How Teaming Up with Your Competitors Could Be Your Biggest Asset

In this Cadence Collective replay session, join a panel of three women who were once competitors. But in the challenges of the pandemic, they decided to work together and have a weekly meeting of the minds. Sharing ideas, tools, and tips with each other to make it through the hard times. Now they want to share these ideas with you, and why you might consider calling up your competitor!

Watch the whole session above, or read on for some of the highlights of The from Competitors to Collaborators session:

Refocusing Efforts After the Massive Shift to Virtual (8:00)

JR Global launched two new product lines. One, called Social, focuses on the fun side of virtual events. This includes the regular ‘virtual happy hours’ we’ve all attended at this point, but also takes it a few steps further with ideas like a New Orleans voodoo princess session, bingo, horse racing, Jamaican rum tasting, & more. The other focuses on curated gift experiences. Stephanie Krzywanski of JR Global said this was a big hit with corporate clients.

Trading Insider Secrets (10:10)

When the massive shift happened, Christian Pardo of Canvas Meetings & Incentives thought, “We can’t be the only ones going through this.” Canvas Meetings met with JR Global and another team about their size. During the Collective session, they all recollected how they started off a bit hesitant to share, but over time they found that sharing how they were handling the new normal became an asset for all of them.

Competitors don’t have to be scary because you don’t know them, or they look on the outside that they have it all together. It doesn’t mean you can’t approach them and be honest and authentic.

Christian Pardo

Canvas Meetings & Incentives

They mention that you may want to require non-disclosure agreements to help the space be as transparent as possible. The think-tank leveraged each company’s strengths, partnerships vendor information, & more, which led to incredible revenue streams. What started out as a weekly business call quickly turned to a weekly happy hour among friends. They can’t recommend this enough.

Organizers Turned Consultants (15:10)

Lastly, they recollect how their jobs have transformed beyond being just organizers. They describe how people are looking for guidance and answers, so they strived to be that guiding voice.

Pardo mentions how one of her clients wanted to do a 3-day virtual conference. She suggested that they reframe their thinking, because three days is too long to have someone sitting behind a computer screen. By working together, these companies had the best recommendations for their customers. They could help ensure their customers were spending their money & investing their time efficiently.

So, the headline for today’s conversation for me was, ‘We overcame.’ How did they do it? Well, first they came together with competitors, and they collaborated on all our best practices. They added new services promotional products and box fulfillment… When the opportunity of a new skill is present, jump on it. You have to be open minded to new work opportunities.

Kate Anthony

Preferred Hotels & Resorts

Watch the full video for more details about Competitors turned Collaborators. You can learn more about these great organizations here: Canvas Meetings & Incentives, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, JR Global.

Love the look of the session’s video? Explore what Cadence and its partners can do for your event’s branding and flow, and book a demo today!