The Electronic Security Association (ESA) concluded its first ESA Leadership Summit last week, offering a mix of live and prerecorded segments. The Summit was hosted by Jillian Bateman, chief development officer for ESA.

Held from Sept. 29- Oct. 1, the conference featured shorter Tech Talks and longer Main Stage presentations, along with private vendor discussions. The virtual Leadership Summit also include a trivia contest and awards presentations to add to the at-home conference experience.

The Tech Talks featured short presentations by companies to explain their technologies and list the real-world applications of them.

For example, a Tech Talk titled “Expanding Your Security Technology Ecosystem Using IP Endpoints by AtlasIED” explained the benefits of using IP endpoints, specifically with AtlasIED technology.

Yale Home, Napco, Axis Communications and Brivo also presented Tech Talks throughout the summit.

The Main Stage programming featured longer, keynote-like speeches for attendees.

In a Main Stage presentation titled “The World Has Changed: Selling Post-Coronavirus,” Steve Bookbinder explained how to transition a sales team to selling digitally using email, social selling and video conference calls.

Although it’s harder than ever to sell, Bookbinder says reinvention, adapting and adopting new practices and tracking personal key performance indicators like benchmarks to make more sales.

“Looking up at the top of the mountain is daunting, but looking back at where you’ve been, that’s the encouraging thing,” he said.

Other Main Stage presentations included “Leadership Isn’t for Cowards,” hosted by Mark Staver, author of “Leadership Isn’t for Cowards” and “What Keeps You Up At Night?: Virtual Best Practice and Advice Sharing,” a long-running panel which features industry experts answering questions about various pain points.

Part of the all-attendees Main Stage sessions included a three-part series by the Ritz-Carlton on how to build a culture of leadership and engagement with employees and customers, hosted by a Ritz-Carlton representative. 

In its awards show on Sept. 29, ESA awarded Bud Wulfrost with the Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year award. Rodger Reiswig was given the Sara E. Jackson award, and Don McInnes was awarded the ESA Instructor of the Year.

Many of the “Main Stage” presentations and “Tech Talk” programming can be found on ESA’s YouTube channel, and can be accessed on the Summit website for attendees.