On 22 and 23 October this year The Mover will host the UK’s first ever business conference for the whole moving industry. Everyone is welcome to attend.

                                                                                 

                                A conference for all movers
                      22 and 23 October, Silverstone

On 22 and 23 October this year The Mover will host the UK’s first ever business conference for the whole moving industry.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

The global moving industry is not short of conferences.  In the UK there are the BAR and Britannia conferences in the spring (although Britannia is in France this year).  These are both well established, fine events and I would encourage all those entitled to attend to do so.  There is no doubt that meeting people at these conferences, particularly in the bar after the formalities have finished, is by far the best way to make lifelong contacts that will make doing business easier and more profitable.

Worldwide too there are many popular events.  The FIDI, OMNI, LACMA, EuRA and EUROMOVERS conferences, all in the first half of the year, are also ‘must go’ events for all those who are allowed to attend.  There are many other regional events.  The real biggy, of course, is IAM in the USA at the beginning of October.

But there are problems.  Firstly, and most importantly, to go to any of these events you have to be a member.  Personally, I think the value of conferences is such that I would join any of these organisations, if I qualified, just so I could attend.  But that’s not possible for many, perhaps most, moving companies. 

The other problem is that these events can be a shade intimidating for some.  If you don’t know anyone, walking into a crowded cocktail party and making conversation can be a nightmare.  I spent years feeling inferior at these events until I realised that everyone else felt the same.

Everyone welcome
The Mover Conference will solve these problems.  Firstly, everyone is welcome.  Whether you are with a multinational or a start-up business; whether you employ one person or 10,000; whether you are a serial networker or have never attended a conference event before, you will be welcomed, encouraged to participate, and I can guarantee you will go away with valuable information and even more valuable friendships that will last you a lifetime.

The venue and exhibition
The Mover Conference will be held alongside the established Movers and Storers Show.  This year the venue is special and a real treat for all petrol heads: Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix.  Silverstone has built a brand new exhibition centre, right over the pit garages, overlooking the famous International Pit Straight, and we will be one of the first conferences there.

Holding the conference with the Movers and Storers Show will give us one of the best  accompanying exhibitions of any moving conference worldwide and give our delegates the opportunity of joining in some of the ‘adrenalin fuelled’ events that the Show organisers are planning.  Most importantly it brings the two purely independent initiatives, that have marked a step change in the UK moving  industry in recent years, under one roof, working together to bring straightforward, practical help, advice and information to the whole industry at a single event.

What will it cost?
One of the big criticisms of the established conferences is that they are too expensive.  Movers are practical people, yes they sometimes like a little luxury, they enjoy getting dressed in their finery and brandishing their gold chains, but most of the time they just want to get the job done.  The high cost means that it’s usually only the owners and top management who attend and, many movers simply can’t afford the 5-star cost.

The Mover Conference will cut through all that.  The content, networking, organisation and conference facilities will be top notch. The accommodation will be practical (in fact it’s very quirky but more of that later), the food will be delicious, the bar will be at normal pub prices, and the welcome will be warm.  The cost for the two-day event including access to the business discussions and workshops, refreshments, dinner in the evening, entertainment and overnight accommodation will be less than £300+VAT.  Pretty good value and all tax deductible. And access to the Movers and Storers Show is free anyway if you book in advance.

Who should come?
There are many people in the moving industry, in the UK and abroad, who understand the value of conferences and we are hoping that they will add The Mover Conference into their schedule. But there are many more people who never attend conferences because they see them as pompous, expensive or simply because they are not members of the right group.  We want them to come too; we want them to give conferences a try.   

We also hope that the larger companies will give the opportunity to attend an industry conference to some of the people who have not previously attended the established events: senior foremen, import and export clerks, operations staff and junior management.  The Mover Conference will be the perfect, low cost way of easing them into the world of networking and, perhaps, of giving them a reward, at the end of the summer season, for a job well done.

What happens next?
Bookings haven’t opened yet but we’ll let you know as soon as they do.  Over the next few months in The Mover we’ll be telling you more about the speakers, workshops and business information that you can expect at The Mover Conference. For now, please just scratch off 22 and 23 October in your diary, think about who from your company would benefit from attending, and help us to spread the word.

      

 

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