Learning and entertainment
1st October 2015 | Nick de Cent
John McCarthy: sense of humour was vital. © Nick de Cent
An eclectic mix of celebrity speakers, business gurus and corporate thinkers entertained the audience at the UK’s National Sales Conference.
Some 500 delegates and almost 50 exhibitors gathered at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry for the UK’s National Sales Conference on 8 October 2015. This is an event in transition, rebranded from Successful Selling when it was run by the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management and now in its second year as an independent conference. Accordingly, delegates were treated to an eclectic mix of oldschool “entertrainers”, inspirational celebrity speakers and serious development experts plus the occasional high-level speaker from the corporate world. A separate stream in the venue’s Jaguar Club – Sales Learning & Development 2015 – catered specifically for HR and training managers.
For many, the highlights of the day were the two keynote sessions by John McCarthy CBE in the morning and Midge Ure OBE in the afternoon; both had important messages about resilience and staying the distance that are applicable to the day-to-day sales world.
Kidnapped by Islamic Jihad
In his presentation “Against the odds – staying motivated and positive when the chips are down” McCarthy told of his kidnapping by Islamic Jihad while being driven to the airport to catch the plane home from Lebanon. Suddenly, he was catapulted from an uneventful first trip as a cub reporter to a nightmare five years of imprisonment.
PLEASE NOTE: Subscriber-only content – To read the full article, please login or purchase a subscription. Subscription Options Login
