Lois Creamer Blog
Creating Our Circumstance
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about emerging from the depths of a pandemic-induced shutdown and stepping into the exciting unknown. At that time, we all shared the feeling that we couldn't always predict what lay ahead. It was an unusual realization to some,...
Looking to 2024 in the Meetings Industry
It’s been a good year in our industry, and 2024 holds much promise! Here is my summary of a rather extensive report issued by AAE Speakers. Hottest topics: DEI inclusion Leadership Mental Health/Mindset Future of Work Corporate Culture Technology Their data suggests...
Meeting Intelligence – Looking to 2024
You’re going to love 2024! The outlook for our industry continues to be optimistic. Summarizing reports from Northstar Meetings Group, AMX meetings, and Knowland: American Express Global Business Travel reports 82 percent of respondents to their survey are optimistic...
Selling Outcomes
"I'm not comfortable selling myself, talking about myself." I hear this constantly... “I’m uncomfortable and find it hard to talk about myself!” My initial response? Get into another line of work! I’m not being rude; I am being a realist. To get speaking gigs, you...
Meeting Intelligence – Trends That are Changing the Industry
I gleaned some content from Cvent, an industry-leading meeting, events, hospitality technology provider, and others. Here are some meeting industry trends you need to know. Millennials are the decision-makers now (I was talking about this when presenting to NSA...
Book More Business: Market Intelligence October 2023
The big winner location-wise in the meetings industry is Nashville. Events grew an incredible 30% in September, with Los Angeles/Long Beach coming in at 22% over last year. According to Knowland, an event intelligence group, Oahu, Las Vegas, and Denver rounded out the...
Rejection and Feedback
The business of speaking is a lot like acting. A lot of rejection. It takes many “no’s” to get to a “yes.” That’s the norm in speaking. I tell new speakers to be prepared for a first year that may look like this: “Be prepared to spend 98% of your time selling yourself...
Optimism Continues in Meeting Industry
Continued good news coming out of my intel sources on the industry. This summary is from the AAE Speakers Bureau. In-person events climb to near pre-pandemic levels. This bureau reports that 79% of bookings have been for in-person events, with only 21% virtual...
Volume, Volume, Volume! Meeting Intelligence, September 2023
Consider these remarkable statistics gleaned from MeetingsNet. • In just 12 months, the median number of room nights booked for meetings and incentives by MeetingsNet's top 25 companies increased fivefold. • The median staff size for these companies grew from 95 in...