ISA declares Marketing and Sales Summit a success...

Sept. 19, 2007
And while this might be the time for some shameless self promotion, the fact is that as titular chair of the event, I was backed by a group of tireless people who did all the work. So they should get the credit, and not me. The list includes, but is certainly not limited to: Shari Worthington and Juliann Grant, from Telesian Technology, Mike Nager from Phoenix Contact, Peggy Koon from Morris Digital Networks, and above all Rodney Jones from ISA. They all did far more work than I did on this pr...
And while this might be the time for some shameless self promotion, the fact is that as titular chair of the event, I was backed by a group of tireless people who did all the work. So they should get the credit, and not me. The list includes, but is certainly not limited to: Shari Worthington and Juliann Grant, from Telesian Technology, Mike Nager from Phoenix Contact, Peggy Koon from Morris Digital Networks, and above all Rodney Jones from ISA. They all did far more work than I did on this project, and should get all the credit. ISA's Marketing and Sales Summit Attracts Senior ExecutivesResearch Triangle Park, NC (19 September 2007) -- Sponsored by the ISA Management Division, ISA's Marketing and Sales Summit, held 5-7 September in Chicago, attracted over 80 key executives. The conference focused on helping marketing and sales executives in the automation markets meet the strategic and tactical challenges of the 21st century. A unique event designed exclusively for senior sales and marketing professionals in the automation markets, the conference featured keynotes and plenary sessions from Gartner, Inc., ABB, Honeywell, and others. Sessions addressed the state of the manufacturing industry, the changing role of the senior marketing and sales executive, and the shift to service selling. Breakout sessions highlighted topics like search engine marketing, solution selling, public relations, and branding. "This has been a fantastic conference! I got more out of the Marketing & Sales Summit than anything else I've been to in a long, long time - it was full of great speakers and great subjects," said Rich Merritt of Moore Industries International. Attendees enjoyed a plenary session from Alison Smith, Senior Analyst with AMR Research, on the state of the manufacturing markets. The keynote address, given by Peter Martin, Vice President of Performance Measurement and Management, Invensys, was entitled "Marketing Outside of Ourselves: How to Reach the C-Level Customer and Why We Should." An editor's forum featured advice and opinions of editors from CONTROL, Automation.com, Automation World, Control Engineering, InTech, and Managing Automation. Attendees also attended two networking receptions with top level marketing professionals, editors, and other VIPs in the industry. "The networking between marketing executives, advertisers and vendors was invaluable," said Dr. Peggie Koon, Director of Search Initiatives, Morris Digital Networks. "The ISA Management Division put on a very timely event." "These two days were an outstanding learning experience, and could be scaled to apply at ANY level," said Mark Graumenz, Director of Sales, DynaTech Control Solutions. "Add that experience to the relationships I've developed, and this conference was well worth the money." I would also like to thank Jerry Gipson, from the Dow Chemical Company, and Peter Zornio, Chief Strategic Officer of Emerson Process Management, for their excellent keynote speeches, that were not mentioned in ISA's press release.  The 2008 Summit will be held in the Fall in Boston. Keep checking the ISA website for final details on date and place. The plenary session and the three keynote speeches from the 2007 summit were videotaped courtesy of Putman Media's indefatigable Scott Babcock, and will be available online in another two weeks or so at www.putmanmedia.com, and at the ISA website.