Sales & Marketing Conference: Focus on the Field

Download and print your own Program.

Wednesday, December 9

9:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Registration Open

10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Smart Start Program

5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Smart Start Reception

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Marquee Session: The Rise of the Gig Economy

• Lori Bush, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rodan + Fields
• Will Rinehart, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy, American Action Forum
• Elizabeth Davis Ph.D., Dean, School of Management, University of San Francisco
• Paul Skowronek, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Direct Selling Association

What edge do the hottest new companies in the on-demand economy have over your business? There is a growing trend of new start-up companies contracting with independent, flexible workers that bring a specific skill set to their sales. Growing numbers of Americans no longer hold a regular “job” with a long-term connection to a particular business. Instead, they work “gigs” where they are employed on a particular task or for a defined time, with little more connection to their employer than a consumer has with a particular brand of chips. Borrowed from the music industry, the word “gig” has been applied to all sorts of flexible employment. What can direct sellers learn from this emerging gig economy? Listen in as our panelists explore this subject.

7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Reception

Thursday, December 10

7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Registration Open

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:45 a.m.
Regaining Focus: Everything Has Changed; Nothing Is Different

• Scott Stratten, Disruptive and UN-traditional Sales, Marketing, Branding & Social Media Expert

With Today’s business climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. Every week, it seems there is a new strategy, social media site or technology that is a “must use” or a “game changer.” How can you focus when everything is an overwhelming blur? In this endless quest for the next bright shiny business object, we lose sight of the fact that at the core of business, while everything has changed, nothing is different. Trust, connection, consistency and service will always trump any technology to hit the market.

In this keynote, Stratten will talk you through what is real and what are only smoke screens in the business world today. Come away understanding these points:

• The Millennial Myth: The younger generation may create new challenges for business, but not in the way people are saying.
• Social Media Snake Oil: Why social media is a poor sales and marketing tool, what it’s really meant for, and how understanding this will actually lead to the best success for your company online.
• The Digital Decision: Your market today is forming buying decisions well before coming to you. Marketing today means getting in front of them when they’re making these important choices.

9:45 – 10:30 a.m.
Chief Marketing Officers Panel

• Sheryl Adkins-Green, Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Kay Inc.
• Ryan Goodwin, Chief Marketing Officer, LifeVantage Corporation
• Jared Turner, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Young Living
• Rich Arthur, Vice President of Marketing, Thirty-One Gifts

This roundtable dialogue will showcase the new perspectives, groundbreaking initiatives and communications, marketing and sales strategies that are changing our industry. These leaders will share how their companies maintain the momentum to execute the marketing initiatives that most engage their salesforce.

10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Networking Refreshment Break

10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
Cultivating a Field in a New Country: Company Case Study

• Natalie Lloyd, Director, Global Expansion, Rodan + Fields
• Janine Weber, Country Manager – Canada, Rodan + Fields
• Brandee Winikoff, Senior Counsel, Global Affairs, Rodan + Fields

This case study will teach you the best practices and lessons learned from this fast-growth company as the entered their first international market and focused on how to cultivate their field.

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Networking Lunch & Presentation of Diversity Award

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Warning Signs from the Field

• Jan Gilmore, Principal, Jan Gilmore & Associates
• Christina Snyder, Chief Sales Officer, Thirty-One Gifts
• Chris Veit, Former President, Creative Memories
• Traci Costa, CEO, Peekaboo Beans

Your field is the number-one indicator of whether you are headed for continued growth or decline. You don’t need tarot cards to predict your company’s future, but you do need to understand what makes your company distinctive. What drives your results? What are the differentiating metrics that lead to success for your sales field? It’s not just about the number of consultants or distributors and how much they produce – though that is important – because that alone won’t tell the whole story or be the predictor of absolute future success.

With this session will learn:

• To uncover your company’s strengths and weaknesses and translate that information into the key metrics that are unique to your business.
   
• That once you understand your metrics, you can use them to develop trainings specific to your success drivers.

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Is Your Company a Hashtag away from a Regulatory Warning?

• Jonathan Gilliam, President & Founder, Momentum Factor
• Joseph Aquilina, Attorney, Direct Selling Association
• Saul Speirs, Associate General Counsel, Young Living

The incredible rise of social media means brand messaging and regulatory compliance are now critical issues. While many companies have done terrific work to educate, train and monitor their field, sales and marketing professionals continue to struggle to contain rogue messages and reduce exposure. Don’t recreate the wheel! Come learn the latest best practices to help your company protect its brand, reduce risk and improve marketing effectiveness.

2:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Mobilizing Your Field During a Crisis

• Trey Campbell, Director, Communications, Southwestern Advantage

A crisis is defined as a stage in a sequence of events in which the trend determines future events — for better or worse. Conditions of instability or danger lead to decisive change for all organizations. The question is: how will the crisis affect your sales force and what are you going to do about it? Moreover, are you prepared to mobilize and manage the challenge of sales force communications? A crisis comes in many forms, each one leading to social, legal, economic or reputational discomfort. With all the audiences involved in a crisis, your independent salesforce just may be one of the most important.

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Networking Refreshment Break

3:15 – 4:00 p.m.
U.S. Hispanic Submarket: Increase Your Sales in One of the Fastest Growing Markets

• Mona Ameli, President, Take Shape For Life, Inc.-Medifast
• Lea Márquez Peterson, President & CEO, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Graciela Sanchez, U.S. Latino Expansion, Take Shape For Life, Inc.-Medifast
• Victoria Vilbrandt, Vice President of Marketing Strategy & Solutions, Princess House, Inc.

Join in on this discussion focusing on the key areas of entry, presence and success in the U.S. Hispanic market. Learn how to grow a successful Hispanic field organization and increase your company’s market share and bottom line. Government-relations concerns and ways to ensure you are working to protect this vulnerable population will also be discussed. Learn from successful players in the channel, from well-established companies to those just starting their initiatives. As we relaunch DSA’s Hispanic Marketing Council, a helpful networking and education resource for direct-selling executives, we will also be awarding the inaugural Diversity & Empowerment Award to a member company.

4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
The Power of Virtual Parties

• Holly Ennis, Director of Training Development, Jamberry Nails

We live in a world that largely interacts and transacts online. Our social lives develop online, we purchase everything from electronics to groceries online and we receive our news online. Is it inevitable that our companies’ future sales will also happen largely online? Jamberry Nails has experienced 2,700% growth and expanded their network to more than 20,000 consultants in four years. Join Holly Ennis for this in-depth look at how the company takes advantage of technology to create a new future for their online sales. You’ll share the tools they adapted to create a virtual experience that truly enhances their in-home party demonstrations.

4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Opportunity Rocks

• Marvelless Mark (Mark Kamp), President, Marvelless Mark Motivation and Music

Learn how to create a grand vision, channel your uniqueness into huge growth, use the three keys of awesome teamwork, and more in this motivational, energetic and interactive keynote as you become business rock stars! Marvelless Mark will reveal the innovative success secrets that created household names like The Rolling Stones and Madonna, and teach you how to use the same techniques as these bona fine rock stars to reinvent and revolutionize your own business.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
DSEF Supplier Recognition Wine & Cheese Reception

6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Party Plan Council Dinner (direct-selling executives only)

Friday, December 11

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

7:30 – 12:00 p.m.
Registration Open

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Social Media in the Field: The Right Way Forward

• Scott Kramer, President & CEO, Multibrain

There is no question direct-selling companies have embraced the reality and power of social media in building their brand, as well as providing tools to the field. But, in the past year, we've witnessed both Facebook and Twitter cracking down on who and how many people are seeing posts related to business messaging. Many companies have even seen their field and their own accounts placed in "Facebook jail" for pushing too much promotional content, which both consider to be spam. In this fast-paced session, Kramer will take you through the many changes to Facebook and Twitter as they relate to promoting your business, with an emphasis on empowering your field with the strategies and tactics to do it right, and truly see results. Topics to be covered include:

• What is an algorithm and how does Facebook and Twitter determine who sees what content in newsfeeds

• The importance of empowering your field with Facebook Pages for business-related content and how to cross promote to personal profiles on both Facebook and Twitter.

• Utilizing Facebook Pages as a destination versus pushing content in newsfeed, and current statistics on the power of this approach.

• Empowering the field to create Facebook Pages that are all about products, services and opportunities.

• Utilizing Facebook and Twitter for the field to engage and spark conversation, from which friends can share with their community of friends (the Friends of Friends effect).

• What's next for Facebook and Twitter as it relates to promoting your business on their networks (hint: business accounts are key for both networks).

9:00 – 9:40 a.m.
Technology Discussion Panel

• Lionel Carrasco, CEO, Leapfactor, Inc.
• Scott Kramer, President & CEO, Multibrain
• Allan McNaughton, CEO, My Success Rocket

Gain a refreshing and creative look at how to apply technology to its fullest advantage during this panel discussion that will cover the following topics:

• The Power of being Connected in a Mobile and Social World

• Customer Service at the field level

• Managing your brand identity while empowering the field to personalize

• Mobility and the need for real time communication (Always Open for Business)

• Tools to empower the field to grow their business and spread the word

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.
The Power of Personal Growth

• Lauren Lawley Head, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Direct Selling News

Mary Kay Ash once said, “People are a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make a difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” But bringing in good people is only half the battle. In a recent cover story, Direct Selling News explored how companies with a committed focus on personal development help their people reach new levels of personal and professional achievement, which in turn lifts the performance of the business. Publisher and Editor in Chief Lauren Lawley Head will share some of the strategies for helping the field tap into the power of personal growth.

10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Impactful Leadership

• Bill Levisay, President, Levisay Consulting

For more than 25 years, Bill Levisay has been at the forefront of leading teams, building brands and serving customers for some of the most iconic consumer-products companies in the United States. His leadership skills and unique style of engagement with both customers and fellow associates make a lasting impression on everyone around him.

From 2009 to early 2015, Levisay served as the Chief Customer Officer for Bolthouse Farms, a high growth natural/organic food and beverage company. He lead a period of accelerated performance at Bolthouse Farms, driving significant profitable revenue growth over his tenure; additionally he was one of three senior executives who lead the successful sale of Bolthouse Farms to The Campbell’s Soup Company in 2012. With Levisay, you will learn to be a more impactful team player and leader.

10:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Networking Refreshment Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Managing Your Company's Web Presence and Technology Systems

• Tony Rossell, Senior Vice President, Marketing General Incorporated
• Pammie Strickland, Sr. Manager of Analytics, Ambit Energy
• Julie Cabinaw, Vice President, Marketing Technology & Innovation, Scentsy, Inc.

The evolution in technology is an increasingly important source of innovation and competitive advantage in the direct-selling channel. How well new tech is incorporated into your business operations has enormous implications for the success and growth of your business.

DSA’s 2015 Web Presence Survey helps you navigate the complex current technological landscape and take advantages of key opportunities it poses. The Survey will be released later this month to participating members, but in the meantime, join us for this look at key takeaways from the Survey! This survey uncovers best practices and provides benchmarking info in these areas vital to your business:

• Your Company’s Corporate Website

• Online Sales

• Direct-Seller Referrals

• Direct-Seller Websites

• Internet Marketing/Social Media

• Direct-to-Consumer Email/E-marketing

• Customer Relationship Management & Business Intelligence

• Technology Feedback

• Corporate Genealogy/Commission Systems

12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Box Lunches