PLENARY Phone Negotiation Q Dan Pink on Incentives Q AIME 2011

UNCONVENTIONAL

Dan Pink on Incentive Programs

In the bestseller Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel H. Pink uses 50 years of behavioral science to challenge what we think we know about motivating people. Convene asked Pink how effective incentive events are when it comes to boosting employee motivation. His reply:

I TIPSTER

Negotiating Over the Phone

In negotiations,

people will give you more of what you want if they think you’re like them. When negotiating over the phone, try matching their key words and phrases. Most people have expressions they tend to repeat,

such as “Here’s the deal,” “Absolutely,” or “Here’s what I’m thinking.” Listen

carefully. By repeat- ing those expres- sions in your own conversation, you’ll give your negotiat- ing partners what

they need on a deep, unconscious level and hear “yes” more often.

By Traci Brown (www. tracibrown.com), a professional speaker and the author of Mastering Magical Persuasion

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F THE ONLY REASON (OR THE MAIN REASON) SOMEBODY IS SELLING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE is to get a trip, then I think the incentive distorts motivation and might even hurt the company in the long run. (I also think it shows they’ve hired the wrong person.) What’s more, giving some people a trip can demoralize those who don’t get a trip — and make the recipients fearful of losing the trip the following year. That said, trips per se are absolutely fine. If they’re part of teambuilding or strategizing, that’s terrific and valuable and worthwhile. That’s true, as well, if they’re offered in a noncontingent, unexpected way as an after-the-fact form of recognition. In other words, the problem isn’t trips or meetings. They’re great. The problem is using them — or using anything — to control others’ behavior. n

(AIME 2011) continued from page 20

that kicked off with a Business Events Forum addressing the post- recession realities of how companies approach “decisions on internal … meetings, promotional events, incen- tives, delegate attendance at other conferences, sponsorship support, and exhibiting.” Speakers included former PCMA Chair Kati S. Quigley, CMP, director of event marketing for the Microsoft Corporation. The program also included two

Leaders Forum discussions — with HelmsBriscoe founder Roger Helms and Robin Lokerman, CEO of event-manage- ment company MCI’s institutional division; and with Julian Moore, director of association consulting firm SMS, and Ryan Brown, general manager of fundraising and communications for the Variety children’s charity. And AIME offered Master Class sessions on marketing, sales, legal issues, and global challenges. AIME 2011 was organized by Reed

Travel Exhibitions on behalf of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau, with some

pcma convene April 2011

FLASHDANCE: A flashmob of dancers took to the beach  on Port Phillip Bay at AIME’s welcome reception.

hosted buyers housed at the 658-room Crown Metropol hotel — part of the 5.5-million- square-foot Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex. Next year, AIME’s 20th-anniversary show takes place on Feb. 21–22 — again at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. n

— Alan L. Kleinfeld, CMM, CMP

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.aime.com.au and www.mcvb.com.au

www.pcma.org