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    Live or Virtual Motivational Meeting? Cisco Salespeople Prefer...

    [fa icon="clock-o"] Jan 30, 2010 8:51:00 PM [fa icon="user"] David Haneke [fa icon="folder-open'] Cisco, virtual meeting, live meetings vs. online meetings, event management companies, corporate event production

    Cisco, virtual meeting, national sales meeting, Las VegasIn an effort to contain costs, while at the same time maintaining great results from the sales force, many companiess are asking this question: which is more effective and cost effective -- a live or virtual meeting, or a hybrid of both? 

    A recent article in SuccessfulMeetings.com, featuring an interview with Angie Smith, Manager, Global Sales Experience at Cisco, reveals quite a bit! For 20 years, technology giant Cisco Systems, Inc. has held its annual global sales meeting in Las Vegas, with 14,000 sales people. With trends at cost cutting, Smith tells about the largest virtual program that Cisco put on in 2009 for 22,000 employees from 104 countries.

    They focused on competition with a buzz-worthy game called 'The Threshold', a Chat zone, the General Sessions, as well as a prominent Sales Recognition Zone that continually scrolled pictures of sales award winners.  This certainly represented tremendous innovation! 

    By many measures, the virtual conference was a huge success: the salesforce education sessions were rated as well or better than at live events and participants could view segments they missed via a video-on-demand feature. 

    Cost savings? Yes, substantial. Cisco saved a staggering 90 percent of the cost of holding a live event. 

    Carlos Dominguez, Cisco's Senior Vice President of US Service Provider Sales, wrote in his company blog, "gaming and [alternate reality games] will play a significant role in the way we learn in the future...  I don't think we'll ever be able to replace the human need for live interaction but at 10 percent of the cost, I have a feeling a lot more people will take this kind of technology for a spin." 

    Event Producer George P. Johnson's Chris Meyer, Senior Vice President of Client Services and General Manager, agrees. "The feedback was we need the face-to-face recognition and motivation," he says. "I think going forward, all events will be hybrids of live and virtual. Virtual extends your reach and your contact - you get more out of your budget and expand your audience."

    Download a free Event Planning Guide. Or use the coupon below for $100 off your next event production.

     

    David Haneke

    Written by David Haneke

    One of the best things I do is to collaborate with our creative production team. I like to see productions get results! Those results include helping tell the vision of an organization, engaging in a sales effort, helping customers better understand the big picture of an organization, or helping clients see the value of services. One of my favorite compliments is from a client that said, "This is the best tool we've had in over 22 years to tell our story!" Specialties: Making an idea or concept come to life through video media: motivational videos, custom video production, and event production.

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