Registration and Breakfast

"Surf" into the 16th Annual Strategic Summit with some ALLIANCE-style networking among old friends as well as many new ones from all over the world.

A light continental breakfast will be served on the Vista Ballroom Terrace overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. There you will be welcomed by ABCN representatives and the largest group of official conference sponsors we've assembled to date. Come early to share their greetings, and see the exciting things that our sponsors have to offer.

"Alone we can do so little…together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

We'll welcome you to what will surely be the most relevant and up-to-date forum in the OBC industry this year. At this Summit we are going to take a "holistic" approach to our industry by introducing partnership strategies that will lay the groundwork for us to face the challenges of today and tomorrow together.

Over the next few days we'll be hearing from a wide array of speakers, presenters and panelists who, combined, represent our entire industry. Get ready for an exciting day of exploring the changes going on in our industry and how we need to re-invent ourselves for a successful future.

You Need A Lifeguard to Get Started

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay

We want you to think of ABCN and this summit as your "lifeguard," preparing you to succeed with ease. And who better to give you the BIG picture with regard to our industry than our own Frank Cottle.

In times of change and economic challenge, you can't do it alone. Frank will give you an in-depth look at the present state of our industry, new industry trends and concepts that are working and not working, and how our vision of a total ALLIANCE industry partnership could make the difference between winning or "wiping out"!

Speak the Client's Language: Part I

"You must have mindshare before you can have marketshare." - Christopher Knight

How do we get clients to even consider partnering with us versus our competitors? Andrea Pirrotti of ALLIANCE Impact Marketing will expand on what we heard today from our client partners. Andrea will give marketing tips that will differentiate us and bring in more sales because we are speaking our customer's language right from the start.

Coffee Break & Face Time

Pause with some refreshment while you share ideas on what you've just heard and consider what will be coming up next. Take advantage of this valuable time with your colleagues and industry partners.

Remember to stop by and get some informal "face time" with our sponsors who will be joining you at their very own tables on the Vista Ballroom Terrace.

CLIENTS…..Our Most Important Partner: Part II

"Innovation is no substitute for being in touch" - Unknown

Prepare to hear firsthand from one of our industry's most knowledgeable and energetic speakers, Susan Smith. Susan will be sharing insider knowledge that she has gathered from corporate accounts and corporate account managers. She has spent the time listening and finding out what's important to our clients, and now you can get in on her knowledge.

Food for Thought

Nothing is better than a great meal and "hanging ten" with your ABCN colleagues and business partners. Relax and enjoy a tasty lunch as you catch up with your industry friends from around the world.

Partnering Successfully with Our Web Brokers and Other Referral Sources

"Make your product easier to buy than your competitor or you'll find your customer buying from them, not you." - Unknown

Web Brokers are a significant partner in our industry today. In this session you'll hear directly from a number of respected Web Brokers in our industry and our ABCN referral team. They are "your" referral partners and will help us understand what we need to do as an association partnership to get more clients and especially how to land those illusive and coveted corporate accounts.

Virtually Speaking - Capturing, Servicing & Retaining VOs

"The most successful people are those that are great at Plan B."  - Unknown

Selling services outside your four walls...what a concept! But we've been doing that for years. That was our Plan A. Finally, the marketplace, economic trends, lifestyle changes and technology have caught up with our industry's original innovation and it's got a new name: Virtual Offices.

The goal of this session is to work as an innovative team on Plan B. We have a facilitator and a panel of experts ready to share their knowledge, ABCNVirtual.com to give you the ultimate online platform for success in this market, and some of your pioneering colleagues who have valuable, working strategies, whom we all can learn from.

Take a Break, Caffeine Is a Must - There's More to Come!

Right about now, we all need a moment to recharge so we can take what we learned from our partners and formulate an actual plan that will take us from theory to reality. We'll take a short break on the Vista Ballroom Terrance to get some coffee, snacks and some ocean air. Breakout Sessions are up next!

Selling Value – How to Compete in a Lopsided Market

"Business is not financial science…it's about creating a product or service that is so good that people will pay more for it." - Unknown

We heard this morning from our client research that it is the combination of what we offer that is valuable to our customers. The HARDWARE (our OBCs as well as our connectivity and technology), our SOFTWARE (how our team partners with them from the ease of transaction to the day-to-day support they receive from our staff) as well as our VALUE FOR THE MONEY.

In this session we have a panel of experts who will address the decline in our average unit pricing due to the lopsided competitive market we find ourselves in. If our clients say they want VALUE, we need to explore together how we can combat the "price" selling going on in our industry today. Together we can learn how we can take a lopsided market and at the very least, balance it out, or at the very best, turn it upside down!

Wrap Up – Today (A Summary), Tonight (A Team Effort), Tommorow (A Partnership with the Whole Industry)

Frank Cottle could take a day full of information and leave us with the inspiration for tackling the changes, the challenges, and solutions we've uncovered today, and give us a brief glimpse of how we'll carry our holistic and partnership approach into tomorrow's agenda. We won't let you leave without a quick summary of tonight's exciting team building event that you won't want to miss (prizes for the winning team and a grand prize of a plasma TV for one lucky winning team member!).

Don’t hesitate to stick around for encore presentations for another hour with our sponsors on the Vista Ballroom Terrace or here in the Vista Ballroom…it's another chance to partner with our industry professionals.

Cocktails and Games, Anyone?

Join us at the Fountain Courtyard for cocktails (you'll need them in order to "survive" our fun and crazy Team Building Event). You MUST arrive on time because we want everyone to enjoy a “first toast” to kick off our Team Event sponsored by Sharp Business Centers (remember one luck winning team member will go home with a Plasma TV) and Team Building event must get started right on time!

Survivor: ALLIANCE Island

Join your friends and colleagues in an incredible team building event that will give "partnership" a new meaning. Team prizes and a grand prize (a plasma TV donated by one of our great sponsors, Sharp, will be won). This will be a unique and extreme bonding experience you won’t soon forget.

Dinner on Main Street will follow. A cash bar will continue during the games.

Dinner at Savannah at the Beach, a local restaurant within walking distance of the team event, will follow.

To register additional guest and attendees, please view your options under "Pricing Information."

Dinner on the Beach

What better way to end the day than with a scrumptious dinner on the beach where we will celebrate our victory as an incredible ABCN team. After the games, we will walk together to Savannah, which is located at the base of the world famous Huntington Beach Pier where you will be entertained by night surfers, great people watching and pro volleyball teams practicing right before your eyes.