Sales Trip to San Francisco

I am just returning to the office after attending the MPINCC 21st Annual Tradeshow and spending a week in San Francisco. For those of you who are not “in the know” on acronyms, that’s the Northern California Chapter of Meeting Planner’s International. Overall, the tradeshow went well. There were lots of companies exhibiting and those who attended seemed interested in what we had to offer. This was my first MPI tradeshow but from what I am told there was a decrease in attendance from years past. This is no doubt, indicative of the economy. However, I am confident that the event planning industry will weather this economic storm triumphantly! Directly following the MPI event, we enjoyed drinks and appetizers with the great people of Helms Briscoe. Ladies, thank you for a great time – and for all of your advice on marriage and dating!

After the tradeshow ended, I wasn’t just enjoying the weather in the city by the bay. My dedicated “Chicago Team” and I had two fun-filled days of sales calls with prospective clients. First, we visited the ultra-trendy offices of Jack Morton Worldwide, and then on to McKesson Corporation, whom I think were a little taken aback by our very large group. Ladies, thank you so much for your hospitality! We enjoyed a delicious Vietnamese lunch with Action Motivation then on to the “homey” loft-style offices of Mosaic Event Management. We rounded out the day with a presentation at Wells Fargo.

We began the second day with breakfast with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and received some great tips on cool places to visit in San Francisco to boot! George P. Johnson was our second appointment and it was an absolute pleasure to meet their very, very large team. (I think we may have actually been outnumbered at that appointment!) Last but certainly not least, we met with Immersa Marketing, who in a very short time period, has become a very prominent event marketing agency – kudos!

Overall, the trip was a success. I met a lot of really great people in the industry and I would be remiss if I did not say hello to my partners in crime – Barb at the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, April from the Ambassador East Hotel, Jamie from the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Kim from the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, John from the Sheraton Chicago and Thu from the Trump International Hotel & Tower. It was a pleasure selling Chicago with you all!

Lauren Banks
Sales Manager
lbanks@globalmsi.com
312-332-1919 ext. 26