This is the time of year we traditionally start ramping up for our annual conference, HIGH-TECC. HIGH-TECC has been around for many years and is a highlight for many in the industry.
The purpose of HIGH-TECC has always been to provide a forum for industry leaders and innovators to explore emerging technology and discover ways to use these advances to make selling and servicing more effective and more efficient—with the least amount of headache possible.
HIGH-TECC 2009 was no exception. The week was packed with new, creative, “tried and true” techniques and strategies designed to help you work smarter, not harder.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that, because of a contract negotiated with the hotel several years ago when the economy was much different, we had to guarantee a minimum amount of food and beverage as well as room nights. And although HIGH-TECC 2009 was a huge success by anybody’s standard, fewer people than projected attended and many people needed to stay “off property” due to their own budget constraints. So, we ended up being responsible for the minimum guarantee. And to be quite frank, this past year “we lost our socks.”
That said, we, like many others in today’s business climate, are learning to take lemons and turn them into lemonade!
We are currently working on a new concept and design for HIGH-TECC, called HIGH-TECC 2.0. We are in the process of beta-testing our ideas now. HIGH-TECC 2.0 will look fairly different from HIGH-TECCs of the past. It will be more of a “hands on boot camp” where I, and other colleagues, will offer one- to two-day intensive training in various locations around the country.
These boot camps will be, by design, smaller and more focused. So, for example, we may do a HIGH-TECC in Nashville highlighting the steps you need to get started on the Social Web.
Or we may do a HIGH-TECC in Seattle that is driven by how to use the Internet and marketing systems to take back personal lines from direct writers.
Or we may do a HIGH-TECC in Texas that showcases new agency management systems and how you can make sure you pick the very best one for your agency.
Due to these more focused settings, you will be able to walk away with specific, practical, tested ways to implement the latest cutting-edge techniques and strategies that will benefit your agency—right now, when times are tight.
Have we worked out all the details? Not quite. But, really, that’s good news too when you think about it… we know that challenging times like these cause us to rethink what we’re doing, create new and innovative solutions, and come up with the unexpected “diamond in the rough.”
So, I beg your indulgence as we work to come up with new ways to continue to serve you and your agency. I know that ambiguity wreaks havoc on budgets and scheduling, so we are committed to getting you information as soon as possible. I promise.
Like you, we’re in this for the long haul. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, we want to be responsive to your needs. If you want HIGH-TECC in a location near you, just let us know. If there’s a topic you think we should concentrate on, we’re all ears. Our goal is to help you do what’s best for your agency. Simply drop me an e-mail at Steve@TAAReport.com.
Looking forward to seeing you at HIGH-TECC 2.0!
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Julie, thanks for the suggestion. I will see what we can do to make the sessions available to people who can’t attend in person.
I would love to see these sessions recorded so we could view the ones of most value to us via the web – for a modest fee of course. The presentations have always been great!
I think the idea to showcase new agency management systems and how you can make sure you pick the very best one for your agency is a great idea. Considering the times we live in and the cost to change systems, this would help some owners make informed decisions instead of relying on a sales pitch from a particular vendor.