[Lopsa-regional-project] [LOPSA-Board] Q: What should go in a

[Adam Moskowitz]

Ken Robinson <phoenix at internetstatic.com> wrote:
> But, you also need to develop partnerships (not necessarily
> sponsorships) with businesses with local presences.
>
> For example, company representatives are brought in for presentations 
> (not just presentations by members).

Yes although I wouldn't exactly call that a "partnership."

> However, they are given guidelines. Those presentations may not focus
> on their products, though they may devote part of the presentation to
> their products (have to throw them a bone). The presentation is to
> address issues that are faced, methodologies of approach, and
> varieties of solutions to the problem. It is to be geared toward the
> needs of the group.  If it turns into a sales presentation, the
> company is not invited back to any of the chapters.

In Back Bay LISA we've done this rather differently and, I
think, successfully. When we ask a vendor to come make a
presentation we *want* it to be about their product. We feel
that our group wants and needs to know what vendors are offering
and how those offerings stack up against other similar ones. The
guidelines we give vendors is that the presentation must be made
by an engineer and that it must focus on the technical aspects
of the product. We ask for detailed information on the product's
capabilities, how it works, how to install and configure it, and
that the presenter be capable of answering specific "how would I
make your product do <foo>" questions. Last, we make it clear
that while a sales rep is welcome to attend the meeting, he
should limit himself to a *very* brief overview of the company
(5 minutes, and then only if he can't stop himself) and to
answering questions about price.

In the ~5 years I was responsible for booking talks and hosting
the meetings this worked out rather well. We got presentations
from (smart, good) sales engineers, support folks, developers,
and a few engineering VPs; we probably even got a CTO or two
from the smaller companies. Sure, we had a few duds but I'd say
those were less than 1% and even then it was because either the
prsenter or the product sucked; we *never* had something turn
into a sales pitch. Maybe we had such good luck because I told
them we supplied our members with rotten fruits and vegetables?

AdamM