Meeting Planner Careers

Are you looking for exciting, new venue options that offer a completely unique environment and have not been completely overdone? If so, it is time to look outside of the typical resort, hotel and convention center options and explore the world of meeting venues that lies beyond these common options. In every major city, almost all mid-size cities and even most smaller towns you will find a variety of unique venue options that will impress your guests and show your clients that you can think outside of the ballroom.

Holding meetings at zoos, aquariums and museums is becoming a hot trend and has broadened the array of meeting venue options available to meeting planners. For example, elegant galas and fundraisers are held at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in beautiful Balboa Park each year and meeting, event and wedding planners are planning weddings, award ceremonies and fundraisers at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle on a regular basis. A wide variety of events also take place at the Miami Science Museum each month, including holiday parties, fundraisers, movie screenings, corporate events and meetings, cocktail receptions and weddings.

Planning your next event or meeting at a museum, zoo or other attraction is an ideal way to offer your clients new venue options and provide an interesting backdrop that will appeal to attendees. Many of these venues work with caterers and other vendors that are well-versed in working with the space and facilities available, making event planning a breeze.

Meeting planners are always looking for new, innovative ways to improve their services, lower costs, satisfy their clients and make their jobs easier. It turns out that there is a simple way to do all of these things effectively without reinventing the wheel. Breakfast meetings and events are making a comeback and offer several advantages over lunch and dinner events. One of the most significant advantages is the cost savings associated with serving breakfast, rather than lunch or dinner. Breakfast events are far more cost-effective when it comes to food and morning meals are easy to plan. Whether you opt for a traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, an easy-to-plan continental breakfast or a healthy spread of yogurts, granolas and fruits, you will delight in the ease of planning breakfast events offer.

Planners will also discover that booking venues for breakfast events can be much easier than booking a space for later in the day. Due to the lower demand for morning events, planners will likely have increased options for dates and venues, and may even be able to negotiate better pricing.

Breakfast events are a great way to start the day and to harness the attention of attendees before they begin to wear out later in the day.

As a meeting planner, considering today's economy and government intervention into business, you may be inclined to put up your photon shields sooner than answer questions about your job. Inasmuch as photon shields do not exist yet, you might have to identify a fresh approach of responding to this question so that you do not get the evil eye for proclaiming you are a conference planner.  Here are various ideas to establish to associates what you organize without getting their hackles up and yourself down.

The synopsis Pitch

You can inform people what you do in just a few seconds, and tell them alsot that you are not the enemy. A few people seem to imagine that meeting planners are currently an additional expense that companies must not be paying for. Attempt a few of these replies by saying them to yourself in a mirror, and modify whatever you need to so that they work exceptionally well for you and does not sound rehearsed.

• I help businesses stay within government meeting regulations by planning their events.

• I help the government and businesses work together to save money on meetings so they don't have to sacrifice value and their bottom lines.

• I motivate a company's employees by providing training, technology sharing sessions, and programs.

• I help companies improve their bottom lines by providing motivational and training sessions that are well within government guidelines.

Depending on the type of planning you perform, you can modify these sentences and adjust them particularly for your requirements. Although you may well feel as if you should not have to do this, it is in reality excellent practice in support of your elevator promo speeches and sales pitch. In actuality, the stress the federal government has placed on your chosen work is like a nugget in the tide–it is a bit rough at times, but you will come out sparkling.

According to a US News & World Report on December 28, 2009:
“A Meeting Planner is one of the 50 best careers of 2010, and should have a strong growth over the next decade.”

According to the weekly news magazine's report, the employment of meeting and convention planners "is expected to grow faster than the average for all professions over the next decade or so" thanks to the "growing importance of meetings to increasingly global companies."

Because the recession caused a contraction of the meetings industry in 2009, U.S. News said today's meeting planners have to be "tougher," "willing to negotiate for lower costs and better perks," and "willing to face tough questions on budgets and return on investment."

Despite companies' reduced meeting budgets, however — and in spite of the AIG effect, which caused an unfortunate association of off-site meetings with corporate excess in 2009 — U.S. News concluded that "most organizations recognize the value of the face-to-face meeting — as not just a perk but an imperative for companies that have greater global reaches."

Anticipate this future need for meeting planners and establish yourself by enrolling in a Meeting and Event Planning Certificate Program. This type of certificate program will give you the knowledge to position yourself for the future with a new career or enhance your current job or validate skills you are already using in your personal or professional life.

Whether you are just starting out or have been in the meeting planning field for awhile now, it can be tempting to want to bill your services as all-encompassing. While you may indeed be an excellent event or meeting planner who can whip up any type of event and have it go off without a hitch, there are distinct benefits to specializing in a particular niche within the field. Some meeting planners select their niche prior to ever planning an event, some fall into a particular niche naturally over time, and some choose not to specialize at all and to plan a wide variety of events throughout their career.

But, whether you already know that your dream is to only plan weddings, you have already established a well-deserved reputation as a corporate event planner or you simply have no idea which type of events you might enjoy planning most, you will likely discover that finding a specialization will make your job easier and will actually help you get more business.

When you specialize in a particular type of event, it is much easier to become known as the go-to planner for that type of event. You will also likely provide better events due to becoming increasingly well-versed in your niche. Additionally, your job will be much easier when you work with the same venues and vendors repeatedly and begin to deliver exceptional events that will take less time and effort on your part.

Whether you are just starting out in the field of event and meeting planning, or are a seasoned professional constantly on the lookout for ways to improve and grow your business, there are certain must-have items that you should quickly acquire, if you do not have them already. These items will assist you in increasing awareness of your services, in coming across as professional and reliable, in ensuring that people you meet will remember you, and in bringing in new clients. While each of the three must-have items listed below may seem simple, once you begin to use them you will quickly see their value as part of building a solid foundation on which to expand your client base and grow your list of contacts.
 

1. A professional website – If you do not already have a website, you need one immediately. Even if you only have basic information on a home page, it is absolutely essential to establish an online presence and have a convenient place for potential clients to obtain information about your services.
2. Business cards – Whether they are simple or sophisticated, business cards are an absolute must. Order them now and carry them with you everywhere you go. You never know when you might meet someone who will be important to your business.
3. Thank you cards – You can opt for stylishly imprinted cards with elaborate designs or simple blank cards from your local stationary store, but you should always have thank you cards on hand. Thank everyone for everything. People like to feel appreciated and it will help them remember you.

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.

From the Civil War to Civil Rights, Alabama is a state filled with the history that forged a nation. Interestingly enough, Alabama is also a state that makes meeting and event planning easy. From the multiple Convention and Visitors Bureaus to the hotels and golf courses scattered along the gulf coast, Alabama provides a venue that functional, memorable and educational.

Groups, whether small or large, are perfect for Alabama. Affordability ranks high on the list of most meeting planners in today’s economy and Alabama comes through with flying colors. Group rates on hotels and discounts on many of the amenities make it an extremely attractive venue. The Gulf Coast CVB has become a favorite destination for meeting planners. Over 87,000 square feet of meeting space and more than 15,000 condominium and hotel units provide ample accommodations for any group.

Attractions in Alabama include the Alleyway, which is an entertainment area along the riverfront in Montgomery. Birmingham features the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The sister cities of Auburn and Opelika are both home to major universities and excellent golf courses. Huntsville touts its new Davidson Center for Space Exploration and the coastal venues pull attendees into the Mardi Gras tradition. Alabama beckons to groups of any size.

Architecturally astounding and implicitly beautiful, W Fort Lauderdale is the newest and hottest destination for relaxation or event planning in Fort Lauderdale. With over 12,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, there are very few events that couldn’t be handled at this hotel. W Fort Lauderdale boasts 517 guest rooms and suites and 5,500 square feet of additional outdoor meeting space.

Whether you’re hosting a board meeting or planning a world-class event, W Fort Lauderdale will accommodate your needs with a helpful staff of professionals. The hotel also features exclusive offers for meeting and event planners such as a complimentary room for each 25 rooms that are booked, 4% credit to master and a complimentary airline ticked for every 25 tickets booked.

W Fort Lauderdale is conveniently located only 7 miles from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport, 32 miles from Miami International and only 46 miles from Palm Beach International airport. If you add in the convenience of W’s signature Whatever/Whenever® service, you’ll never have to worry about finessing the details.

W Fort Lauderdale truly goes above and beyond for corporate planning or events and provides an atmosphere that is both relaxing and attractive.

For more information or to make reservations, contact Paula Walker-Carlson at (954) 414-8202 or e-mail her at: paula.carlson@whotels.com.

Exclusive offers source: http://specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/W_Fort_Lauderdale/mp.htm

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of meeting, event and convention planners is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations over the 2006-16 decade. Additional job openings will come from the need to replace workers who leave the workforce or transfer to other occupations. Career opportunities will be best for individuals who have earned a bachelors degree and who have some meeting planning experience.

Employment change. Employment of meeting, event and convention planners is expected to grow 20 percent over the 2006-16 decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

As businesses and organizations become increasingly global, meetings and conventions become  more important. In organizations that span the country or the globe, the periodic meeting is increasingly the only time the organization can bring all of its members together.

Despite the proliferation of alternative forms of communication, such as e-mail, videoconferencing, and the Web, face-to-face interaction is still a necessity. In fact, new forms of communication foster interaction and connect individuals and groups that previously would not have collaborated. By increasing the number of human connections, electronic forms of communication actually increase the demand for meetings, which may offer the only opportunity for these people to interact in person.

Source:  US Bureau of Labor Statistics