The Site Selectors Guild (SSG) currently conducts regional Advisory Forums throughout North America in partnership with local or state economic development organizations.
The Forums typically include four to six SSG members and span two or three days. Like a typical “Fam Tour,” the Forums provide a community, region, or state with an opportunity to showcase its area and develop relationships with site selectors. However, Advisory Forums are much more than typical Fam Tours. One of the biggest benefits of the Guild’s Advisory Forum events is the opportunity to solicit detailed feedback from some of the top site selection consultants in the world regarding strengths and weaknesses of the area and subsequent recommendations to help improve business expansion and retention efforts.
Another significant benefit to hosting an SSG Advisory Forum is the opportunity to disseminate information about your community/region/state in front of not only the attending consultants, but also all 44 SSG members, all of whom are professional consultants leading various types of companies through the site selection process on a regular basis. After each SSG Advisory Forum, the participating members combine their notes about the visit, including unique assets and programs that were discovered, as well as recommendations provided to the group, into a written summary that is shared internally with all members of the Guild. This form of information sharing is truly valuable for the region or the state holding the Forum as knowledge is shared between peers within the Guild who may also be interested in the region based on clients and projects they are involved in or anticipate being involved in.
When scheduling an advisory forum, SSG provides a member contact who will work directly with the planning entity on the program content and agenda to help ensure an event that is truly valuable beyond “wining and dining” a few site selection consultants. The most effective SSG Advisory Forums are the ones that combine three or four key elements. First, SSG members greatly appreciate the opportunity to be briefed on activities in the area by economic development officials. Second, Guild participants also want to have time to meet with key business leaders who have invested and are growing in that region or state. In addition, it is important to be able to tour some of the most distinctive resources in an area that support business growth. Finally, Guild members enjoy being able to have an opportunity to have some fun and interact with their hosts in more relaxed setting to build long-lasting relationships.
We invite your region or state to reach out to us to discuss how to organize and schedule an Advisory Forum for your area. We can say with absolute certainty that the Guild members who have participated in past Advisory Forums have built enduring relationships with economic development leaders in those regions.
For more information or to schedule a call about hosting an Advisory Forum, email Michelle Comerford at [email protected].