US author and sales leadership consultant Lisa Earle Mcleod said the economic negatives of the recession had actually done the UK events industry a favour.
Earle Mcleod was the keynote speaker at Sold, the first ‘No-Nonsense Sales Conference’ for event industry professionals, an inaugural event hosted at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, 10 July.
“The economic background provided the challenge to meetings professionals to prove the value of their industry,” she added.
Belief in a product and passion helped make some people sales superstars while others hovered near the mediocre middle, Mcleod told delegates who included leading event organisers and professionals from UBM, Excel, IIR Exhibitions, Media 10, Centaur and Fresh Montgomery.
Industry guru Simon Naudi explored some behavioural science in his presentation on sales techniques. He identified some of the blocks to sales including sophisticated fobs. He stressed the most common motives for buying were: ‘Profit, Pride, Fear’ and suggested strategies for dealing with each type to maximise sales success.
“The recession has changed people’s buying habits,” Naudi said, and argued many of the new behaviours were here to stay. He claimed research showed that 61 per cent of business buyers were intending to keep a lid on spending even if the economic situation improves.
The Sold conference offered afternoon workshops on sales leadership, maximising digital revenues and one session on communications and charismatic public speaking was delivered by Dr Rob Yeung who has presented on CNN in the US.
Sold was organised jointly by F2F Events and Mash Media, parent company of Conference News.
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