Meeting Planner Careers

“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.

Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld

Everyone is concerned about how the public perceives their meeting plans. So much so, that hotels such as the Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld have dropped the word “resort” from their names.

The former Renaissance Orlando Hotel Resort at SeaWorld changed its name for “perception’ sake” according to the director of sales and marketing but also because it does not fit the image generally associated with a resort.

The Ritz-Carleton Hotels recently introduced a new package they hope will attract new meetings in 2010. Aptly named Meetings Within Reach, the package reminds the business community “It’s not extravagant if it produces results.”

Privacy has never been more important to meeting planners’ clientele. Properties, which have a proven record of accomplishment of protecting guests’ privacy, are in high demand. Limo services and lavish meals are the exception now rather than the rule. Do not attract attention to yourself seems to be the order of the day.

Is it necessary to use a company pseudonym when booking a hotel? Will you request that the hotel switchboard block media calls to the company’s VIPs? Will virtual meetings become the rule of the future? No doubt, there will be some permanent changes in meeting planning, but face to face meetings will not fall by the wayside, just the perception that meeting planning is party planning.

You just got your first meeting client, and you’re worried because she doesn’t have enough money to make it look good. She wants high tech gadgets, a nice reception, and a keynote speaker. She has the funds for a coffee bar, hand printed event schedules, and a motivational tape from the library. How in the world are you going to deal with that?

First of all, know that you can. While most event centers offer high tech gadgetry, very few clients really need to make use of everything a center offers. Often wifi, a laptop, and a projection screen will do for rooms; and although your client may think four rooms are required, you can show how three rooms can work better.

Instead of dinners and receptions, why not try a cuisine sampler and open socials? You can get some wonderful food samples from caterers that fit themes like international cuisine, festival foods, seafood, wild game, vegetarian dishes, desserts, etc.–all for much less than a full service evening dinner with a speaker.

And about the speaker–why not look to a local non-profit for an inexpensive speaker? Some speakers are free. They are happy to come and speak about their missions, which range from human service to animal causes, just for the opportunity to get their causes more press. In the meantime they motivate your audiences with their selfless efforts and the hardships they have over come.

No doubt you will be facing other corners you need to cut when your clients don’t have a lot of money, but your job is to be creative. Be creative with costs as well and your client will not only call you back, but hand out your business card to her friends. If you don’t, your meeting will look like a kindergarten class with no toys or graham crackers.

Even if you have had years and years of planning experience, you may end up with a meeting that you have no idea what to do with. You already know that the standard choices–DJs, rock bands, comedians, and tap dancers just aren’t going to do it for them. You need a different approach that they will remember for many years.

Look to the Company for Answers

Sure, it may be a generic kind of product or service company, but there are some places you can go for ideas. For instance, a manufacturing company might make part of their missions statement a comment about creating their products with as little carbon footprint as possible. If they are particularly good at it, and appreciated for it, consider a Native American music and dance group. Paying the original inhabitants of this land to come in and offer their arts is imbued with several layers of thanks. Read more…

It’s a hard world out there right now for meeting planners. From government restrictions on meetings to a ruined economy, companies just are not planning what they used to. On top of that, many are no longer going to self-employed planners as contract help for their needs. So how will you survive in this jungle? Look to the properties.

Many of the hotels are using inside people to help companies plan their events. Why? Because companies are asking them to do it. Rather than pay a freelancer, they are asking the hotels for help with planning events, sometimes holding the entire shindig in one place.

Hotels, on the other hand, are having to dedicate an employee’s time to helping each client. Rather than dump the complexity of a conference in the hands of a desk clerk, they are looking to their own in-house planners to serve the clients. Read more…

Any form of event planning calls for endless hours of fine preparation. There is no doubt that experience and practice are invaluable tools when it comes to successful event planning. However if you are new to the event planning industry, there are plenty of guidelines to help you get started.

Event management is all about knowing the right people at the right time. In business jargon, this is known as networking. A good number of contacts that you can rely on for a regular flow of business is just what you need to get started on a good note. Event planning promises a robust market, as long as you have the right contacts. However without a proper network, your event planning business could suffer heavy losses. A strong network base is of utmost importance to get you started.

A solid education and experience also contribute towards success in corporate event planning. Both theoretical and practical knowledge work best for this line of business. Before you begin to seriously consider starting a corporate event planning business, make sure that you do your homework well, before taking that important plunge into the corporate world. Successful event planning is not as easy as it looks; a thousand things need to be looked into and perfection in every detail is what matters at the end of the day. Read more…