The Representor, From the Top, Fall 2011 Issue

You HAD to be there! If you missed ERA's 45th Management and Marketing Conference in Oak Brook (Chicago) in early October, it would be impossible to adequately summarize the deluge of ideas and information that attendees took home. If you were among the 200 attendees, you know exactly what I mean ... and thank you for participating in this critical cornerstone of ERA's educational mission.

From the pre-conference presentations by the executives of six major distributors – Allied, Arrow, Digi-Key, Future, Mouser and TTI – to the exhilarating, thought-provoking keynote by Dr. Kevin Freiberg, it was obvious this was going to be a blockbuster of a program. Then came three fascinating panel programs on timely topics, author Nancy Barry's informative and entertaining session on leading today's multi-generation work force, economist Bill Strauss's insightful review and forecasts, and to close the general sessions, Gordon Hunter's optimistic overview of our industry and its future. (See the cover story in this issue.)

During the general sessions, there were four round table workshops in which we were able to discuss the program subjects, exchange best practices and share our feedback with all our fellow attendees. These discussions are always an important part of ERA conferences, providing many practical take-aways.

On the middle day of the conference, in between general sessions, there were 10 breakout seminars offered in three time slots. Some were designed specifically for reps; some were targeted for manufacturers; and others were for all attendees. The topics ranged from legal issues and social media to business transitions and how reps and manufacturers view each other ... from maximizing the distribution channel and supply chain logistics to cloud computing and creating a tribal sales culture within our companies. The breakouts allowed attendees to customize their conference experience by choosing the topics of highest interest to them. And there certainly were multiple options for everyone in the breakout offerings.

To make a great event even better, the Chicago weather was (for once!?!) ideal, and we were able to host the opening night welcome reception outdoors. The setting at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort was gorgeous because of the fall colors, but the networking "buzz" was even better. And that "buzz" continued throughout the conference – during coffee breaks, over breakfasts and lunches, and virtually at every other free moment.

One memorable highlight of the conference was the "Next Generation" party at which veterans of our industry shared their best business advice with the younger guests. This informal, after-dinner program included moving and sometimes hilarious tidbits of wisdom. Oh ... and then there was our official party "greeter," Reppie the Robot. He kept asking if he might be a future sales rep, and he insisted our customers would love him if we took him along on sales calls. He was probably right!

So for this memorable, valuable conference, ERA's deepest thanks go to so many individuals, including:

Kathie Cahill, CPMR, and her Conference Committee team – Ted Curtin, CPMR, Dave Fitzgerald, Robert Logan, CPMR, John O'Brien, CPMR, Gary Smith, CPMR, Tom Shanahan, Tess Hill (and yours truly, I am proud to say) – for such meticulous planning, superb program development and maintaining this treasured tradition of ERA; all 44 of our sponsoring companies and chapters (see conference sponsors page) whose generosity allowed the committee to invest in the outstanding speakers who delivered such a high-powered program; our Manufacturer Advisory Committee (Ken Bellero, Gerry Gallagher, John Janis, Greg Pace, Tom Pankratz, Jeff Rogers, Bob Terwall and Al Wright) who provided such welcome advice and direction; Mark Motsinger, CPMR, the workshop coordinator, and all 24 table leaders for ensuring that we all took maximum advantage of our round table discussion time; and all our speakers, moderators and panelists, many of whom were volunteers who unselfishly contributed their time and expertise.

Bravo and congratulations to all!

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