Meeting Planner Careers

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.

Congratulations. You’ve just been promoted from exhibit graphics to Event Coordinator for XYZ Company, a manufacturer of brooms and brushes for the restaurant industry. That means you’ll be attending the National Restaurant Show. How will you make XYZ’s product stand out from the competition?

At a show attracting thousands of attendees eating free food to boot, it’s not going to be easy. But, you’ve been in graphics, so you know that the first impression on a date or a job interview is made in the first 30 seconds . At a trade show, we can cut that down to the first 3 seconds; so, given the budget, you’ll create a wowie-zowie back board for your 10’ x 20’ broom and brush display. Now you need to pack it, ship it, set it up, light it, tweak it, photograph it, stand in it for three days, break it down, and return it to the shop.

Arriving at the show, you’ll join the small town making the entire event, including your 10’ x 20‘ display, a smashing success. Once you collect your exhibit from freight, and because you filled out the services forms back home, you’ll be visited by a string of people to help you. So, here’s the most important part: events like the National Restaurant Show usually rotate between the three largest convention halls in the nation. Make friends with the people in this small town, because if you stay in your position, it’s highly likely you’ll be seeing them again.

One of the most important aspects of any meeting is ensuring that the team arrives on site. No one wants the guest speaker or the corporation president stranded at the airport and meeting planners often go to great length to make sure that doesn’t happen. Every member of the team is important; every individual is entitled to a smooth transition from the train station, airport, or hotel to the meeting site.

Ground transportation is the face of the convention. People remember how they are treated when a limousine, town car, or shuttle arrives to whisk them to their destination. Does the driver collect them as if they are part of the baggage? Does he greet the team and help them load the baggage into the trunk of the vehicle? Eye contact and a pleasant manner create a good first impression.

Is the driver on time? It is much better to be half an hour early than ten minutes late. Conventions often convey a heightened sense of energy and anticipation. Everyone wants to be on time for the events that are the most important to them. Ground transportation can be as creative as a horse drawn carriage or as conventional as a minibus, the important thing is to get the team to the event.

Spring opens the door to the busiest time of the year for wedding planners. The following 3 qualities can make you a sought after wedding planner: be a good listener, be organized, and be kind.

The best wedding planner is a skilled listener. Sit quietly; take notes, allow the couple to express their dream wedding in detail. You may have to pull one or both of them back to earth, but for the moment, be willing to listen to plans for a clown themed wedding, a Bride of Chuckie theme wedding, or a Star Trek wedding event.

Organizational skills are essential for any event planning. Organization is literally the life’s blood of a wedding planner. Every detail is put down on paper, including a back-up plan for the inevitable glitches. If the people around you are losing their minds, but you are calm and organized, chances are you are a wedding planner.

A little kindness goes a long way toward smoothing out difficulties. Accidents happen, delivery trucks break down, things just happen. Even if or especially if someone is in the wrong, be kind. She will be more willing to help make things right if she doesn’t feel cornered. Kindness is the mark of a professional.

Whether you are considering your first cruise event or have used cruise ships as meeting and event venues several times, there are a few things about cruises that you might not know. Aside from offering all-inclusive packages with great prices, there are many other benefits that make group cruises particularly enticing.

Here are three benefits that make group cruises rather appealing:

1. Planning your next meeting or event on a cruise ship can save you up to 40% when compared to using a hotel venue. Meeting rooms, audio/visual equipment, onboard activities and entertainment, room service and meals are all included in your upfront price and you will avoid paying for many event necessities, such as lighting, floral arrangements, linens and labor. Add the benefit of no state or city taxes and it is easy to see how you can experience serious cost savings by opting for a cruise.
2. More than 80% of people have never been on a cruise, which will make your cruise event much more exciting and appealing to the majority of your attendees who have likely never experienced the luxury and relaxation of cruising.
3. Cruise ships offer numerous onboard activities and nightly entertainment, which means plenty of options for your participants and no entertainment planning tasks for you.

If a cruise ship venue sounds right for your next event, make planning even easier by using the convenient group cruise planning tool at Seasite.com.

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.

When it comes to being a successful meeting or event planner you need to learn how to look at things strategically. You need to break things down in small goals so that you can reach them in a timely manner for an overall success. You will find that the success of your event will matter on many things. The most important thing that you need to learn is that nothing ever goes according to plan, and that is why you should always have some backup plans to make everything possible.

When you are tackling an event you need to think of it on a large scale and a small scale. What is it that you want others to think about the event? Do you want people to have fun and socialize or do you want others to look at your event and purchase or donate something? Your goal at hand will determine everything from the decorations to the overall theme of the party. Once you are able to decide what you want for the event, you are able to move on to the details. 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…