PIDA Management Conference

PIDA’s Executive Conference program has been the backbone of the Management Conference for more than 40 years. These concentrated, one-on-one sessions between manufacturers and distributors will help you evaluate your business relationship with trading partners, plan market strategies for the year, and learn about new products and promotions.

A total of 36 conferences are available spanning nine and a half hours over two days. Distributors will be provided with private, draped booths in which to host their conferences. Advance planning is essential to executive conference success.

Keys to Productive Executive Conferences

1. Schedule Early - Suppliers should begin contacting distributors six to eight weeks prior to the Management Conference to schedule appointments. The new mobile device scheduler will be available December 1. Distributors’ schedules fill up quickly and many will be completely booked by Conference time.
2. The executive conferences will be 15 minutes in length. You can book double or triple time slots in advance if both parties are in agreement.
3. Have an Agenda - These are not social calls; be prepared to talk about specific aspects of your business relationship
   • Outline the intended topics of discussion and purposes of the meeting should be prepared by the individual making the appointment.
   • Email the agenda to your appointment representative prior to the conference.
   • Appropriate executive conference topics include: prior year’s sales growth, new marketing initiatives, strategic sales and marketing goals, results of your Performance Benchmarking report card.
4. Leave your Samples Behind - These are top-to-top sessions between business owners and key managers. Discuss the prior year’s sales growth, strategic sales and marketing goals and the results of your Performance Benchmarking report card, but leave your samples at home.