Get your submittal in on time—Don’t delay. Go to west.supplysideshow.com/speakers.aspx  and fill out the application before March 4—that’s THIS FRIDAY. We have a procedure that we use to choose our speakers where the content team discusses and choses speakers and topics based on industry relevance, speaker qualifications, originality and audience demand. Submitting your topic in late is a sure-fire way to be overlooked.

Fill out the entire form—The SupplySide team does a great job of marketing education to our audience before the show so attendees can plan their schedules around the sessions that are most important to them. In order to do this, we need to know everything about you. Well, not everything, but close to it. We need the submitter’s contact information (name, phone and email), the proposed speaker’s contact information (name, professional title, company, phone and email), the proposed speaker’s biography, the working session title, the session abstract and five learning objectives.

Be Specific—We need a detailed and specific description of the topic you want to cover and why the proposed speaker is the best person to present on that topic. We get a lot of submissions, and it’s difficult for us to reach out to submitters to get clarification. Let us know exactly what you’re going to cover. For example, don’t say “botanical testing;" instead, say “A discussion of the of differences between FTIR and HPLC testing methods, and how they can each be used to substantiate claims in case an attorney general comes asking questions." And then, proceed to tell us how the testing methods can be used to substantiate claims.

Be educational, not promotional—Let’s face it, SupplySide West attendees don’t want to waste their precious time listening to a commercial. You need to offer something that’s educational and that will really benefit their business. You will be seen as a subject matter expert, which could lead to new business, but speaking at SupplySide West isn’t the place to roll out your newest marketing campaign.

Consider the audience—Creating a paleo eating plan or learning how to display products on a retail shelf are probably interesting presentations, but they won’t interest SupplySide attendees. Our audience members are the people that create, formulate and market finished products in the health and nutrition industry; they cover the food, beverage, supplement and personal care industries, and cover all types of ingredients, delivery forms and product categories. They are not, however, interested in topics that target consumers, retailers or health care practitioners.

Align your proposal with our wish list of topics—Covering the industry every day allows us to identify trends that are important in the health and nutrition industry, and we’ve listed education topics we’d would love to offer to SupplySide West’s audience. See the full list on the speaker proposal page, but a few of the desired topics are: delivering on the clean label expectation, selecting appropriate sweeteners for confectionery products, gluten-free food market trends, and science vs. perception for pet food ingredients.