Running motivational sales conferences

Quadriga is a strategic business partner to many of the world’s leading hotels, providing a single complete solution, uniquely combining Internet, Entertainment and Branding & Promotion guest and hotel services. These services are enabled by the proven Genesis technology platform and complemented by the latest flat screen displays and a range of products and services for meeting rooms and public areas, all underpinned by Quadriga’s established partner, financing and service capabilities

As the established market leader, building on 25 years experience dedicated to the hotel sector, Quadriga is proud to work with many of Europe’s leading hotel chains, including InterContinental Hotels Group, Accor, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Hilton, and Sol Melia

In total Quadriga provides services to over 400,000 guest rooms and operates in over 50 countries throughout Europe and the Middle East.

The Need

Quadriga has approximately 80 salespeople in the regions, but had not run a European sales conference for some time. They wanted to initiate the sales conference as an annual. motivating event, but were also keen to avoid the normal "powerpoint + drinking" approach that many companies seem to take. Their aim was to energise and motivate the salesforce, build a positive, high-performance sales culture and get across key business messages in a memorable, creative way.

Our challenge therefore was to make the event hugely memorable, whilst keeping within a suitably prudent budget....

As a result of the first conference in 2005, we have now run the last 4 Quadriga conferences in different countries, with increasingly positive feedback – and with the challenge each time of coming up with something even better and different than the year before!

The Solution

Greenbank have provided a full ‘one stop’ conference service for Quadriga consisting of the following services

Before the Conference...

Logistics, Hotel Booking and Travel Management, via a selected partner (Penguins)
Conference strategy and message design
Agenda design and management
Slide design and production
Identifying and sourcing specialist 3rd parties (eg motivational speakers, team building organisers etc)
Project Management
Management briefings
Designing Invitations and other collateral
Working with management to make sure that business and product sessions get the message across in a clear, but creative way

During the event

MCing / Managing the conference from on stage
Interviewing Managers on stage
Running Team Building activities
Running evening events

The conferences have had brilliant feedback from salespeople and senior management alike,

Some Highlights....

A James Bond / Q Theme treatment for a new product launch
Special Sales Award presentations
A ‘This is Your Life’ evening for a long-standing and retiring manager
The CEO and Sales Director interviewed ‘Parkinson’ style by a professional actor
Motivational speakers who have persuaded the audience to karate chop planks of wood and break arrows on their throats...
One whole conference was themed as a TV programme, with cameramen, chat shows and documentaries..
Team Karaoke evenings
Specially scripted murder mystery evening, with the Sales Director the victim...
Creative thinking workshops
Special Sales Training sessions adapted for the conference
Client video interviews
Building a marketplace to allow product groups to communicate messages
‘Who wants to be a Quadriga Millionaire’ quiz

The Result

Each conference has been deemed a huge success, with Directors being able to concentrate just on their sessions in the knowledge that the logistics and smooth running of the event is in safe hands.

Product and Business messages have been communicated with flair and creativity - and without falling into the death-by-powerpoint trap.

It has been a real partnership effort, working closely with their management team and by serious multi-tasking (e.g. interviewing managers and running leadership training sessions during the day and hosting team karaoke sessions at night!) we have been able to create a hugely professional event without the huge costs normally associated with such conferences.

Many new starters have commented that it was the best conference they have ever been to..