Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention Welcomes First-Time Attendees

If you are a manufacturer, wholesaler or independent representative selling shortline farm equipment and have been a regular attendee of our annual Fall Marketing and Distribution Convention, the bullet points below are likely all you will need to read of this article before moving on to the rest of the newsletter. The rest of this article will be addressed to members and prospective members who have not attended this annual convention.

• Registration for our upcoming meeting in Kansas City opened last week at FarmEquip.org. We are once again providing attractive registration discounts, (savings of over $200) for those who register before August 15.
   
• Register early. We expect very good attendance at this Midwest location and are likely to sell out of rooms at our $149 convention rate.
   
• Southwest Airlines has announced fall getaway fares to Kansas City as low as $73 one-way for flights booked by July 16.
   
• Our secure online registration is always the quickest way to register and is used by more than 90% of attendees.

In selecting this year’s location, our goals were accessibility, affordability, and convenience. This center-of-the-nation spot should be a manageable drive or a quick flight for most of you. We want you to spend less time traveling and more time meeting with distributors and marketers.

We believe the Kansas City Sheraton at Crown Center will meet and exceed all of these goals, while providing easy access to all the city offers.

If your primary reason for attending this Convention is meeting with distributors, we leave ample time in the schedule for those important meetings. We also encourage members to schedule appointments with distributors early and late in the week when we have fewer sessions.

Finding new distributors will be even easier this year with a return of our tabletop MarketPlace, which is in addition to the EMDA contact session that follows the joint opening breakfast and keynote address Wednesday morning. Distributors and Independent Reps will be available during both of these events for introductory meetings and scheduling of appointments.

Our staff will be in contact with all of the members of our Marketing Section in the next few weeks to explain the details and benefits of our MarketPlace.

For manufacturers who do not use distributors or with limited time for meetings, we have planned most of our major events and sessions in the core of our schedule. Our opening reception is Tuesday night, and general sessions are completed by noon Thursday.

For those who want to make the most of their time in Kansas City, we offer a joint closing session with EMDA attendees on Thursday evening. We also are planning plant tours for early Friday morning.

Even with all of the information available at FarmEquip.org we know many members considering attending for the first time will have questions. We welcome your calls to our headquarters, where our full-time staff members are eager to provide more information and help you with everything from convention registration to introductions in Kansas City.

We will help you make the most of this annual meeting! S