DeKalb Genetics

National Sales Meeting
Westin Hotel, Providence, Rhode Island
200 Attendees

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Business Issue:
A company and industry experiencing turbulent times, it was important to bring this group together to experience teamwork first hand with their business associates.

Business Challenges:

  • Dramatically changing marketplace with the emergence of biotechnology
  • Product feature and benefits need to be effectively communicated to customers to justify pricing
  • Leading companies in the agriculture business going through major changes and mergers

How our team rose to the challenge:

  1. Effective theme development – The New England location gave us the ability to effectively tie the theme of “Chart the Course” to the metaphor of sailing, life and business.
  2. Beautiful staging and videos – We developed the theme with staging that resembled the front of a boat. Several videos were presented that played out the idea of effective sailing and sales. This message, “getting to your destination quicker is not always a direct path” was translated easily through this metaphor. Sometimes through knowing the wind, the currents and your ship you can reach your destination by making simple changes in your approach.
  3. The Sailing Regatta Experience – The theme came alive on the second day when the entire group went to Newport, Rhode Island, for an afternoon they will long remember. Six America Cup caliber boats were each crewed by 3 professionals and 15 sales people. After some brief instruction the race began under clear and breezy conditions complete with starting gun. At the end of the two heats everyone had the opportunity to experience the joys of maximizing your boat with the wind, sails, currents and crew, ultimately illustrating the importance of knowing the seas and accomplishment through teamwork. Of course no race would be complete without a clam-bake on the pier as our sailors weaved in their tales of the sea and sailing.

At the end of the day, what did the client say…

“Your talent, professionalism and flexibility allowed us to present our message in our own way. It was a pleasure working with you and your team. I continue to recommend you to anyone who is interested in working with the best in the field.”