I had been open with a small meeting center about six months before I got a call for a small group meeting for a very large semiconductor company located near me. Well the meeting came and went, and we did a great job for them. Immediately following that meeting, I started getting tons of calls from that same company. And it all had to do with word of mouth.

The value of having someone else talk about your business, and the job you do, is priceless. Advertising, which is really a business talking about itself, is mostly taken with a grain of salt by consumers. Sure it’s a great way to get noticed, but sealing the deal often takes more than that.

That was back in 1993, and it is even more true today. The internet has certainly made our world smaller, and a lot more impersonal, but the grapevine stills exists, and word of mouth has become digitalized. All those review sites out there, like Angies List and Yelp are becoming more populated with real reviews, and more people frequent those review sites before making buying decisions.

Online review sites are the new testimonials and word of mouth. They have to be authentic, and they have to be hosted or presented by a third party or people won’t trust them. Buyers will also give credit to those businesses who are willing to put themselves out there, because it proves to them that you have confidence in your product and service.

Next time you review your marketing plan for your business or service, you might think about how you’re managing those testimonials and word of mouth advertising.

The Event Guys - all you need for your events - with one phone call! One contact to help you contract every phase and every aspect of your events!
All done at no cost to you! WOW!!

In today’s world, the number of choices can by paralyzing. Author and psychologist Barry Schwartz, in his book “The Paradox of Choice”, states that any more than six choices can lead to indecision and lost sales for a company. The argument is a solid one, he says. “When there are lots of choices, people tend to put more effort into making decisions and less into enjoying them. What bothers them is the possibility that, if they had chosen differently, they could have gotten something better.”

A response on a blog from Anton Howes on Adamsmith.org – “When given the difficult choices of ‘healthcare plans’ or ‘jeans’, why can’t we employ ‘healthcare consultants’ or ‘style gurus’ to choose the best ones on our behalf? We can even choose which experts we want to place our trust in. In fact, the uncertainty creates whole new markets and industries for expert choice-makers like ‘healthcare plan consultants’, ‘style gurus’, maybe even ‘lifestyle coaches’. The possibilities are endless and unpredictable.”

www.grandhotelbridgeport.com

SOBCon is coming to the Pacific Northwest this September 15-18, where Liz Strauss and Terry “Starbucker” St Marie will be connecting businesses to the planet and the people who live on it.

They’ll be talking about business models that work for profit AND for social good for 2 1/2 days at the Ambridge Event Center in Portland, Oregon.

SOBCon NW will have the same “Models & Masterminds” format featured in the Chicago SOBCon, with 6 work sessions, 4 interviews, 4 special presentations, and a 1/2-day non-profit “give back” event.

Plus, Liz and Terry will host a special evening social event on Friday, September 16th.

Confirmed speakers and presenters:

• Liz Strauss (SOBCon Co-Founder)
• Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie (SOBCon Co-Founder)
• Chris Brogan (NY Times Best Selling Author, “Trust Agents”)
• Carol Roth (NY Times Best Selling Author, “The Entrepreneur Equation”)
• Jonathan Fields (Author, “Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel For Brilliance”)
• AJ & Melissa Leon (CEO and Creative Director, the LaC Project)
• Glenda Watson Hyatt (Author and Blogger, “I’ll Do It Myself”)
• Dean McBeth (Senior Digital Strategist, Wieden+Kennedy Portland)
• Patty Azzarello (CEO, Azzarello Group)
• Christina Williams (Editor, Sustainable Business Oregon)

For more info and for registration visit www.sobevent.com

John Chen you’re a genius! More info at www.geoteaming.com or call me and I’ll be happy to get you a quote from John and his team!

“At AIBTM in Baltimore, Meeting Professionals International(MPI) released the Business Value of Meetings study which identifies key benchmarks in the measurement of the business value of meetings including: percentage of businesses who measure, barriers to implementation, crucial programming elements for organizational success and key skills needed for personal success.

The study is available for download here.

“This research enables our members and industry colleagues for the first time to assess their own practices against established, global benchmarks,” said Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of MPI.

“We now have the critical data to direct the development of tools and resources our professional community needs to speak the language of business and advance best practices in value measurement.”

The study, conducted by Association Insights, was funded through an investment by AIBTM into the MPI Foundation’s Thought Leadership program last year.”

What’s the business value of your meetings?

As a free agent myself, I’m finding a great deal of fulfillment and value in putting my experience to work helping people find the right solutions  for their challenge. In hindsight (which of course is always 20/20 right?) when I had my own business, I was mostly trying to convince my potential customers that we had the solution for them and that we could make it work. And it often did. But sometimes it didn’t and they’d end up not choosing us.

As a free agent, with being able to offer my clients such a wide variety of choices, I now help people find the perfect fit every time. In this way, I feel that I bring value to both my clients and the vendors that I work with. Very fulfilling, and very liberating.

The three bids came back with a substantial difference in pricing, although we sent the exact same information to all three companies:

Bid # 1 – $1,750.
Bid # 2 – $3,900.
Bid # 3 – $9,650.

WOW! What a range in prices!!

The client eventually chose Bid # 2 as they were able to offer the level of quality and service the client was after. But it re-affirmed a lesson my father taught me at a young age – ALWAYS GET THREE BIDS!

Kingstad also offers assistance in connecting with professional event and conference planning, production, management and consultation. And with extensive experience in facility and destination management, Kingstad offers consulting services for facilities and venues needing management services and assistance.

Eric Kingstad was the founder and CEO of Kingstad Meeting Centers for sixteen years. Kingstad Meeting Centers was a chain of conference and event centers in Portland and Seattle that focused on small meetings and events for the local markets. Eric is a 30 year veteran of the meetings and events industry, having spent 13 years with Marriott Hotels & Resorts, as well as two stints at Convention Bureaus in Oregon. Kingstad also owned the Kingstad Center, a large arts center in Beaverton that featured the largest art gallery in Portland, and showcased hundreds of live performances of music, comedy and theater on it’s three stages.