Meeting and Event Planning

Planning business meetings and events requires multitasking skills and ingenuity. To succeed, you need to know the basics of meeting or event planning and how to plan effectively. Then, you must hone your skills so that you can negotiate for the best venues, vendors, and speakers for your attendees. And, if you can do all this and keep costs down — and you can! — you'll be a hit with your boss and your clients.

How to Plan Effective Business Meetings and Events

Organization and preparation are key when planning a business meeting or event. You have to cover all the basics from reviewing the content of the meeting to accommodating the attendees. Use the tips in the following list for successful meeting and event planning:

• Make sure meeting objectives are clear and concise.
• Determine whether it's necessary to meet at all, or whether you can accomplish your objectives in another way.
• Choose the right meeting location — one with the right number, size, and shape of meeting rooms.
• Make sure that you know and understand all the services provided by the facility, as well as its cancellation policies.
• Invite only the people who need to attend.
• Gather exact contact information for everyone involved in the event.
• Stick to the set meeting agenda.
• Evaluate the meeting or event after it's over.

Basic Responsibilities of Meeting and Event Planning

What does the job of planning a business meeting or event entail? Entire books are dedicated to answering that question, but the following list includes the fundamentals a planner must expect to coordinate:

• Site selection
• Hotel accommodations
• Travel arrangements
• Food
• Speakers and entertainment
• Audiovisual equipment
• Recreational activities
• Decorations
• Printing
• Gifts and awards
• Personnel

Venues to Choose when Planning a Meeting or Event

Choosing the right site for a business event is critical — it's the framework for your whole effort. When seeking a venue for a meeting or event, you have several options. Depending on the number of people attending and the type of event, you can go the traditional conference center route or try a road — or a cruise ship — less traveled. The following list contains places to consider when selecting a site:

• Hotels
• Conference centers
• Convention centers
• Resorts
• Retreat centers
• Cruise ships
• Unique environments, such as museums, stately homes, sporting venues, and theaters.

When in doubt about the choices available in a specific location, ask the local Convention and Visitors Bureau in your destination city for advice.

How to Find Vendors for Business Meetings or Events

Your success as a business meeting or event planner depends upon your ability to hire the right people to help you shine. No one can pull off even a small gathering without a host of helpers. How to find good aides is the question that the tips in this list help answer:

• Keep an eye out for good vendors when you attend parties and business events.
• Ask trusted friends and industry colleagues for recommendations.
• Ask contacts at your meeting location for a list of approved vendors.
• Contact a professional association affiliated with the industry in which you need to find a vendor.
• Search the Internet, and keep in mind that you need to check references for the companies you find.
• Scan trade/industry publications for potential resources.
• Quiz the local Convention and Visitors Bureau in your destination city.
• Consider using a Destination Management Company, which could save you time, money, and aggravation by assisting with part or all of your planning.
• 
  

• How to Negotiate when Planning Your Meeting or Event

  One of the most important skills any meeting and event planner must have is the ability to negotiate. Few things are set in stone, so unless you're planning an event around the Ten Commandments, you can negotiate price, perks, contract language. The basic rules of negotiating include the following:

  • Start with a plan. Know exactly what you want.
  • Do your homework. Understand the value of your business.
  • Be methodical and meticulous. Make careful notes of everything discussed and agreed upon.
  • Use bargaining power. Have another supplier in the wings to help influence negotiations.
  • Avoid vague and confusing language.
  • *Question preprinted contracts.
  • Read the fine print.
  • Insist on shared responsibility. Avoid any agreements that are one-sided.
  • Assume nothing. Ask questions, more questions, and still more questions.
  • Exercise silence. Be a champion listener.