Meeting Planner Careers

If you are looking for an interesting career that will literally take you places, then you should consider being a cruise event planner. A cruise event planner may work for a cruise company, a travel organization, a concierge service that handles event planning, a hotel or a company that owns at least one chain of hotels and/or cruise ships, a large corporation, or even be self-employed. Here is what the job entails:

The ability to multitask on a large scale – Every little detail needs to be perfect for each and every event, and that is a lot of details to handle! Don’t worry though, after a few months perfection will all become routine.

An eye for detail – Being able to spot a very small problem before it becomes something a customer notices is a valuable asset to any cruise event planner.

A creative mind – Parties and events always need a touch of creativity.

A willingness to socialize and work hard – Working hard and playing hard are part of the job description. You just need to know when and where to draw the line.

A bank account – You are going to be earning a salary that salary.com, indeed.com, and other sites suggest start at nearly $43,000 a year!

Learn how you can easily plan successful cruise events at Seasite.com, your one stop for planning meetings at sea, and any type of group cruise. With just one electronic RFP you can source a group cruise across all cruise line brands. Why not take a look now and see all of the tools and resources available to cruise event planners.

Businesses that are successful almost always find themselves at a point where they need to start organizing events. These events could be company gatherings, sales promotions, seminars to inform certain members of the press and/or industry-insiders about new products/services, or something else entirely. It does not necessarily matter why a company eventually needs to have meeting/events planners, but it is almost a certainty that such a position will need to be filled at some point in time. Here is how to hire a meeting planner:

Meeting planners should be outgoing, honest, and self-motivated – After all, the business needs to get on with whatever it is doing and be able to trust that meetings and events are being scheduled.

A meeting planner will need tools – A meeting planner will need access to a phone (preferably a cellular/mobile smartphone), a computer with access to the Internet. A desk to work from is also helpful, and a laptop or netbook should also be considered.

A budget – Meeting planners need realistic budgets to work with.  While a good meeting or event planner can usually pay for herself, you need to have funds available for those events.  Be sure to track your ROI on meetings and events to justify the plan, but do not hire a meeting planner without the ability to give them a budget.

Trial basis – It might be a good idea to start a meeting planner on a temporary or part-time basis just to see how things work out.

Freelance meeting planners can make an incredible amount of money if they are self-motivated and have an ample amount of people skills. The problem is that many larger companies have meeting planners on staff, and thus one has to find a way to attract attention if they want to be a successful freelance meeting or event planner. Here are some tips on how to build up a reputations as a freelance meeting planner and perhaps generate business:

• Start by making contacts within the service industry, especially at hotels and other venues where people want to visit and/or hold their events or gatherings. These contacts can be useful when it comes to negotiating lower prices.
• Start a blog and try to guest post on other blogs as well. Some businesses might know that they need help, but do not know where to turn. Be there for them and they will come to you.
• Consider advertising, even in Craigslist or other online arenas that are cost effective. Newspapers might be worth advertising in as well, but print is certainly on its last leg.
• Be willing to knock on doors and network. This will mean having a business card ready, and spending money to attend conferences and meetings in order to network.
• Consider specializing in a certain type of meeting planning such as educational conferences or meetings-at-sea.  Developing a reputation as a niche expert.
• Remember that honesty and fair prices are important, especially at the beginning. Do not look to recoup all initial startup losses on the first few clients are nobody will recommend you.

You may be wondering why you would want the assistance of a cruise advisor when planning your next cruise event. If you are a meeting or event planner you should not need any help planning an event on a cruise ship – right? While you may be an excellent meeting planner well-versed in planning events in a variety of venues, it never hurts to make your job easier by using systems put in place specifically to assist you in planning group cruises.

Using group cruise planning tools and cruise advisors, like those available through Seasite.com, can make your planning process much simpler and more convenient. Employing these useful tools can also assist you in finding the right ship for your event and help you enjoy significant cost savings. For example, one of the handy search options available on Seasite.com allows you to peruse meeting space grids to determine which ship will best meet your needs, and their E-RFP allows you to easily send your RFP to multiple cruise lines, with the added benefit of them following up on the RFPs for you.

When you can receive this kind of personalized attention and assistance without paying any more than you would have when buying direct, there is absolutely no reason to not take advantage of these great services and tools – and plenty of reasons why you should.

Whether you are looking for an affordable option for incentive travel packages or are in search of the ideal venue for a wedding or corporate event, group cruises are an option that should not be overlooked. Cruises offer a variety of benefits to both the event planner and the cruise participants and usually provide significant cost savings over land-based events.

Because cruises offer a contained environment with meeting and event facilities, meals, beverages and entertainment, planning group cruise events is generally much simpler and more convenient than planning events that take place on land and require separate planning for each event component. Further, because most meals, drinks and onboard entertainment are included in a single, all-inclusive price, participants and the event host both benefit from predetermined costs without the concern of incurring significant additional expenses during the event.

Cruises travel to exotic locations and provide a relaxing, stress-free break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. While exploring port cities or spending time on the ship between stops, there are abundant entertainment and activity options, or participants can simply choose to lounge by the pool, receive luxury spa treatments, shop or relax in their rooms, which allows for travelers with a variety of travel styles or preferences to all enjoy their cruise experience.

To make planning group cruises even more convenient, planners should try out the group cruise planning tool available on Seasite.com and will find an abundance of other helpful information on the site as well.

Joining local business organizations and attending networking meetings or socials are essential tasks for meeting planners trying to break into the business or expand their current client base. Networking functions are an excellent way to meet potential clients, connect with local vendors, find new staff members as your business grows and get your name out there as a meeting or event planner who is accepting new clients. Networking socials and meetings are also a great way for shy or reserved folks to practice speaking about their business to strangers and to work on their people skills, which are particularly important to meeting planners.

Of course, it is not enough to simply attend networking functions and introduce yourself around. Following up with the folks you meet is just as important as making that initial contact. While you may have handed out your business cards and spoke about your meeting or event planning services, you must keep in mind that each attendee met plenty of other people as well; therefore, you must take extra steps to ensure that they remember you and that you will be in the back of their minds when they are need of planning services or when one of their friends or colleagues asks if they happen to know a good event planner.

As an event or meeting planner, you’re always faced with the difficult prospect of what to plan during off hours. Do you plan for complete freedom or offer alternatives for attendees to choose from. In general, a good event planner will put together options for participants outside of the meetings that will engage and entertain them. Following are some educational alternatives to the standard drinks and hors d’oeuvres receptions.

Tacoma’s Museum of Glass
Tours of the museum and a stop in the “Hot Shop” allow guests to learn about the history and art of blowing glass.

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry
This museum is one of the world’s leading science and industry museums. It houses over 35,000 artifacts and hosts almost 14-acres of interactive displays.

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
A 10,000-square-foot Energy Gallery is one of the premier displays at this museum. Another area, Innovation Studios, features five interactive science and history areas for guests.

Science Museum of Virginia
The Science Museum of Virginia is one of the most noted museums of its kind. Not only does it feature amazing hands-on displays, it also has a number of areas for events.

San Francisco’s Exploratorium
Everyone enjoys interactive displays and the Exploratorium houses some of the best. Over 400 exhibits entice the mind and there are many areas for receptions and presentations.

Planning an event is a big job.  No matter what type of event it is, you will find that there is a lot of different things that you have to make sure get done. You need to be focused and ready to take on this type of challenge when it comes to planning an event.  If you are not able to handle it all yourself, you will want to think about hiring an event planner to make it a little bit easier. 

There are a few different key factors that are important when you are trying to find a successful event planner. You need to think about the person that you are hiring and what they can do for you.  You have to learn to pick and choose your event planner wisely so that you are not finding yourself in a bad situation later on.

1. You will want to make sure that you are getting a highly successful event planner to take care of your next event. You need to make sure that you are finding someone that is ready to take on a challenge and do the best job that she can for you.  You want them to be devoted and able to help you though anything that is thrown your way. 
2. You want a professional.  You want to have someone help you with your next event that has the extensive training that is necessary to make the most of the event. You need to have someone that you can count on that has the experience that you need to make this the best ever.  You can make the event highly successful and very professional when you have help that matches your needs.
3. Getting a professional event planner that pays attention to detail is very key. This is one of the most important key factors in making an event a great success. You will want to have the person helping you very interested in making you happy. You need them to be very efficient and willing to do what you need them to. 
4. You will want to interview your event planner to make sure they are the person that you feel comfortable with. You want to have someone help you with your special event that you can trust and get to know.  They will want to be make your event the best that it can be and give you all that you are looking for and maybe even a little bit more.  You will be surprised at the amount of help you can get from your wedding planner when you chose them well. Ask them important questions that you are going to need to know.  You want to make the most of this time and get to know them very well.
5. The person that you are hiring to take care of your event will have to know the financial part of the business.  They will have to be willing to make sure that they take care of all the business transaction s that have to be dealt with so that you can get the event rolling on the right budget. They will have to be aware of the process and that they have to stay within the budget to keep on track.
6. Get the references that you need to make a good decision about the event planner that you need. You want to make sure that you have someone that is going to have former clients that are happy with their work. You want to contact these people and find out what they like and disliked about the event planner. This will help you make a better decision as to who is the right person for the job.
7. You will also need to make sure that the event planner is able to get word of your special event out there. You want them to be able to get the advertising part of the business out there for everyone to know about. You want to get as many people to your event that you can.  This will mean a lot of hard work and effort to go into the great event that you have been planning and waiting for.
8. Price.  This is one of the most important things that you need to consider before you hire an event planner. You want to make sure that you are getting someone that you can afford to do the job. You want to get an event planner that is going to be in your budget and also be very good. You do not want to pay for someone that you do not think will get the job done.  However you also want to make sure that you are getting someone that you can trust and feel good about the price at the same time. 

To negotiate more effectively, work on your communication skills.  You'll learn to overcome the communication barriers that block undertanding, and work toward  mutually beneficial agreements.  Here are some tips:

• Organize your thoughts to avoid conveying the wrong message
• Think through the process from start to finish.  What are your opponent's possible reactions to your requests?  How will you respond?
• Be concise, don't oversell your points
• Listen carefully to what the other party has to say, and search for solutions

Improve your listening skills and you'll increase your negotiating effectiveness.  

Negotiation skills are one of the most important skills that a meeting and event planner needs to be successful. 

If you would enjoy a meeting planner career but are also good at getting people together for everyone’s benefit, you may be just the kind of person that could thrive in an economic downturn.  Everyone knows that Business-to-Business contacts are important, so why not focus on helping businesses get through the end of the recession intact? Consider a career helping business groups survive.

Let’s face it–a meeting planner has to be comfortable around people. She has to be ready to talk to a lot of strangers at any time, keep things running, and create maximum benefit for all. So if you are going to start your own event business, why not create a niche that will benefit you as well? Here are some ideas on creating a place for yourself in the business world.

B-2-B Contacts. Many business are wondering about new ways to build business in a bad economy–help them by designing their networking events.

Non-Profits. You could spend a lifetime specializing in events for nonprofits. Remember, “nonprofit” does not mean “no money.” Many of these organizations would benefit greatly from the services of an event planner.

Sales Rep. Yes, you could take your education in event planning and get a lucrative position as a sales rep. Companies that sell beverages, catering services, travel and accommodations, and other services love people who understand the industry–they already know what they’re doing!

As you can see, there are lots of opportunities for you to help businesses with the right education and personality traits.