ERA PRESS RELEASE
Sept. 19, 2018
Contact: Neda Simeonova / Communications Director / nsimeonova@era.org
ERA 2019 Conference Committee Announces Keynote Speaker
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) 2019 Conference Committee has announced that Curt Steinhorst, bestselling author of “Can I Have Your Attention? Inspiring Better Work Habits, Focusing Your Team, and Getting Stuff Done in the Constantly Connected Workplace” will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming conference, scheduled Feb. 24-26, 2019, at the AT&T Center in Austin, Texas. Steinhorst will open ERA’s 50th Anniversary Conference program on Monday morning, Feb. 25, with a presentation titled, “Can I Have Your Attention? Reach the Distracted Customer.”
After years studying the impact of tech on human behavior, Steinhorst founded Focuswise, a consultancy that equips organizations to overcome the distinct challenges of the constantly-connected workplace. He has coached executives, TV personalities, and well-known professional athletes on how to effectively communicate and create focus when they speak to audiences, lead their employees, and engage their customers. His unique insight and entertaining speaking style have captured the attention of audiences worldwide.
For the first time in history, we live in a world without any barriers to connection or communication. This has fundamentally altered the way people work, engage, communicate and relate to one another. The same technology that simplifies processes, compromises our focus and makes it ever more difficult to reach increasingly distracted customers. Steinhorst is on a mission to rescue us from our distracted selves.
Conference Keynote Sub-Committee co-chairs Kingsland Coombs, CPMR, CSP, of Control Sales and Paul Dosser of Digi-Key Electronics commented on the sub-committee’s decision to invite Curt Steinhorst as ERA’s 50th Anniversary Conference keynote speaker.
“We are very happy to have Curt Steinhorst as the 2019 conference keynote speaker this coming February,” Kingsland said. “The Keynote Sub-Committee evaluated a significant number of candidates and unanimously chose Curt for his fundamental message and enthusiasm. In the days of constant distraction and work overload, we as salespeople have increasing difficulty obtaining our customers’ attention. Curt will present to us how to alter our sales tactics and strategies to filter out the noise and focus on what matters. In order to remain relevant in the future, we need new communication methods and shifts in our behavior to help keep in step with the ever-changing customer relationship dynamics.”
Dosser added, “We are very excited to announce the 2019 ERA Conference Keynote Speaker, Curt Steinhorst. As we look to the conference theme, “Celebrate the Past, Embrace Tomorrow,” the Keynote Sub-Committee found Curt’s expertise in focusing your team and business in a high-tech world full of distractions that will only grow as we embrace tomorrow, to be very fitting for all. Curt believes that organizations who will be best at creating new ideas and navigating setbacks will be those that are disciplined in communication technology both internal and external, driving success with your customer and capturing their attention. We look forward to listening to, learning from and applying Curt’s message.”
ERA 2019 Conference Committee Chair John Hutson, CPMR, of MacInnis Group, said, “A big thank you to our devoted Keynote Sub-Committee members who volunteered a great deal of their time and expertise to research the 2019 conference keynote speaker. Based on the talent pool of world-class speakers that they came up with, it is no surprise that they found a keynote candidate as impressive as Curt Steinhorst to kick-off the 50th Anniversary Conference. During the selection process, the sub-committee constantly kept at the front of their minds the need to have a keynote speaker who would offer conference attendees real tangible takeaways, and Curt fits the bill. His presentation will help attendees understand how to communicate with customers effectively and spark ideas about how to work smarter in this age of digital distraction. I am confident that Curt’s humor, energy and insight will keep everyone engaged and entertained.”
For more information about the 2019 ERA 50th Anniversary Conference, visit https://era.org/era-events/era-conference/.
About ERA
The 83-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.