ISA Marketing & Sales Summit

We are pleased to announce the lineup of breakout sessions added to the agenda for the 2013 Marketing & Sales Summit in New Orleans.

2013 ISA MARKETING & SALES SUMMIT: INNOVATION IN AUTOMATION

Wed/Thurs/Fri, September 11-13, 2013
W New Orleans
New Orleans, LA

Helping marketing and sales execs in the industrial automation markets meet the strategic and tactical challenges of the 21st century

REGISTRATION
Conference site: http://marketingsalessummit.com

Early bird discount by June 15, 2013
• ISA Member: $445 • ISA Non-member: $595 • Workshops: $195

Conference pricing
• ISA Member: $555 • ISA Non-member: $695 • Workshops: $225

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

10:00am-12:00 pm Local Facility Tour

1:00-5:00 pm Pre-Summit Workshop
PR101: Effective Marketing Communication for the Automation Industry, Walt Boyes, Principal, Spitzer & Boyes

5:00-6:30 pm Exhibit setup & registration

6:30-7:30 pm Reception and Networking with refreshments in exhibit area
Plus ISA New Orleans Section networking

7:30-7:40 pm Welcome: Juliann Grant, Director, Management Division, ISA
Introduction: Shari Worthington, Program Chair

7:40-8:30 pm Plenary: Social Media Marketing During a Crisis: Boston Marathon Revisited: Jim Cahill, Emerson Process, Joel Don, ISA Social Media Community Manager, Dick Morley, and Christina Stephens, Communications Director, Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals

Thursday, September 12, 2013

7:00-8:00 am Registration check-in

8:00-8:05 am Introduction: Shari Worthington, Program Chair

8:05-8:15 am Opening and Welcome: Walt Boyes, Conference Chair

8:15-8:30 am ISA Welcome: Peggie Koon, ISA President-Elect

8:30-9:45 am Keynote

9:45-10:15 am Morning Networking Break with refreshments by exhibit area

10:15-11:45 am Break-out Sessions I

“Gemba Walking Marketing & Sales,” Doug Brock, Location Manager, Kendall Electric

“Channel Partner Strategies: Marketing and Sales Tactics to Drive Sales Performance,” Juliann Grant, VP Marketing, eCoast Sales Solutions

11:45-1:00 pm Lunch Buffet with Panel Discussion: “Big Data: What are we learning from mobile technology & loyalty programs?”

1:00-2:30 pm Break-out Sessions II

“Panda, Penguin, Rabid CPCs: The Zookeeper’s Guide to Search Marketing 2013,” Shari L Worthington, President, Telesian Technology

“What Prices Should We Charge? Let’s Ask Our Customers,” Dan DeVries and Mike Pritchard, Pricing Gurus

2:30-3:00 pm Afternoon Networking Break with refreshments by exhibit area

3:00-5:00 pm NEW! UNCONFERENCE

• Dick Morley
• Walt Boyes & Jon DiPietro: Inbound & Outbound Marketing
• Open: Topic TBD one month prior to event via email

6:00pm Evening group event: Good music and good food at Mulate’s!

Friday, September 13, 2013

8:00-8:30 am Registration Check-in, Breakfast, and Networking

8:30-9:30 am Break-out Sessions III (choose 1 of 2)

TBD, Matt Leary, Principal, Solutions Insights

“Deeply Understanding Your Customer,” Joy Ward, Principal, Natural Insights

9:40-10:40 am Break-out Sessions IV (choose 1 of 2)

“Competitive Pressures and Their Influence on Functionality, Capacity, and Tool Sets for Long Term Supported Control System Products,” by Chris Smith, Director Foxboro Scada, Invensys

“Building an Industrial Social Media Community,” Brian Joosse, Symmetri Marketing

10:40-11:00 am Morning Networking Break

11:00 am-12:30 pm Marketing & Sales “Speed Dating” Q&A
(35 minutes per room, rotate through 3 rooms)

• Sales: Rick Albrecht, Dynatech Control Solutions
• Blogging for Business: Gary Mintchell
• Social Media: Joel Don, ISA Community Manager

12:30-2:00 pm Lunch Buffet with Keynote: Dick Morley, “What Does Pack Size Have to do with Marketing and Sales?”

2:00 pm Conference close

The International Society of Automation (ISA) has announced that early-bird registration is open for its 8th Marketing and Sales Summit, which will be held 11-13 September 2013 at the W New Orleans hotel, just steps from the famed French Quarter.

By registering by 15 June 2013, ISA members will save $110 on registration costs ($445 early-bird rate versus full rate of $555), and Automation Community members and the general public will save $100 ($595 early-bird rate versus full rate of $695). To register now, click here. (Select “Register Online” under the ABOUT tab.)

The theme of this year’s summit, “Innovation in Automation: Navigating the Maze of Customer Connections,” focuses on giving marketing and sales professionals the tools, strategies and insights needed to successfully negotiate their way through today’s fast-changing automation and control marketplace.

Key topic areas include: best practices in social media, guerilla marketing, brand marketing, market-driven product development, winning complex accounts, business development, advertising in the digital age, and more.

Attendees will:

- Discover practical, proven strategies to improve their customer relationships, and boost their marketing and sales results.
- Participate in a variety of expert-led workshops, panel discussions, and tutorials.
- Discover how to leverage social networks to their advantage.
- Learn to influence prospects’ and customers’ perceptions of cost, value and benefits in complex sales.
- Recognize the most effective marketing tools and processes in a rapidly evolving environment.
- Master how to generate reliable ROI data.
- Come away with solutions and ideas they can immediately put to work.
- Secure valuable new contacts.

Among the summit’s program features include an evening plenary on Wednesday, 11 September titled, “Social Media Marketing during a Crisis: Boston Marathon Bombing Revisited;” and a keynote lunch presentation, on Friday, 13 September, by Richard E. “Dick” Morley, a leading visionary in advanced technology development as well as an inventor, entrepreneur, author, consultant and engineer.

For more information, visit www.marketingsalessummit.com or call ISA at +1 919-549-8411.

About ISA
Founded in 1945, the International Society of Automation (www.isa.org) is a leading, global, nonprofit organization that is setting the standard for automation by helping over 30,000 worldwide members and other professionals solve difficult technical problems, while enhancing their leadership and personal career capabilities. Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, ISA develops standards; certifies industry professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; and hosts conferences and exhibitions for automation professionals. ISA is the founding sponsor of The Automation Federation (www.automationfederation.org).

Here’s some advice from Joel Don, ISA’s Social Media Community Manager, as follow-on to his LinkedIn webinar. You can hear more from Joel at the 8th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit in New Orleans.

Can you use LinkedIn to prospect, promote, and sell products and services? The answer is yes — as long as you remember that leveraging LinkedIn for sales is no different than traditional marketing strategies. LinkedIn is different from other social channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. It is a social network for professionals and people. And the focus is business.

There are three essential parts to promoting and selling on LinkedIn: how you show up, what you share and how you share. “Showing up” means completing and polishing your LinkedIn profile, and keeping it up to date with ongoing additions and revisions. (Social Marketing Tip: every profile update triggers a notice to your connections, i.e. another way to say hello and drive traffic to your profile and your company.)

There are several ways to reach out to potential prospects and partners. You can use LinkedIn’s InMail and Introductions services for an immediate connection. You can also develop your presence in LinkedIn groups to research members and network your way to sales and marketing opportunities. Instead of the one-to-one communication of an InMail or Introduction, consider the amplification effect of promoting information, views, and ideas (with your brand in tow) to thousands of people at once. The secret is to share content of value to members of a group and stimulate discussions and engagement.

Here are 10 recommendations for prospecting, promoting and selling on LinkedIn:

1. Groups are about discussions, not the direct selling of products or services. Think about ways to drive traffic to your profile, which in turn delivers prospects to your brand or company.

2. People don’t like to engage with icons. Use your photo for your professional profile, not a company logo. Save the logo for a LinkedIn company page, which is similar to a Facebook business page.

3. Read the group rules. The majority of LinkedIn groups feature three sections for posting by members: discussions, promotions and jobs discussions. Your goal should be to engage with members in the discussions section on topics, issues and ideas. The promotions section generally is for direct marketing of products, services, events, webinars, white papers and other “promotional” content. No group rules posted? If group administrators have not created any rules, the “Group Rules” link will not be displayed.

4. The secret to LinkedIn groups is to post content in the discussions section that indirectly markets your brand. Leverage your subject matter expertise as your LinkedIn sales and marketing strategy.

5. Watch out for LinkedIn group policy changes. Recent change: If you are banned in one group, your account status in all other groups will be changed to require “moderation” (group administrator screening) for all posts.

6. Your prospects probably share the same groups. Be careful when posting the same content or links to multiple groups. A prospect might view the repeated posting as drive-by group spamming. Make every post count; change the messaging or theme of a post to match the interests or focus of each group.

7. Avoid LinkedIn jail. Some groups allow unrestricted posting; others are set for group administrators to moderate (screen) every post. Administrators can also flag any member for moderation, which can delay your posts. Rule of thumb: follow the rules, post to the right section and query the group administrators if your posts are held for moderation in an unrestricted group.

8. When posting, try to limit the “Start a discussion” field to 130 characters to create a fully readable headline without need for a click-through. Use the “Add more details” field for your extended message. If you have a link, use the “Attach a link” field. (Social marketing tip: an article or blog post that has an evocative image will drive more readership for your post.)

9. Company group or company page? LinkedIn enables anyone to set up a company page to promote a business, brand, products, services and job opportunities. You could also create a company group as a discussion forum for employees, partners, vendors, prospects and customers.

10. Monitor updates from connections and companies on your prospects list. Active members are ideal candidates for your sales and marketing outreach. When they make announcements or profile changes, that’s a signal and prime opportunity to engage.

Bottom-line recommendation: engage with LinkedIn users as you would at a business meeting, industry event or social gathering. It’s all about how you show up and what you share.

The ISA Marketing & Sales Summit planning committee has been hard at work, recruiting speakers, reviewing abstracts, and finding just the right spot for our Thursday night shin-dig. This year we’re in New Orleans, so we need just the right mix of festive music, Cajun food, and plenty of meaty sales and marketing content!

Here is the preliminary agenda for 2013. Updates will be made as we go.

2013 ISA MARKETING & SALES SUMMIT: INNOVATION IN AUTOMATION

Wed/Thurs/Fri, September 11-13, 2013
W New Orleans
New Orleans, LA

Helping marketing and sales execs in the automation markets meet the strategic and tactical challenges of the 21st century

REGISTRATION
Conference site: http://marketingsalessummit.com

Early bird discount by June 15, 2013
• ISA Member: $445 • ISA Non-member: $595 • Workshops: $195

Conference pricing
• ISA Member: $555 • ISA Non-member: $695 • Workshops: $225

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

10:00am-12:00pm Local Facility Tour

1:00-5:00 pm Pre-Summit Workshop
PR101: Effective Marketing Communication for the Automation Industry, Walt Boyes, Principal, Spitzer & Boyes

5:00-6:30 pm Exhibit setup & registration

6:30-7:30 pm Reception and Networking with refreshments in exhibit area
Plus ISA New Orleans Section networking

7:30-7:40 pm Welcome: Juliann Grant, Director, Management Division, ISA
Introduction: Shari Worthington, Program Chair

7:40-8:30 pm Plenary: Social Media Marketing During a Crisis: Boston Marathon Revisited: Jim Cahill, Emerson Process, Joel Don, ISA Social Media Community Manager, Dick Morley

Thursday, September 12, 2013

7:00-8:00 am Registration check-in

8:00-8:05 am Introduction: Shari Worthington, Program Chair

8:05-8:15 am Opening and Welcome: Walt Boyes, Conference Chair

8:15-8:30 am ISA Welcome: Peggie Koon, ISA President-Elect

8:30-9:45 am Keynote

9:45-10:15 am Morning Networking Break with refreshments by exhibit area

10:15-11:45 am Break-out Sessions I

11:45-1:00 pm Lunch Buffet with Panel Discussion: “Big Data: What are we learning from mobile technology & loyalty programs?”

1:00-2:30 pm Break-out Sessions II

2:30-3:00 pm Afternoon Networking Break with refreshments by exhibit area

3:00-5:00pm NEW! UNCONFERENCE
(a) Dick Morley
(b) Walt Boyes & Jon DiPietro: Inbound & Outbound Marketing
(c) Open: Topic TBD one month prior to event via email

6:00pm Evening group event: Good music and good food at Mulote’s!

Friday, September 13, 2013

8:00-8:30 am Registration Check-in, Breakfast, and Networking

8:30-10:00 am Break-out Sessions III

10:00-10:30 am Morning Networking Break

10:30 am-12:30 pm Marketing & Sales “Speed Dating” Q&A
• Sales: Rick Albrecht, Dynatech Control Solutions
• TBD: Gary Mintchell
• Social Media: Joel Don, ISA Community Manager

12:30-2:00 pm Lunch Buffet with Keynote: Dick Morley, “What Does Pack Size Have to do with Marketing and Sales?”

2:00 pm Conference close