really allow much time to get up ‘close and personal’ with the presenters, so you have to make do with the ‘canned’ presentation and a couple of audience questions at the end. Sometimes there are panel sessions of course which can allow more question time.
Those are my top 5 reasons why many Managers don’t attend conferences. Please add more in the comments below that you think I might have missed.
OK, so what if…
So with those reasons in mind, I started to think what my ‘ideal’ conference would look like.
And if it wasn’t already provided in the market place, maybe I would organise it myself!
What would this conference have to look like, if it was to address these 5 main issues and appeal to a broader audience? Here they are:
- It’s cheap. Really cheap! You see I’m not a conference company. I don’t need to make a profit from this. I have other business interests’ like my consulting and training businesses. If we want to hold this event, and make the tickers really cheap, we can. In fact I was going to make it free, but people associate free with low quality. So a nominal ticket price of $87 was picked, which all goes to charity! (even cheaper tickets with a promo code) Maybe it’s too cheap, what do you think? (comment below)
- Sales Pitches. No sales pitches at this event. Our Industry Leaders are giving up their time to come along and coach our delegates. Because that’s the kind of people they are! And even more…they are even helping me out with the expenses of the event. How great is that? (Because all the ticket sales go to charity)
- No Death by Powerpoint. In fact you may not see a powerpoint slide all day! Sorry. That’s because this event is based on small group coaching. Groups of 8-10 people select which Expert’s table they want to join for each hour of the day. And those Experts will teach, coach, explain, share, take questions, in a range of different ways.
- Lots of Details. We’re allowing an hour for each session to give plenty of time for coaching and questions. And you’ll also be able to ‘corner’ the Experts in the breaks and over lunch. (Yes, we are also providing a delicious buffet lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea, so come hungry)
- Lots of 1 on 1 time. Up close and personal in the table discussions and during the breaks. The Experts are there for you…all day.
We have a great line up of Industry Experts/Leaders at this event. You can check out their topics right here: www.supplychainleadersinsights.com.au/program/
And if you want to grab those tickets quick, just go right to this link: www.supplychainleadersinsights.com.au/registration/
Don’t have a promo code? Don’t you hate that? It’s OK, use this one and your ticket will be only $47. Promo Code ROB
So no excuse not to grab tickets for your whole team! Have a great day out, learn some awesome things, do some networking, and…get to help those in need!
Look forward to seeing you there.
Best Regards,
Rob O’Byrne
Group Managing Director
Email: robyrne@logisticsbureau.com
Phone: +61 417 417 307
(I’ll be your MC on the Day!)