From a dealer's perspective, what will make any of the current or new fall conferences not turn into a "pitch-fest"? I see many of the same vendor/speakers at each of these shows - and if there are already multiple tools in place at prior shows (clear warnings in speaker agreements, Twitter handles to report "pitching", speaker reviews that report this, etc), why would these same speakers do anything different at another show? Is there someone in the back of the room with a Taser watching the speaker?
I realize I am being cynical, but I don't see what could be done much differently to stop a vendor from pitching their product in a presentation. On the other hand, I have not found this to be a major problem, and in reality, I have no problem with a vendor taking a few minutes at the end of their presentation to share some information about their product. If the vendor/speaker has spent a lot of time presenting useful information to share with dealers, and they believe in their product, I am open to giving them a few minutes at the end of their session to share what they offer...
I realize I am being cynical, but I don't see what could be done much differently to stop a vendor from pitching their product in a presentation. On the other hand, I have not found this to be a major problem, and in reality, I have no problem with a vendor taking a few minutes at the end of their presentation to share some information about their product. If the vendor/speaker has spent a lot of time presenting useful information to share with dealers, and they believe in their product, I am open to giving them a few minutes at the end of their session to share what they offer...