Jason Calacanis posts about an email exchange from the AlwaysOn conference that, quite honestly, makes me embarrassed to be in the same business as some other conference organizers.

Heading down the slippery slope of selling speaking spots (and giving the impression your “awards” are for sale as well, will never lead to long term success.

It all points to the fact that if you run a legitimate conference that keeps the sales team and conference team completely separate - you need to be screaming that fact from the top of the nearest mountain.

Charging to give a demo, if that’s your model, is fine if you are upfront about that fact. But approaching prospects by making it sound like a legitimate speaking opportunity is just plain bad form.