> 2018 Conference Sub-Committees are Up and Running
August 9, 2017 – Source: Electronics Representatives Association
Contact: Tess Hill, ERA Conference Coordinator, at thill@era.org / 630-327-6498
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) 2018 Conference Committee has announced that four sub-committees have been appointed and have launched their activities in preparation for the association’s 49th Management and Marketing Conference, scheduled Feb. 25-27, 2018, at the AT&T Center in Austin, Texas. The conference theme is “Tools of Our Trade — Constructing a Successful Future.”
All four sub-committees are chaired by and include several members of the steering or “core” committee for 2018. In addition, each sub-committee includes additional volunteers who have offered their services to assist with various aspects of the next conference. In total, the conference planning involves 34 rep, manufacturer and distributor member volunteers plus staff members.
ERA CEO Walter Tobin says, “The collective volunteer effort that goes into our conferences is astounding to me. The participation of reps, manufacturers and distributors on all our committees is vital and invaluable in producing an event that benefits all three of our attendee and membership groups. We staff members always remember that our volunteers are extremely busy every single day. So we are grateful beyond words that they give so much of their time to ERA, and we tell them that every chance we get.”
All four sub-committees held their first meetings during the week of Aug. 7 and are now well underway. Each group includes 2018 Conference Committee Chair Rick LaPiana of the Cain Forlaw Company and Conference Coordinator Tess Hill.
The Breakouts Committee is co-chaired by John Hutson, CPMR, of the MacInnis Group, the 2018 Conference Committee vice chair, and Holly Myers, CPMR, of Wallace Electronic Sales, the 2017 Conference Committee chair. Committee members are: Jani Duffy of American Bright Optoelectronics Corp.; Brian Flynn of Sager Electronics; John Lanzillo, CPMR, of the Zonk Group; Chris Straube, CPMR, and Terri Straube, both of Straube Associates; Chuck Tanzola, CPMR, of the Fusion Sourcing Group; Bryan Teen of Tech Marketing; and Cindy Williams of Vicor Corp.
The General Sessions Committee is chaired by John O’Brien, CPMR, of Coakley, Boyd and Abbett, Inc., ERA’s senior vice president/education. The committee members are: Craig Anderson, CPMR, of Sumer, Inc.; Gene Anderson of Artesyn Embedded Technologies; Bob Evans, CPMR, of EK Micro, ERA’s senior vice president/industry; Cesare Giammarco, an ERA consultant in the area or rep-manufacturer relationships; Barbara Jorgensen of Electronics Purchasing Strategies (EPS); Todd McAtee of Mouser Electronics; Paul Nielsen, CPMR, of Brainard-Nielsen Marketing, ERA’s immediate past chairman of the board; and Walter Tobin, ERA CEO.
The Keynote Committee is chaired by Ken Bellero of Schaffner EMC. The committee members are: John Beaver of GSA Optimum; Dawn Lowery, CSP, of Sumer, Inc.; Mike Budde of Budde Marketing Services; Jim Clark of Kruvand Associates; Charles Cohon, CPMR, CAE, president of the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA); Bill Herold, CPMR, of Conquest Technical Sales; and Sheila Hoagland of Ecliptek.
The Sponsorships Committee is chaired by David Foster of Sensata Technologies. The committee members are: Chris Beeson of Digi-Key Electronics; Kathie Cahill, CPMR, of Net Sales Co., a three-time conference committee chair and ERA’s senior vice president/membership; Michael Calabria of Abracon Corp.; Ellen Coan, CPMR, of CC Electro; Kingsland Coombs, CPMR, CSP, of Control Sales; Lisa Dietrich of Conley & Associates; Neda Simeonova, ERA communications director; Stephanie Tierney, ERA chapter management and social media coordinator; and Bryan White, CPMR, of Catalyst Sales, Inc.
For further information on ERA’s 2018 conference, click here.
About ERA
The 82-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. ERA member representative firms (often called “reps”) provide field sales services on an exclusive basis to manufacturers of related (but non-competing) products in a defined territory. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.
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Members of the Southwestern Chapter of the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) gathered on June 23, 2017, for its first cyber security networking lunch. The program was the first officially planned event of the newly established Texas chapter and it attracted more than 30 attendees.
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) announced that RFMW, Ltd. has joined ERA as a global distributor member. RFMW is a specialized distributor of RF and Microwave products providing consultative component selection, value add, and design solutions through a focused technical sales and marketing organization.
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) Conference Committee has announced the theme of the association’s 49th Management and Marketing Conference, scheduled Feb. 25-27, 2018, at the AT&T Center in Austin, Texas.
Chicagoland-Wisconsin ERA members gathered on June 16, 2017, for an educational round table breakfast discussion. The program included expert engineer panelists from Northrop/Grumman, Cambium and Shure. The engineers addressed how they interface with salespeople and answered questions about their product selection process.
The Carolinas chapter of the Electronics Representatives Association (CERA) held its 21st Annual Distributor/Rep Bowling Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., on May 3, 2017.
According to a recent University of Minnesota story, a team of its researchers have developed a new nano-scale thin film material that could change the landscape for electronics.
Infinite Electronics, Inc., a supplier of engineering-grade wired and wireless connectivity products, announced that it has acquired Smiths Interconnect’s Microwave Telecoms business (SMT) from Smiths Group plc, a London based global technology company.
Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $30.9 billion for the month of March 2017, an increase of 18.1 percent compared to the March 2016 total of $26.2 billion, and 1.6 percent more than the February 2017 total of $30.4 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
> ERA CEO Walter Tobin – EDS 2017 – Were you there?
Summer 2017
Source: Electronics Representatives Association, The Representor magazine
As we continue to dig out from emails and follow up action items, remember that it is NEVER too late to send a thank you note or follow up from your meeting. We’ve all heard the saying, ‘What gets measured gets done.’
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So … three weeks after EDS (at the time this column was written) and I find myself STILL trying to get caught up on my day-to-day meetings and emails. I am still following up on numerous action items from meetings I attended and discussions with old and new friends at EDS.
But isn’t this what EDS is all about? It’s about holding meetings and developing action items to remain on track, or get back on track, with your manufacturer, rep or distributor partner to ensure that you are aligned to the common goals and business plans. A week’s worth of meetings, dinners and golf tournaments SHOULD result in a treasure-trove of NEW and EXCITING plans. All these existing and NEW relationships will help our organizations grow in the months ahead.
However, for every meeting we attended or new person we met, there should be an appropriate amount of time spent FOLLOWING UP so the time INVESTED at EDS was not wasted.
Yet, some of us come back and get frustrated with all of the new work added to our already-full “IN Basket,” aka email inbox, and how these new partnerships and relationships “get in the way” of doing our jobs. We now look at the time we have to SPEND on following up rather than viewing it as time to be INVESTED.
I found EDS 2017 to be great. There were a lot of folks running between the elevators, the Roasted Bean, the STILL bar, and lunch and dinner meetings. All had the goal of checking in with existing partners or gearing up to meet new ones.
A few of you found yourselves having to go “off property” for meetings and navigating the famous “Las Vegas Block” that may show an off-property meeting to be “next door,” but in reality, it takes 30 minutes just to get there. These off-property meetings only add to already full schedules. If only ALL of the EDS attendees would stay at the Mirage! EDS gets all of us to attend, and we ALL benefit from attending. Yet, EDS does not benefit from “off-property” meetings, which actually hurt attendees’ ability to effectively navigate meetings and manage their schedules. ALL of us need to support EDS as good electronics industry citizens. We all benefit as one ecosystem.
So what did you get out of EDS? All in all, it was a GREAT show for ERA. We signed up many NEW members. We had more than 500 attendees at the ECIA/ERA breakfast. We had a great turnout at the SPARK session which drew more than 50 young and bright attendees from YOUR companies. They came to learn the ropes as they try to get ready to take over this industry. Let’s help prepare them as they are our future!
As we continue to dig out from emails and follow up action items, remember that it is NEVER too late to send a thank you note or follow up from your meeting. We’ve all heard the saying, “What gets measured gets done.” Hold yourself accountable to invest the time to follow up.
ll of the time that you have to SPEND after EDS was as a result of the time that you had to INVEST in attending EDS. Reap the fruits of your efforts! Do not let these valuable meeting action items or new connections wither and die because your competitor may be springing into action and reaping YOUR rewards.
Be sure to put EDS 2018 on your calendar! It promises to be even more hectic and wonderful than this year’s event, and your competitors already have it on their calendar.
See you at the ERA booth next year!
Good selling!
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