Meeting Planner Careers

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.

Whether you’re in Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles, CA, government entities can be a different breed of client to work with when planning meetings. It’s never an easy task when dealing with multiple entities with different rules. Your goal is to understand the differences between state run agencies and federal agencies and their rules and work your plan around those differences. Following are a few tips to help get you through the quagmire.

State Guidelines vs. Federal Guidelines
One of the most important things to understand is that there are differences between the guidelines that state agencies must follow and the guidelines that federal agencies must follow. In a nutshell, the state is only required to do the minimum federal guidelines, however, states like Texas have their own additional rules that must be followed. The easiest way to ensure that you have the proper guidelines is to utilize the U.S. General Services Administration and check which rules you must follow and what the agencies are required to do. Another option is to take the new designation course offered by the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and become a certified government meeting planner.

Accepted Practices
Most government agencies aren’t allowed to cover the cost of food and drink. However, a savvy meeting planner who understands this can bundle meeting rental and break service rather than itemizing everything separately. Another avenue to explore is a joint project between SGMP, the Convention Industry Council and Meeting Professionals International called the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX). This group offers standardized contracts, RFPs and other tools that will help you with government meeting planning.

Working as a government planner can be very rewarding. The sealed bids can be worth thousands, but understanding the rules of the game is an incredibly important step on the road to success in this segment of the industry.

The Web has helped create a movement toward simplifying the everyday tasks of event and meeting planning through the use of Web applications or “Apps” for short. Following are four Web Apps that can make your life easier.

Which Date Works?
This Web app is an all-in-one tool that allows you to handle contact lists, has a calendaring system that helps you see who is available and finalize dates for meetings or events that work for everyone. Which Date Works can be found at http://whichdateworks.com.

My Punch Bowl
This event planning application helps you organize an event from conception through invitation. It even handles creating the date, online invitations, supplies and sharing via different social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. My Punch Bowl can be found at http://www.mypunchbowl.com.

Set Dot
Set Dot is an events management Web app for creating and managing events and meetings. You can create the event and stylize it with a theme, send out invitations to the event and manage guest responses and messages. This app will even allow you to find maps and directions to your event. Set Dot can be found at http://www.setdot.com.

Anyvite
This application uses more than just the Web to help you plan events. Anyvite works with mobile, IM and SMS tools to help you invite associates to different events. It features a plethora of invitation designs, ease of use, location search and the ability to incorporate photos or video. This handy tool also features a way to export a guest list. Anyvite can be found at http://anyvite.com.

When it comes to meetings, you have to come fully prepared and ready to state your side and then show all the documentation that you have used and collected. There are basically seven ways for you to have an easy and hassle free meeting plan.

The first thing that you must do is think about everything that you will need. Make sure that if you need an overhead projector that it is set up in the room before the meeting starts. You may want to come to the meeting an hour or two head and set the room. You need to make sure that all the equipment that you use is good and works. This is the time for you to set up the rest of the room.

You may need to rearrange the furniture and other things to make sure that everyone can comfortably see the presentation. You may also want to take this time to set your table up. If you have folders or handouts that you would like to share with your associates, you may want to leave them at the end of the table or around the table. Read more…

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

Three common mistakes made by beginner meeting planners:

• Not ordering enough food or beverages – people get very distracted and upset if there is not enough food or drinks to go around.   Typically, the venue staff can advise you regarding the amount of food and beverages needed for any size group. Don't scrimp.
• Not asking sufficiently detailed questions of site personnel and vendors.  Know what you are getting into when it comes to the venue.  Make sure that you do a site walk through several weeks before and then a few days before your meeting to make sure that the facilities will meet the needs of your group.  Be meticulous.  Check every detail.
• Waiting until the last minute to pull everything together.  Don't procrastinate!  Make lists and plan ahead for successful meetings and events.

If problems do occur, act proactively and creatively.  It seems as if nothing ever goes according to plan.  Just stay calm and work through each problem with your staff and the venue staff.  

Here are some great resources for those of you seeking employment as a meeting or event planner.  

MeetingJobs.com offers a job search website for the meeting planning industry. In addition, you'll find resources and tools, such as webinars, resume writing help, salary planning tools and more.  

Whether you are a job seeking candidate or an employer looking to hire, you can connect with one another at MeetingJobs.com. Their website offers numerous ways to effectively and efficiently put hiring officials and job candidates together.

Another good job search site for meeting planners is located on the Professional Convention Management Association website.  PCMA offers a job search at their Career Center. Whether you are looking for meeting planner jobs, hotel or convention sales jobs or other hospitality jobs, it's important to grow your knowledge and network in today's market to succeed in a leadership position. The PCMA Career Center has high-level meetings industry job opportunities and resources available for you to hone your leadership skills and continue to advance your planner career.

“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” – Zig Ziglar

Things are different for meeting planners in 2009 than 2007 or even 2008.  Attendance is down, there are fewer events to handle, and that’s just work. No doubt, everyone’s personal lives have had a few setbacks or downright tragedies as well.

Welcome to life.  Accentuating the positive side of a situation simply means focusing on what you can do now instead of mourning what you could have done a year or two ago.

Clients may come armed with negative thoughts and anxiety levels through the roof. You can feed into that or offer positive solutions to meeting planning. Meeting planners have always had challenges to overcome; the speaker didn’t show, the audio visual system went haywire, it rained every day of the event and no one was able to use the gorgeous golf course close to the convention center. It wasn’t the end of the world then and it isn’t now.

Tough times have valuable lessons to teach. Meeting planners are more creative, inventive, and hard working than ever before. Be proud of every successful meeting you host and give yourself permission to learn from mistakes. You have probably discovered suppliers and host sites that you never heard of before the recession kicked in. You stayed the course and you’re better for it.