President's Message
by Shayna Stillman

Greetings!

In early October I attended the Board of Directors meeting of the Convention Industry Council (CIC.) IASB is a member of CIC and Jim Montoya and I were attending as the IASB representatives.

CIC's 32 member organizations are associations representing the meeting/convention/exhibits industry. Formed in 1949, CIC provides a forum for member organizations seeking to enhance the industry. CIC manages programs such as the CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) Program; CIC is also responsible for the Hall of Leaders Program as well as the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX). www.conventionindustry.org

The major focus of the meeting was on the APEX program. I'm reporting to you because I think the future of the meeting industry and the role of speaker bureaus will be affected once the APEX program is widely accepted. APEX’s goal is to unite the entire meeting, convention and exhibition industry in the development and eventual implementation of voluntary standards called accepted practices.

APEX will achieve these results through industry-accepted practices for consistent and thorough Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) that address core information and unique needs. Some of us have clients who already ask for "RFP’s" and I believe once this program takes hold we may see more of it. The APEX program also includes using specific software that permits the exchange of information and this too may be something in the future of all speaker bureaus competing in the industry.

I think it will take a couple of years before the APEX process is required of bureaus but if one of your customers mentions APEX, you will know what they are talking about. Also, I want to let you know that your association is actively involved in issues of importance to our industry and keeping you apprised of trends that will influence our businesses.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and joyous Thanksgiving Holiday.

Shayna

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Booking Speakers & Return on Investment (ROI)

As you will remember, on September 26th IASB hosted a webinar on the topic ROI/ROO – The Buzz in the Meetings Industry. Right now it is a hot topic and a stressful one for everyone involved in meetings, trade shows, conventions and events. One might think that ROI would be measured and determined by those in the audience or those attending the event. Actually, that is not always the case. That is why it is so important for you to be asking the right questions so you will know what must be done to meet the ROI of any particular buyer.

Some people may feel that Meeting Effectiveness is the same as ROI. In most cases ROI has a more financial focus. On the other hand, effectiveness has to be defined by someone and it depends on who that someone is.
* Will it be procurement, finance, sales or marketing?

It might be the sponsor who is measuring effectiveness.
* What are the sponsor’s goals? How will they know whether or not they have achieved their goals?

You must drill deep enough to know what the goals are, and how will achieving those goals be measured and who will be doing the measuring. You may have the perfect speaker, who does an outstanding job, but if those goals have not been defined before he or she steps on the platform, you could end up with a less effective outcome and completely miss the mark on the buyer’s ROI.

It isn’t easy, but as the Coach said in the movie, A League of Their Own, “Isn’t it great, if it was easy anyone could do it!” Here is a great opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism. When you are able to be on the same page as your buyer and deliver on her or his ROI, you will have demonstrated your value to the buyer. You will then become a true partner and that will continue to bring business back to you. No, it isn’t easy and that is what sets you apart. As a speakers bureau professional you have the tools to deliver on ROI. What a terrific opportunity!

Jim Montoya, CAE
IASB Executive Vice President

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Membership News/Please Welcome Our Newest Members

Celebrity Talent International, LLC
Mr. Glenn Richardson
Fallbrook, CA
760-731-3900
info@celebritytalent.net

Philadelphia Sports Group
Ms. Mollie Plotkin
Radnor, PA
610-688-8888
mplotkin@philadelphiasportsgroup.com

Monitor Talent
Mr. Melville Blake
Cambridge, MA
617-252-2000
mel_blake@monitor.com

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ROI/ROO Webinar Recording is Available!

If you were not able to participate in the ROI/ROO Webinar this past September, here is an offer you can’t refuse!

IASB has the recording of the Webinar along with the ROI PowerPoint Slides and the ROO Notes, featuring Mary Power, President and CEO of the Convention Industry Council and Tom Domine, MPI’s Director of Publications and Editor in Chief of The Meeting Professional. As a bonus, a list of questions has been prepared that can be invaluable when speaking with a meeting planner. All of this is available for just $49 and you can listen to the entire webinar when it is convenient for you and gain the same knowledge as those that participated in the webinar.

To order the ROI/ROO Webinar package, please send your order to IASB, 7150 Winton Drive, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46268 or email pam@iasbweb.org or call (317) 328-7790.

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Speakers Bureau Survey

This past March IASB conducted a survey among the membership regarding Speaker Representation. We had 49 bureaus respond to that survey. If you would like to review the results of the survey, just click on this link - http://www.surveymonkey.com/Report.asp?U=187546142922

To continue to gather information, anonymously, we would like for you to participate in another survey regarding your bureau. The accumulative data that is gathered provides valuable insight into the industry and your participation is greatly appreciated. We’ll share the summary of this survey with you, as well.

Please, click on the link below to complete the survey. It will take less than 5 minutes to complete. There are only 6 questions.

Link to survey - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=467201871901

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Internet Security

The New York Times recently ran an article by author and speaker David Strom on Internet Security and Google Hackers. An excerpt of additional information to help small businesses like bureaus can be found below:

Allow me to show you how to hack into your own Web site. You don't need any specialized tools, and you don't need any specialized skills either. All you need is a Web browser and the ability to enter the appropriate search syntax to Google your own site, or anybody else's for that matter. It doesn't take much time, and the payoffs could be huge: an intruder could easily obtain a copy of your most sensitive data in about the time it takes to read through this essay.

The trick is using Google's search engine to look for specific terms, such as passwords, salary details, and customer details. The opportunities are enormous.

The challenge will be to educate the general population, especially the smaller businesses, that don't always protect themselves. This isn't just leaving your back door open, it is putting a 40 foot neon sign out front with a big arrow pointing out that millions of valuables can be found in your top dresser drawer. And the problem intensifies if someone can take over your site and use it to launch their own mischief or worse, illegal activities.

First, make sure you are secure. Williams says, "companies that don't know whether their applications are secure or not should start by verifying a few of them to find out." And if you have information that you don't want Google to index, remove it. Here is some information that Google publishes to show site operators how they can remove their content from the search index:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/

Second, take security audits seriously, and do them often. Howard Schmidt, the former federal cyber security chief, talks about how you have to do security scans continuously. You can't just rely on an annual audit, or even a quarterly audit, because sites are organically changing and new exploits are being uncovered every day.

Third, train your developers to be aware of these and other common exploits, and reserve some funding for security assessments as part of all contracting projects you do in the future. Use the sample legal contract language from OWASP.org when you have to hire out for help, and also take a look at their tutorials to harden your site.

Fourth, don't just think that Google hacks are the only story. There are plenty of other ways to get information from Web sites.

By David Strom

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Don't forget to mark your calendar for the 2007 IASB Convention at Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Ft. Worth, Texas April 26th- 28th