In putting together the speakers’ schedule for the Sailing Industry Conference and Regatta, our committee’s objective was to create two days, jam-packed with relevant content, to help us all do our jobs better. This was especially challenging because Sail America’s members have very diverse businesses, with sailing being the only common denominator. To address the diversity, we organized speakers and content to meet two different needs.
First we created a number of talks to address the macro trends that are important to our industry -- the big picture, if you will -- and perhaps trends that we don’t take enough time to track and consider how these affect our businesses. Some of the sessions that address these macro trends include the panel on changes in behavior of the sailing consumer; updates on banking and finance; the presentation by Neil Schwartz from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association on sailing participation in comparison to trends in other activities; as well as the topic of sustainability in the sailing industry.
Next - and just as important - we made sure to include several talks that will help us become better and more proficient in our jobs. These presentations are designed to provide tools that we can use and implement immediately upon return to our yards, lofts, dealerships and offices. These sessions focus on sales and marketing, leadership, social networking, the new internet, and improving personal communication skills.
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