Reflections from the road …

Reflections from the Road. What I’ve learnt running Regional Event Sales Workshops to date…

Recently, I’ve had the absolute privilege of running sales workshops for business events, conference and meeting venue teams primarily within regional locations. 

Industry Collective Workshops where several venues and operators come together to learn, connect and collaborate; and
Team Exclusive Workshops where I dive deep into one venue, helping the team refine their strategy, build their pipeline and strengthen their customer experience.

Here’s what I’ve learnt (and loved) so far:

Upskilling is only part of the solution and confidence is the game changer.
Regional sales teams often know what to do, but not always how to do it in a way that feels authentic and impactful. “I hate sales but you make it sound not so scary…. I reckon I could do this” was one comment recently. The best results come when we blend reactive sales techniques with proactive strategy building confidence through practice, discussion, and real-life scenarios.

Resources in regional areas aren't the same as the 'big smoke', and that's OK.
What’s needed isn’t more complexity. It’s relevant, down-to-earth, relatable content. The kind of content that makes people say, “Yes, that actually happens to me.”  Within the Industry Collective Workshops, it’s been discussed regional collaboration and networking is KEY. “Thank you for creating this workshop, and inviting us” (yes, I call people to personally invite. Archaic, perhaps but its personable, conversational and I find pain points to personalise workshops) 

Workshops can (and should) spark collaboration and not just training.
A powerful part of this journey has been facilitating collaboration between venues. Helping them confidently tell their story, share insights and cross-promote one another. I’ve supported teams with tools and frameworks to better sell their venues not only to prospects but to one another. When it comes to selling the venue, it's about the destination too - lets win the business for the region not only the venue!  

Qualifying isn’t a checkbox, it’s a conversation.
We’ve worked together to flip the script on qualifying leads. That means asking the juicy questions and not just the basics - dates, numbers, budget etc… helping teams see that qualifying is about understanding the full picture: intent, timing, budget, emotions, logistics, decision making process, turn around times, hidden objections - and more! 

Destination over silo.
It’s been clear, success in regional markets comes when venues see themselves as part of a greater destination. Sharing leads, elevating each other and aligning strategies has turned competition into collaboration. This insight has been pretty powerful.

Client retention is more than follow-up, it’s an experience.
Through event series strategies, personal engagement touchpoints, and storytelling, we’ve worked on turning first-time bookers into long-term clients and building pipelines. This has been fun to facilitate and engage in discussions about how we can ask questions to build a pipeline !

Most of all, I’ve learnt that 1:1 support will always be powerful, but 1-to-many is where the magic really happens.
Bringing people together in a room, creating space for shared learning and real-time feedback, has been energising not only for me but for every team I’ve worked with to date. 

A big thank you to the incredible teams I’ve worked with so far (30+ venues across six months) from Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Bellingen, Sydney and soon to be Dubbo. Your openness, collaboration and engagement have been nothing short of inspiring. It's been incredible to not only witness your curiosity, but your commitment to implement new learnings.

I’m proud to have built a business that doesn’t just provide training, but draws on real, lived experience in Hotels and Conference Sales. I genuinely love helping venues become better connected and equipped to grow business together.

If you own or run a venue, are based in a regional destination or your sales team is looking for some support and upskilling give me a call, send me a message or an email info@sjaconsultants.com.au, 

Our next Industry Collective Workshop will be held in Coffs Harbour 26th August. Registration link below. 

Let’s keep raising the bar for regional business events!