Okay i spoke to Sherri and a couple of the guys at CCBill yesterday afternoon before catching my flight last night and Sherri asked if there were any ideas i had to relay them to her but, rather than just getting feedback from me, i thought it would be a good idea to throw this out there on GWW for the other people who attended the show to help Sherri make the next show bigger and better.
Initially, i have to say, there isnt actually that much i would change however, here are some things that i think should be worked on for the next event, whenever that may be
1) Bars - There was one night where the hotel wanted to close down the bar for a couple of hours so they could setup for a sponsored event, i personally thought this was due to bad planning on the part of the hotel (they knew they only had 1 bar) so they should have made alternate arrangements if they needed an hour or two to setup for the party. Perhaps moving a small 'mini-bar' to the outside patio area could have been something they could do next time around, if this ever becomes an issue again.
2) The Seminar - Personally, even though the state of the industry panel had a full room, i really do think that a lot of the people in the room hadnt been in the business long enough to appreciate the advice they were being given, by all of the panelists, several times Brad, Greg, Lars, Tony and Myself made comments and the room just had a blank expression on their faces, perhaps dropping the SOTE panel for a few years and changing it to something else would be good.
3) All night shuttles - On Sunday several people (myself included) had to wait outside the hotel for over 45 minutes for a cab, we were then told that cabs werent running and we should walk 4 blocks to Mill Ave to get one. Granted this was through no fault of CCBill or the hotel rather the cab companies in the area but i personally saw several really hot looking women walking over to catch a cab on their own and it really did concern me. Perhaps having an all night (or even late night) free-for-all shuttle service would be welcomed by the 30 or so people who had to wait for a cab that night.
4) Sponsored meals / Bars - I really would have liked to have seen a non-alcoholic option being offered at the sponsored events, most people who i met saw me several times with an O'Douls in hand at the hotel because i was pacing myself drink wise, soda, coffee and water isnt really a non-alcoholic alternative imho. Likewise with the food, i overheard a couple of people mention that it would have been nice for there to have been something 'vegetarian' other than the regular salad bar at the sponsored lunch and dinner buffets.
5) Cute guys - there needed to be more of them. Or at the very least, CCBill needs to be getting Corvette, Jeff, Sean and gary walking around topless for at least 1 day each
In all seriousness though, there really wasnt much that i would change other than the 4 things above, i actually overheard one attendee saying they werent having 'fun' to which i quipped if they werent having a good time at this show, there was something seriously wrong.... With them.
Those of you who didnt attend i would highly recommend the next Phoenix event, i got a lot of new business done at the show and spent a lot of quality time with people we already do business with building our personal friendships more, as someone who will openly admit to being in business to make money first and foremost and friends being a good by-product of business, i can honestly say i made a LOT of friends this time around that i am looking forward to nurturing for a very long time.
So, those of you from GWW that did attend the Forum, please post any ideas, comments or feedback you have about the show to help Sherri when she starts planning the next event, i know she will appreciate it
Regards,
Lee
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