Session 1

UK and European Travel Sales Market: How's it looking?

With sales forces decreasing, and resources stripped to a bare minimum, it's time to address an era of tough reality for the travel industry: What's selling?

And which products and services are casualties? Hear from industry experts what's happening - and what's about to happen:

• Sales-related statistics, facts and predictions that every travel and hospitality professional needs to take into account
• How is the market looking? Will it pick up soon or are there even bigger challenges lying in wait for your sales teams?
• Who are the current market leaders in online, offline and corporate sales? How does online and offline market performance compare?
• Forecast for hotels: Is this year shaping up to be better or worse for your sales people? What are the historic trends for our industry in the recession?
• Which countries - and which travel and holiday options - are booming, despite the recession?

• Sarah Duignan, Senior Account Manager, STR Global
• Olivier Jacquet, Director of Sales, Louvre Hotels
• Tim Gunstone, Managing Director, EyeforTravel

Session 2

Sales Systems & Technology to Maximise Your Travel Sales

Being a travel sales professional isn't as straightforward as it used to be. With huge competition and even huger potential markets, your people need all the help they can get to sell. Meanwhile, sales systems and mobile technology are flooding the market. With new providers emerging every week, how do you identify the key suppliers? And how do you ensure your technology investments produce genuinely profitable sales? This session takes an indepth look how to assess and implement the technology that's right for your particular business in terms of the return on investment:

• CRM solutions and initiatives that will improve customer interactions and create advocates for your brands
• How to align your CRM strategy directly with your sales team
• Check out the latest mobile sales tools: What are the market leaders using - and how well do they work? How closely does the optimum mobile technology solution correlate to increased sales?
• The essentials of sales analytics: How can they measure sales productivity?
• Measuring your online and offline results: What metrics do you need? And what technology?

• Vicky Brock, Co-Founder, Highland Business Research
• Norbert Zoet, Vice President B2C, Transavia
• Martin Thyssen, Senior Alliances Manager Central Europe, Research in Motion (Blackberry)

Session 3

Sales Structure Part One: Integrating Departments to Capitalise on Cost, Revenue and Profit

While technology has become integral to effective sales force management and performance, your core management tools are more vital now than ever before. So how can working effectively with other departments enable you to maximise sales? And how easily can you turn theory into everyday reality?

• Find out how to integrate your marketing, sales and R&D initiatives into a seamless system that produces extra customers - and better stakeholder engagement
• Discover how closed loop marketing can increase market share and cut costs - and how sales and marketing departments can feed each other money-making information
• What are the secrets of encourage your creative team to listen - and learn - from your direct sales team?
• Business development versus account management: How can balance the two functions - and make them work in sync rather than against each other?

• Andreas Westerburg, Corporate Sales Officer, NH Hoteles
• Klaus Tusche, Director Marketing, Partnerships & Leisure Sales, Avis
• Gary Kershaw, Head of Sales UK and IRE, Air New Zealand

Session 4

Sales Structure Part Two: Sales Priorities:

Choose the Right Markets Then Deploy The Right Sales Person To The Right Account Value

Sales structure isn't just about how to re-organise your department. It's also about identifying the right accounts to manage at the right time, understanding individual markets and the flexibility to format your team to capitalise on each new trend as it hits:

• How is key account management changing? And why?
• Pinpoint the best accounts to target and understand why the timing of your approach is all-important
• Recognise emergent travel markets and conceptualise the best opportunities to move into new territories
• Increase sales in ways that are unrelated to rate and price
• Develop ways to target and manage discount sales whilst protecting your long-term rates
• How do you ensure your direct and online sales teams sell holidays, flights, hotels, rentals etc., for the agreed price without losing potential customers?
• Learn how to make sure your sales team works for you - not directly for the client
• Stop ring-fencing the best accounts: How can you promote loyalty but also expansion and cooperation in this high pressure environment?

• Stephen Powell, SVP Worldwide Sales, IHG
• Francesca Ecsery, Global Sales Director, Cheapflights
• Barbara Jamison, European Sales & Marketing Manager, Visitlondon

Session 5

Sales Strategy Part One: Going Global Without Sacrificing Domestic Sales

Everyone is screaming about the global recession - making it especially important not to overlook niche opportunities to expand your national sales, and well as the international business. The fact is, there are ample chances to progress and expand your domestic sales market. This session will examine these opportunities and help you assess your company's potential for sales growth in all sectors:

• Differentiating your sales team from the pack: What makes a sales team stand out in an overcrowded market?
• Global versus local framework? Or a combination of the two? What's the optimum balance for your company?
• How can you help your sales team profit from currency fluctuations?
• Local and regional mentalities: Making the similarities - and differences - work to produce maximum results

• Nick Grandvoinet, VP Sales EMEA, IHG
• Fabrice Quinquenel, VP Sales EMEA, Hertz
• Bruno Chiaruttini, Area Managing Director Continental Europe, Preferred Hotel Group

Session 6

Sales Strategy Part Two: Customer Care and Vendor Care

Many travel companies continue to channel internet and offline calls through call centres and smaller direct phone sales teams. Which means senior sales directors and managers can become removed from their customers and customer concerns. Is it possible to filter information from top management to call centre staff? And vice versa? This Panel examines the reality of how important call centre staff really are to direct sales, and the true significance of the vendor > manager > direct sales person > customer chain:

• Effectively manage your lower-level b2c people, based on customer expectations and industry knowledge. Does it pay to incentivise call response quality - and how do you do it?
• What is the role of the call centre in the affiliate channel?
• Looking after your vendors: Why b2b supplier relationships continue to correlate directly to profitable sales. How to ensure vendors are content - and are selling the optimum products and services
• Why exploring customer needs and channelling your company strengths into a flexible but direct customer message, (i.e., "we can offer exactly what you need because...") will ensure a good return. And why the distribution cost debate is largely irrelevant when it comes to maximising customer spend

• Nikki Kinloch, Director of Sales EMEA, Expedia
• Diederik Koonings, E-Commerce Manager, Europe @Leisure Group

Session 7

Keynote Presentation: Disney

In an industry that always strives to cut distribution costs, Disney, one of the world's best known resorts and brands, explains why conversion is in the centre of its sales and distribution strategy. In this fascinating presentation, you'll learn how Disney manages its sales force and marketing teams to maximise conversion.

• Nobert Stiekema, SVP Sales, Disney

Session 8

How to Hire, Motivate & Retain the Best Sales People

The sales workplace has never been more fluid. With economic instability and the trend towards frequent job changing, finding, keeping and motivating the very best sales people is a challenge. This valuable session will help you remotivate your people even when their jobs get harder... and their take-home pay gets lower...

• Is it possible to identify the ideal moment to raise incentives before your top sales people are poached?
• What target and commission structures work best in a downturn?
• How do you create realistic targets for your sales people in uncertain times?
• How do you find, recruit and keep the best? Key tips to discover, develop and nurture sales maestros and experts
• With so many sales executives now available, how do you identify the best? Should you hire from inside or outside the industry?
• What will motivate your best sales people to work as part of a team while still producing outstanding individual performances?

• Jamie Hutchinson, Sales Director, YHA
• Markus Schreyer, Regional Director of Sales - Germany, ArabellaStarwood Hotels and Resorts
• Brian Garvan, Head of Sales UK, Choice Hotels Europe

Session 9

Sales Force Training, Performance & Evaluation:
How to Create a Loop of Knowledge from Product to Pricing to Marketing to Sales... and Back Again

Your sales force is your direct connection to the public - your spokesperson and your money maker. So how do you deliver adequate and relevant online and offline training, performance analysis and overall evaluation?

• Training: How do you get the right balance? Are contract consultants the answer? Which of the many training options have worked well - and which look appropriate for 2010?
• Performance: How can you make top sellers accountable? Is there a way to ensure a clear data trail? Is it possible -and fair - to make sales people keep fully traceable records?
• Evaluation: Outsource or in-house? Do performance analysis facts and figures correlate with HR opinion and sales experience? Is accurate evaluation vital for sales force management during the downturn?
• Bad performers: When do you need to retrain, deploy or resize your sales force for maximum profitability and long-term flexibility?

• Romano Campione, Area Director of Sales & Marketing, EMEA, Melia Hotels & Resorts