Meeting Planner Careers

You already know that attending networking functions and connecting with local businesspeople are an important part of increasing awareness of your meeting or event planning services. You also know that networking events are a great way to meet both potential clients and vendors that you might like to work with in the future. But, there is more to making the most of networking functions than simply showing up and shaking a few hands. To get the most out of social networking events, you need to plan ahead, be prepared and have a plan in place for following up with the folks you meet at the function.

Planning ahead and being prepared includes making sure you have enough business cards and written materials to distribute to everyone you meet, practicing your elevator speech and making sure that your appearance and demeanor will appropriately display your professionalism and personable nature. You want attendees to feel comfortable in your presence, to want to know more about you and your services, and to quickly become confident in your ability to provide professional, reliable meeting or event planning services.

Aside from planning ahead for the event, you should also plan tasks for the days following the event. These tasks should include following up with everyone you spoke to with an email or handwritten card expressing how pleased you were to meet them, scheduling lunches with people who might be particularly helpful to you and visiting the websites of attendees to learn more about them.

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.