Hive Network Now Open to All Meeting Suppliers
The Hive Network, a private community connecting suppliers with meeting planners for the purpose of joint education and networking, is now open to all meetings-industry suppliers, founder Shawna Suckow (left) announced yesterday.
Introduced in March, The Hive Network originally was open only to veteran suppliers with at least 10 years of industry experience, or five years with a recommendation from a member of Suckow’s other venture, the Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN), which organizes education and events “by senior-level planners, for senior-level planners.” Now, however, new and mature suppliers alike can participate.
“There’s a great disconnect in our industry between what sales trainers think is effective, and what really works from a customer’s viewpoint,” Suckow said in a statement. “There’s a lot of supplier frustration out there right now, as they struggle to understand the planner species. We realized that we were excluding an entire generation of newer suppliers, who will certainly become frustrated using traditional sales methods with planners.”
As members of The Hive Network, suppliers have access to a library of educational webinars created by senior meeting planners, teaching them how to engage, market to and build relationships with planners. Suppliers who complete 12 courses are designated as a “Customer-Certified Sales Expert” (CCSE) — signifying to planners that they understand meeting professionals’ needs and perspectives — and will be invited to special meet-ups of senior-level planners at industry events like IMEX, the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Annual Meeting.
“The Hive is just for suppliers, and they can hear directly from the industry’s most veteran planners on how to sell more effectively,” Suckow concluded. “After all, who knows better than their prospective customers what works and what doesn’t?”
Reported by: Successful Meetings
Introduced in March, The Hive Network originally was open only to veteran suppliers with at least 10 years of industry experience, or five years with a recommendation from a member of Suckow’s other venture, the Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN), which organizes education and events “by senior-level planners, for senior-level planners.” Now, however, new and mature suppliers alike can participate.
“There’s a great disconnect in our industry between what sales trainers think is effective, and what really works from a customer’s viewpoint,” Suckow said in a statement. “There’s a lot of supplier frustration out there right now, as they struggle to understand the planner species. We realized that we were excluding an entire generation of newer suppliers, who will certainly become frustrated using traditional sales methods with planners.”
As members of The Hive Network, suppliers have access to a library of educational webinars created by senior meeting planners, teaching them how to engage, market to and build relationships with planners. Suppliers who complete 12 courses are designated as a “Customer-Certified Sales Expert” (CCSE) — signifying to planners that they understand meeting professionals’ needs and perspectives — and will be invited to special meet-ups of senior-level planners at industry events like IMEX, the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Annual Meeting.
“The Hive is just for suppliers, and they can hear directly from the industry’s most veteran planners on how to sell more effectively,” Suckow concluded. “After all, who knows better than their prospective customers what works and what doesn’t?”
Reported by: Successful Meetings
