how to submit an effective conference proposal
TRANSCRIPT
How to Submit an Effective
Conference Proposal
Casey Breslin
Educational
Programs
Coordinator,
AFP
Mary Ellen
Saunders,
Managing
Director, Training
and Policy,
AFP
Aurora Gregory,
Principal and
Senior
Communications
Counsel,
Aurora Gregory
PR
David Pitlik
Content
Creator and
Consultant,
David Pitlik PR
Agenda
• The AFP Annual Conference: An Introduction
• Why Submit a Session to Conference?
• Overview of Proposal Process
• Proposal Submission: Strategies and Best Practices
• Questions?
AFP Annual Conference-
Quick Stats
Largest Meeting for
Corporate Treasury
and Corporate Finance
in the world
Over 6,500 finance
and Treasury
professionals attend
this event-3/4 are
corporate practitioners
Over 200 exhibitors,
including
representatives from
leading financial
services companies
Over 130 concurrent
educational sessions
spread across three
days
According to
internal AFP
research,
Educational
Sessions are the
primary reason
people choose to
attend conference.
Why Submit a Proposal to
Conference?
Practitioners can share an effective process or solution that benefited their enterprises with peers
across every industry
Associates (a provider of goods or services to practitioners) have the opportunity to demonstrate an
effective partnership with corporate practitioners in the presence of other practitioners
Practitioner Position
knowledge and insights
Associate industry
knowledge and solutions
focus
An Effective
Conference
Proposal
Overview of the Submission Review
Process
Submission Portal is Open from
November 21 –January 19 2015.
January 19-February 6: Task Force
and AFP SME’s review and rate the
submissions
February 8-10: Task Force Meets
in DC, discusses the ratings, and
makes initial decisions
Early March: Notifications are sent
out to submitters
Of over 600
typical
submissions,
only 135 are
accepted—less
than 25%
How to Submit an Effective
Conference Proposal
Casey Breslin
Educational
Programs
Coordinator,
AFP
Mary Ellen
Saunders,
Managing
Director, Training
and Policy,
AFP
Aurora Gregory,
Principal and
Senior
Communications
Counsel,
Aurora Gregory
Consulting
David Pitlik
Content
Creator and
Consultant,
David Pitlik
PR
What’cha Talking About?
What’cha Talking About?
• What’s hot?
– Keeping you up at night, driving internal
conversations
• What’s new, innovative?
– Technology, tools, solutions
What’cha Talking About
• What’s controversial?
– Regulatory issues
• What’s successful?
– Hit a homerun? Solve a big problem? Become
a rock star?
Peer-to-Peer Education
Peer-to-Peer Education
• A practitioner is a…
– Treasury/finance professional – treasurer,
cash manager, portfolio manager, CFO, etc.
• A practitioner is not a…
– Banker, consultant, industry analyst, third-
party vendor
It’s All About the Practitioner
It’s All About the Practitioner
• If you’re not a practitioner…
The AFP requires 1 presenter be a treasury
professional
It’s All About the Practitioner
• Practitioners give submissions credibility
- You want a treasury professional to play a
pivotal role in your proposed session
- The right presentation team can make the
difference between an accepted session and a
rejected session
It’s All About the Practitioner
• Others to consider including on your
presentation team:
– Industry analyst
– Industry association representative
– Consultant
– Banking professional
– Educator
It’s All About the Practitioner
Don’t let your submission be rejected
because you didn’t bringing the right
presentation team together!
What’s Your Session About?
• Create drama
– What’s the problem? Why does it matter?
Who or what is impacted?
What’s Your Session About?
• Tell the story
- What happened?
- What will happen?
- What did you do?
- Who was helped?
What’s Your Session About?
• Give a good ending
– Results, outcomes, impacts were achieved
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates,
Be Creative!
New Formats for 2015!
• Make the new AFP formats work for you
• You need to stand out from the crowd! Use a
creative format to distinguish your session
– Roundtable
– Point-Counterpoint
– Simulation
Let’s Take A Deeper Dive
Grab Attention with a Bold Title
• Build drama in 7
words or less
• Be creative
• Communicate key
take-away
Grab Attention with a Bold Title
• Run-of-the-mill title:
“How Businesses Are Combatting
Electronic Payment Fraud”
• Catchy title:
“Kicking Electronic Payment Fraudsters
To The Curb”
Squeeze the Most out of Your 150
Words
• Be impactful
• Be compelling
• Be concise
• Why is this a “can’t
miss session?”
Share Your Success Story
• Start with commonly experienced challenges
• Paint compelling picture of how problems were
addressed and solved
Share Your Success Story
• Be sure to include valuable insights attendees
can apply to their own businesses
Strike the Right Balance of Detail
• Demonstrate the
depth of your
presentation
• Highlight innovations
• Avoid drilling down
too deeply
Tease the Ending
• Describe results in your submission
• Remember, this is about the practitioner
• Make results about the practitioner
– Save money, time, staff
– New process, efficiencies, bank/vendor
relationships
If You Don’t Remember Anything
Else…
• Many submit, few are chosen
– 600 submissions, 120 sessions
• Be strategic
– Good topics make good sessions
• Tell a good story
• Be creative
• Don’t wait until the last minute, start now!
