Increasing sales through risk: the ICCA annual debate in Leeds

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) UK and Ireland Chapter is to make ‘Increasing Sales Through Risk’ the central theme of its Annual Debate in Leeds next month. The two-day event will take place 11-12 February 2016 at the city’s Queen’s Hotel and includes an evening reception and dinner. The education programme includes sessions from motivational speaker David Pearl, who will give insight into how music and the arts can be an inspiration for doing better business. Chris Trimmer from World Obesity will share ideas from his organisation’s initiative for keeping delegates healthy and changing the ‘delegate diet’. And Ivo Franschitz from ENITED Business Events will speak on ‘how to stop the risk of becoming irrelevant’, which is presumably more business targeted than pure existentialism. A technology session will offer a panel of specialists discussing how clients are using technology for their events and Jane Cunningham from Best Cities Alliance will look at the value of team working to win business across continents. A real international industry heavyweight, Vienna Convention Bureau’s Christian Mutschlechner, will take delegates through the risks of losing bids against your competition, and share insights on how his bureau works with its competition to bid as a team to win multi-year deals. Kerrin MacPhie, ICCA UK and Ireland Chapter chair and director of conference and exhibition Sales at ACC Liverpool, says: “The programme for this year’s event is really taking shape and we are looking forward to another great debate with our chapter delegation, this time in Leeds. The annual debate is the key calendar event for our chapter members to connect, hear from expert speakers and debate key industry trends.” Leader of Leeds City Council, Cllr Judith Blake, welcomed the annual debate to the city, saying: “The ConferenceLeeds team is thrilled to have secured such a high profile debate that will be a thought-provoking session, discussing key issues and current topics in the industry. We look forward to welcoming the ICCA delegates to the city in February.” The event is open to members and non-members. More information visit: http://www.iccaworld.com/evps/evitem.cfm?evid=789