First time experience of Columbus AMA
Sean Claire is a new member who volunteered to blog about his first experience attending a Columbus AMA event.
View his entire blog here.
Forget $80,000 for an MBA. I picked up an MBA type education in 60 minutes while hearing Sean Geehan speak at September’s luncheon. And- I have to say this- if you missed Sean’s presentation, you missed a valuable opportunity to grow your business acumen. If you’re reading this, I recommend you pick up a copy of his book. (Here’s the Amazon link: http://goo.gl/Ncw4MI)
Personally, I traveled to Columbus from Atlanta to hear Sean speak. Now granted, I’ll admit, my travels weren’t directly because of Mr. Geehan. Rather the purpose of my visit was intended to promote my company within the Columbus Marketing scene. But let me just say this….Columbus AMA set the bar high for a first time visitor. Sean was right on point about business priority’s and how to invest for ultimate sustainability. A favorite takeaway- “it costs 4x more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer.” Geehan goes into that quote with facts, statistics, and quantifies how companies waste priceless resources on “less than mediocre” clients. He then spun the discussion on how to optimize investment into “profitable” clients, and grow your business. As a first timer, it was a real treat to hear Sean speak. Not to mention, he was outstanding with his audience. Allow me to digress for a moment…. Ever been to seminar that brought back memories of Mr. Bambecks 10th grade science class? Yes you have. We all have. Bambeck was boring and you probably fell asleep. Not Geehan. Sean was way upbeat. He peppered his audience with engaging questions and one-off statistics that are relevant but taken for granted. He had heads nodding the entire time. 60 minutes felt more like 15. Yes, Columbus AMA- you have set the bar high.
I feel it also worth a mention, as a first time visitor, I found the staff of Columbus AMA to be very accommodating. Think about this….if you’ve ever gone to a networking event, you know how awkward it feels to be the “new guy” and not know a single person. Columbus AMA staff offset that notion by taking a genuine curiosity to me and my purpose for visiting. When walking in, I didn’t know a sole. When walking out, I had a half dozen solid connections- people that I actually want to have a relationship with. Yeah- I know that might sound shallow, but it’s the truth- 90% of the time, people get no value from networking events. It was different with Columbus AMA. As soon as I walked out, I knew I would participate again.
Next luncheon- Oct 29th. Come hear Mr.Tim McMullen of redpepper speak on technology’s role in today’s marketing landscape. Sure to be a gem.
