Meeting Planner Careers

A freelance meeting planner might seem like a glamorous job at the outset, but nothing good comes without a catch. Getting to rub shoulders with the elite and make a great living obviously comes with some serious responsibilities, including:

• Most successful freelance meeting planners try to wake up early in the morning so that they can get a head start on what typically proves to be a busy day. It also helps to be up and awake when business starts in New York, and working when things in Los Angeles start to slow down as that provides access to an entire country of companies needing meeting planners.
• Top notch meeting planners are well equipped with a desktop, a laptop, a smartphone, and plenty of notepads ready to take down notes with almost no notice. Why? Because the best meeting planners know that asking twice is a no-no.
• Unlimited phone access is important for a freelance meeting planner as they are often on the go. This means multiple batteries, unlimited long distance, and often more than one phone. Being connected equals making money for a freelance meeting planner.
• Reliable transportation is also critical for any freelance meeting planner. Some people feel that just because they work out of their home that a reliable vehicle is not important, but they are wrong. Not only are they wrong if they are meeting planners, but they need to keep in mind that image is important.

When corporations dedicate precious financial resources to meeting planning and events, they want to make certain that they get a good return on their investment. For this reason, it is vitally important that meeting planners work diligently to ensure that the greatest number of participants as possible attend the scheduled meeting or event. There are several ways in which meeting planners can promote the event and encourage participation. Personal contact is always important; therefore, meeting planners can make reminder calls to participants once invitations to the event have been sent. Word-of-mouth recommendations can have quite an impact on participation.

Not only is personal contact an excellent way to reach potential event participants, but social media sites and other technology may also be utilized by a meeting planner. Many individuals have accounts with social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Meeting planners should take advantage of these social media sites by using them to promote the upcoming meeting or event. Additionally, meeting planners can send email reminders to participants or they may even promote the event on their blog. Furthermore, posting information about the event on the corporation's website or a custom website is also a great way to remind participants of the upcoming event and encourage participation.

Meeting planning for businesses and corporations includes more than simply purchasing airline tickets, ensuring accommodations are booked, and securing a meeting venue with all necessary equipment. If this were the case, businesses would really have no need for the services of a meeting planner.

To plan successful meetings and events, meeting planners have to tap into their creative abilities. They have to make each event meaningful and unique with their own special style of creativity. By doing so, they can make meetings and events unforgettable. However, when corporations are facing budget cuts, meeting planners may feel pressured to cut creative elements from their planning. One way that meeting planners can guarantee that creativity is not sacrificed for economy is by booking an incentive cruise for their client.

Cruise ships are well-known for their creative elements. From ice sculptures that grace dining tables to first-class entertainment in well-appointed theaters, cruise ships are bursting with amusing, unforgettable moments. By booking a ship charter, a meeting planner can ensure that incentive travel participants will be properly rewarded for their hard work. Furthermore, the corporation can save money by agreeing to an all inclusive cruise. A ship charter is truly a win-win situation for everyone, and creativity does not have to be sacrificed.

The economy has certainly closed many doors of opportunities, but it has opened plenty of windows too for the right people. Meeting planners are one career choice that may actually experience far more new opportunities being open to them than opportunities denied, and this leaves the door open for a little moonlighting. There are a few things to be aware of before moonlighting as a meeting planner:

• Your day job may not be too happy about you moonlighting, even if you do it on your own time. Discretion is the key word here, and learning how to exercise it could be the difference between getting along and putting a few thousand extra dollars in the bank each month.
• Some of the most successful moonlighters have discovered that they can make the time zones work for them. If they live in a region on PST then they try to find work from home meeting planning opportunities for clients as far east as possible and arrange to come in a little late and leave a little late at their day job. The opposite is obviously true of those living clear across the county.
• Leveraging your existing connections and knowledge is ultimately what will make you more attractive. It might be difficult for caterers or concierges to keep things straight when they don’t know that you have two sets of clients, so be sure to let them know that you are semi-freelance and that discretion on their part is rewarded with more business.

There are many jobs that are disappearing every day, and many of them will not return in the immediate future. In fact, some economists think that some entire industries may be undergoing serious transitions in who they employ and how they handle those employees to the point where some jobs will probably not return in our lifetime. Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case for meeting planners. In fact, meeting planners are probably safe for a few reasons:

• There have been freelance meeting planners for decades now, so even if corporate or SMB meeting planners start to be downsized, there are plenty of opportunities for moonlighting. It is even likely that mixing and matching a day job as a meeting planner and a side job as a freelance meeting planner would work out.
• Companies are striving more than ever to create effective meetings and presentations, and thus meeting planners that are willing to work hard are going to be in more demand than ever. In fact, there are probably more meeting planners moving up the corporate ladders now than ever before.
• Even smaller companies are starting to understand that they are their image, at least to a point. That means that they need meeting planners just as much as they need PR people.

Meeting planners wear many hats, and they have many responsibilities to which they must attend. The success or failure of the event is on the meeting planner's shoulders; therefore, they must work diligently to ensure the meeting goes as planned. While there are many aspects of the event that must be taken into consideration and given high priority, one of the most important elements of a meeting or event is the site location. Meeting planners should be sure that the site location is ideal for the type of event as well as the number of attendees.

There are a few things that meeting planners should keep in mind when considering prospective site locations. Meeting planners need to consider who the prospective attendees are. The location should be chosen based on the groups needs and expectations. Meeting planners also need to consider how the attendees will get to the meeting. For this reason, many meeting planners reserve site locations that are near a major airport. Meeting planners need to ensure the site location is attractive. The value of aesthetic appeal should not be minimized. Finally, meeting planners need to consider the number of attendees. It will be important for the site location to be spacious enough for meeting participants.

Meeting planners can offer a variety of services to business and organizations desiring to implement incentive travel programs. Many times, businesses and organizations do not know where to begin in regard to making travel arrangements for large groups. Meeting planners will have the skills and resources necessary to make travel planning easy and simple for corporate entities. Based on the organization's budget, a meeting planner can then begin making all of the required travel arrangements. Meeting planners essentially offer total travel management from the beginning of the trip until the end.

Whether planning an incentive cruise or a conference at a resort, meeting planners can be of invaluable assistance. They can assist the company in designing a travel program as well as rules and tracking. They can help the company select a location, and book hotel and air accommodations. A meeting planner will be responsible for arranging food and beverage, on-site transportation, registration, team building events, and figts and awards. If companies desire theme events, a meeting planner can help with this as well. The number of services a meeting planner can provide are substantial, and businesses will find that incentive travel is planned and executed more smoothly with the assistance of a meeting planner.

Social media is the wave of the future, and businesses and organizations should be prepared to include social media in their business travel plans. Many meeting planners believe that social media will be an important aspect of conferences and other types of organizational meetings. There are several types of social media that many employees utilize on a daily basis for things such as networking and planning. Because social media is important, it will be essential for businesses to ensure that their meeting venue has all of the capabilities necessary to employ social media in their meetings and presentations.

Not only will hotels and resorts have the technological capabilities necessary for social media interaction, but a ship charter will also have these capabilities as well. An incentive cruise is just another option that organizations have when planning things such as business travel. Even while on the seas employees will have the ability to remain connected to their social media accounts. As a meeting planner, it will be imperative that organizations are aware of the types of technology available to them regardless of the type of incentive travel they choose. Reassuring them that they will have access to various types of social media will be crucial.

As any meeting planner can attest, scheduling a meeting for a business or organization is no easy task. Many factors have to be taken into consideration, and one of the greatest hindrances to meeting planning is often scheduling conflicts. For this reason, many meeting planners might shy away from planning an incentive cruise because they feel it would be too difficult to schedule. On the contrary, group cruise planning can sometimes be much easier than planning land venue meetings. If a business or organization is in need of meeting planning assistance, meeting planners may want to consider a cruise event as an ideal travel incentive.

Group cruise planning is quite simple because everything is included. Accommodations, meeting spaces, dining, entertainment, and leisure activities are all available in one place. Furthermore, a ship charter can be scheduled for anywhere from 3 to 14 days. Cruise events can be scheduled to take place during the week, which means that no work days are lost. Corporations can choose how many days they wish to reserve their ship charter, and make the necessary scheduling arrangements around these days. Cruise ships are equipped with the latest technologies; therefore, participants will not have to worry about missing important emails or phone calls.

Some meeting planners spend their entire careers making a similar level of income. This might be fine for people that value stability above all else, but if you are reading this then there is a fairly good chance that you are looking for a little extra earning power. Here’s how to do it:

Start by realizing that not every company has serious meeting/event planning needs. Be willing to look elsewhere for greater challenges and opportunities. It might be a little scary leaving a company that has done a good job looking after you for so long, but you may have hit a glass ceiling. Recognize this fact and move on.

Ask for extra challenges and assignments whenever possible. Some companies need meeting planners that can be flexible and are willing to pay a premium for that flexibility. Be sure to perform these tasks well and look for opportunities to show your added value whenever possible and practical.

Be willing to trumpet your success to the office, but do it with grace. If a meeting went over very well because of something that you are responsible for, such as choosing the right catering company or the perfect cruise company, then be willing to take partial credit. Modesty is a virtue, but it does not pay the bills.