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| Ten
Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners
by Susan Friedmann |
Whoever
said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied!
Rather, it should be classified under the tough and
demanding job category. But, along with being tough,
it’s also fun, exciting, exhilarating,
stimulating, and never, never boring. You have the
opportunity to go to exotic places, stay in
luxurious hotels, and experience life from a totally
different angle. Who could ask for anything more?
For those of you ready to shoot me at this point,
know that I fully understand your pain!
The purpose of this article is to look at ten skills
that help make a super successful meeting planner,
and how you can take this expertise and use it to
enhance the great job you’re already doing.
1. Planning and organizing
The most common reason shows go wrong lies in the
simple fact that not enough time is devoted to
adequate planning and preparation. And, many of
those shows that are believed to have been
successful, are often more by chance than through
actual organization. Super successful meeting
planners have both a strategic and tactical plan of
action. They then use the following five basic
questions as their foundation before making any
arrangements:
· Where does this meeting fit into our corporate
marketing strategy?
· Why are we meeting?
· What is the purpose of the meeting?
· Who should attend the meeting?
· What is our budget?
2. Taking care of details
So much of putting a meeting together means taking
care of the details, and there are usually more of
these than you care to think about. Being
detail-oriented is a definite plus. The key to so
much of a meeting planner’s success is having a
system that works. Creating checklists is one of the
best I know. With the hundreds of pieces that make
up the meeting puzzle, the only way to put them
together and keep tabs on all the details, is with a
checklist. Become a checklist fanatic and consider
having a checklist for each checklist. I’m getting
dizzy just thinking about it.
3. Practicing savvy marketing
A significant part of a successful meeting
planner’s role involves developing a pre-, at- and
post-event plan. Most meeting planners fail to have
a plan that encompasses all three areas. Budget is
naturally going to play a major role in deciding
what and how much promotional activity is possible.
Super successful meeting planners know the
importance of developing a meaningful theme or
message that ties into their strategic marketing
plan, and that will guide their promotional
decisions. They know and understand their target
audience and plan different promotional programs
aimed at the different groups they are interested in
attracting.
4. Being a team player
Super successful meeting planners know exactly how
to work together as a team, helping each other out
whenever and wherever necessary. They help everyone
get acquainted, develop a level of trust, and
familiarize and understand each other's strengths.
They know what it takes to create an environment of
camaraderie where the staff, as a whole pulls out
all the stops to succeed and set themselves apart
from the competition.
5. Knowing how to manage time
Super successful meeting planners have mastered the
art of managing their time. They are well organized
and have essential information at their fingertips,
which means that their work environment is orderly
and efficient. They know their priorities, don’t
over commit themselves, and can differentiate
between important and urgent tasks. They are superb
delegators and are not afraid to ask for help
whenever they need it. And, finally, they don’t
procrastinate; on the contrary, they practice the
“do it now” habit.
6. Negotiating skillfully
Skillful and savvy negotiators know exactly what
they want. They spend time doing their research so
that they know as much as possible about their
opponent. They are prepared with strategies and
tactics, questions and possible concessions. They
are masters at finding alternative ways of talking
about, reacting to and solving problems. They use
their talents of intuition, flexibility and concern
for others to reach an agreement where both sides
win. They look to create a feeling of cooperation to
build a mutually beneficial working environment.
7. Applying a positive attitude
Research successful people and you’ll find that
having a positive, “can do” attitude ranks high
on their list of characteristics. Not only are they
positive and upbeat, they surround themselves with
naturally positive and successful people. Give it a
try and see it their attitude rubs off on you. When
you focus on what you can do versus what you can’t
do, expect to find solutions to your various
challenges. Try changing your vocabulary to reflect
your optimistic thoughts and feelings, and see what
happens. People find you more attractive and want to
be around you, especially when you focus and direct
your conversation onto the outcomes they want.
8. Evaluating results
Any master continuously looks to improve on their
performance, and a super successful meeting planner
is no different. Create a system to evaluate your
results. Ask your participants for their feedback.
Find out what they liked about your event, and what
they would like to see improved in the future. In
addition, ask yourself what you thought went well
and what you would do differently if you had to
organize this event again. Chronicle all your data
and keep accurate records so that you can refer to
them the next time around.
9. Being a perpetual learner
We live in an information age and are surrounded by
more stuff than we can possibly cope with. However,
successful people love it, as they are perpetual
learners. They know the pitfalls of relying on what
worked in the past as a guide to what will work in
the future. That’s why they constantly look for
new and improved ways of doing things, learning from
the masters and staying open and willing to try
different approaches.
10. Keeping a sense of humor
If you don’t laugh you cry and in the meeting
industry there’s no lack of situations where
it’s easy to shed a tear. Keeping a sense of humor
will definitely help prevent you getting mad, angry
and frustrated with those incompetent and
disorganized suppliers. Learn to laugh at their
mistakes as well as your own to keep a saner
perspective on life. If nothing else, remember that
laughing is good for your health and will help
reduce your stress and blood pressure levels.
| About
the Author |
| Written
by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow
Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting
& Event Planning for Dummies,” working
with companies to improve their meeting and
event success through coaching, consulting and
training. Go to: http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com
to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart
Tips of the Week. |
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