The Theme’s the Thing

If you think your meeting will succeed only because of a clearly defined objective and compelling message, think again. To communicate the message at your product launch or motivational session, content and goals don’t always add up to the sum of their parts. Sometimes you need something extra to hammer home the message.

To create a memorable meeting that accomplishes its goals takes careful execution and precise delivery. That’s where Cramer, a Massachusetts company that produces meetings, can offer advice about driving home your message, making it stick with your sales force in the year to come and getting the most you can for your meeting investment. Among other elements, Jill Petrie, Cramer’s marketing director, suggests careful planning:

Map out the meeting well in advance. Create the agenda months ahead to allow time for planning, organizing and polishing content. Allow time for speaker rehearsals.

She also suggests building the meeting around a compelling and relevant theme. Make your meeting a memorable experience. Give the sales team something to “take away.”

View each meeting element as a mirror of the company’s brand. Details should project the organization’s image as a market leader. Maximize every opportunity to jazz up your sales force, reminding them the company is going places and helping them get customers on board.

No meeting is too small – and almost no program lacks the budget – for creative theming and production. Such event companies as Cramer can help communicate key messages by producing themed meetings within most budgets. Armed with expertise and buying power, event specialists can cut costs in a variety of ways. Included among them are: hotel negotiations, rental of audiovisual equipment and staging. The result? Your corporate staff can concentrate on what they do best – preparing to help the sales force sell more.

Fuel the momentum in the wake of the sales meeting. Use videos and photos to reinforce the meeting’s theme and messages during the year via a communications campaign. Encourage the sales force to use your theme as a rallying cry and a year-round reminder of what they promised to do.

Visit Cramer on the Web at www.cramerprod.com or call 1-800-439 3375.