10 Feb 10 How to Have Lasting Relationships with Clients
Clients are the most precious assets for a meeting planning business. Without clients, there can be no business. With poor quality of clients, the business will be poor and if you manage to get very good clients and retain their loyalty, your business will only go up and up. This all sounds very exciting. But it is not easy to get very good clients and all the more difficult to retain them. After all, whatever you do, your competition is trying the same and may use better techniques to get business. Are there any innovative approaches to client relationships?
The first need is of course client satisfaction. If the client is satisfied with your response time, after sales service and can depend on you, pricing may become secondary. All clients do not buy from a supplier whose sales at the lowest price. If your product cost is a small percentage of clients total expense or if your product is essential for your clients, you are onto something good. How to retain such clients despite all the competition? What are the other factors than client satisfaction?
Relationship is one such other major factor. Do you relate with your clients only professionally, or are very good friends? Both these extremes can hurt. For a long-term business relationship, good friendship is not good for health of your business. Any problem in the personal friendship will directly affect your business. What if you relate to your meeting planning clients mechanically in a professional style totally devoid of personal touch? You know the answer yourself.
What is needed is a relationship that does not border on personal friendships, but crosses mechanical approach. A fine balance between personal and professional.
Tags: Client Relationships, Client Satisfaction, Extremes, Fine Balance, Good Friends, Health, Lasting Relationships, Loyalty, Mechanical Approach, Meeting Planning, Nbsp, Personal Friendship, Personal Friendships, Personal Touch, Poor Quality, Precious Assets, Professional Style, Response Time, Term Business Relationship
04 Feb 10 Engage Your Customer – Offer Them Benefits
Think quick. In 10 seconds, can you list the 5 key benefits you offer your customers?
I bet you said “Yes”. But are you sure you listed benefits? If you’ll bear with me for another 10 seconds, I’d like to test out a theory on you.
Recap your answers – maybe even write them down. Now list the 5 main things your meeting planning business does. In other words, what are your 5 core services? What are the 5 core features of your service?
If your first list looks anything like your second, chances are you’re mistaking features for benefits. As a result, it’s likely that your marketing materials aren’t engaging your customer. Customers don’t want to know what you can do. They want to know what you can do FOR THEM.
Don’t talk features – talk benefits. (more…)
Tags: Benefit, Bet, Business Owners, Circles, Core Features, Core Services, Dramatic Effect, Favour, Hitting The Mark, Light Years, Marketing Managers, Marketing Materials, Meeting Planning, Rsquo, Second Chances, Server Clusters, Uptime, Web Copy, Web Host
01 Feb 10 How To Communicate Better With Body Language Secrets
"I don't let my mouth say nothin' my head can't stand." Louis Armstrong
If you want to build your meeting planning business, the key could be better communication with clients and vendors. Learning how to communicate better has a lot to do with understanding body language.
Julius Fast wrote a book entitled, Body Language in 1970. He talked about a new science called Kinesics. It opened the way to more studies and books on the subjects. Today, the term Body Language is very common and understood as an important element of communication.
In fact, experts in the field of communication suggest that there is a rule that says that 7% of the meaning of what a person is saying comes from their words.
Interestingly, 38% is based on the tone of their voice. 55% of the meaning comes from the body language of the person that is speaking. This rule comes from research that was published in the late 1960’s.
Some now think that the percentages from this research might be slightly different. Nevertheless, the bottom line is still the same. If you don’t know the basics of body language, you are missing a valuable tool for learning how to communicate better. We speak body language on a subliminal level, without actually realizing that we are communicating through body talk. (more…)
Tags: Body Language Secrets, Doubts, Element Of Communication, Eye Contact, Fact Experts, Gaze, Hand Gestures, Intense Dislike, Kinesics, Little Eye, Louis Armstrong, Meeting Planning, New Science, Percentages, Rsquo, Subliminal Level, Talk 1, Understanding Body Language, Valuable Tool, Windows To The Soul
27 Jan 10 Basic Feng Shui for Meeting Planners
Over the past several years, feng shui has become all the rage with homeowners, business owners, restaurant managers and event planners all using this ancient Asian art to create harmonious, balanced spaces. Due to the high level of interest in feng shui, this is an excellent service to add to your meeting planning business and to offer to your clients.
To learn the basics of feng shui, you can pick up a book at your local bookstore, attend a seminar or do a simple online search for “feng shui basics” or “feng shui meeting tips.” Alternatively, you could partner with a feng shui consultant to provide these services to your clients, or if you really want to corner this market, you can become a certified feng shui consultant and add it to the menu of billable services you provide.
Much of feng shui for meetings is essentially common sense and focuses on creating a meeting space with good energy flow, harmony and balance. For example, in a square room, a feng shui consultant might recommend placing plants in the corners of the room to compensate for the hard corners, or in a space with harsh lighting, a consultant might recommend softer up-lighting to create a more welcoming environment.
Everything from the way the furniture is arranged to the colors used in the room can affect the room’s energy and the productivity of attendees; therefore, once your clients experience the benefits of feng shui, they are sure to recommend you to their friends and colleagues.
Tags: All The Rage, Ancient Asian Art, Attendees, Billable Services, Bookstore, Business Owners, Colleagues, Common Sense, Energy Flow, Event Planners, Excellent Service, Feng Shui Basics, Feng Shui Consultant, Harmony, Harsh Lighting, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Plants, Productivity, Restaurant Managers
15 Jan 10 Expanding Your Knowledge of Cultural Differences and Similarities
Understanding and respecting cultural differences is an important part of planning successful meetings for diverse clients and companies, and ensuring that you do not commit unnecessary faux pas that could have been avoided. Having a basic understanding of the etiquette used in different cultures, dietary restrictions and preferences, and some of the interesting aspects that make each culture unique will assist you in planning effective, appropriate meetings and will certainly help you make a name for your business as a respectful, culturally-sensitive meeting planning service that goes the extra mile to ensure your events meet your clients’ needs.
Expanding your cultural horizons to broaden your understanding of various cultures will also make your job as a meeting planner easier. While you may not know everything there is to know about a specific diet, a particular rule of etiquette or which days are considered most auspicious for doing business, when you gain at least a basic understanding of different cultures, it will assist you in recognizing the kinds of questions to ask and the information and resources that can help you plan a great event. It also assists you in being respectful of possible cultural differences when communicating with clients and will make finding the resources you need quicker and easier.
Tags: Cultural Differences, Cultural Horizons, Diet, Dietary Restrictions, Different Cultures, Doing Business, Effective Meetings, Etiquette, Extra Mile, Information Resources, Job, Knowledge, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning, Planning Service
13 Jan 10 Understanding the Importance of Food
Food is an important aspect of culture and tradition. Food is one way that families across cultures come together, particular foods are an important part of traditional and community celebrations, and dietary preferences or restrictions are often based on religious or cultural customs.
Therefore, as a meeting planner, understanding food and how it pertains to your potential clients is integral to establishing a culturally-sensitive meeting planning business and preparing yourself to be able to successfully and efficiently plan meals for your events without worrying about messing something up.
Learning about different diets and the foods that are important to different cultures is as simple as expanding your own palate and broadening your dietary horizons by exploring dishes you perhaps have never heard of. Of course, enjoying a delicious Indian meal will not tell you everything you need to know about Indian culture, but it is an important step towards understanding Indian cuisine and better understanding possible dietary requirements for your Indian clients.
Exploring unfamiliar foods and dishes will also be fun for you, and you might even find some new favorites that you have been missing out on.
Try these five fun activities to begin your journey into the diverse world of food:
1. Eat at ethnic restaurants.
2. Buy and use ethnic cookbooks.
3. Shop at ethnic grocery stores.
4. Attend cultural festivities and events.
5. Take a cooking class that focuses on foods from different cultures.
Tags: Community Celebrations, Cooking Class, Cultural Festivities, Dietary Preferences, Dietary Requirements, Different Cultures, Ethnic Cookbooks, Ethnic Grocery Stores, Ethnic Restaurants, Food Food, Fun Activities, Indian Clients, Indian Cuisine, Indian Culture, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planning, Palate, Plan Meals, Tradition Food, Unfamiliar Foods
11 Jan 10 How to Know a Little Bit About a Lot
So, you have come to realize that knowing a little bit about a lot will make your job easier, instill greater confidence in your clients and will assist you in acquiring a more diverse clientele. Now, it is time to determine the best ways to begin expanding your knowledge and acquiring the information that will help you grow your meeting planning business and better serve your clients.
This is actually much easier than you might think and you can begin the journey to broaden your horizons right now. You probably already attend seminars and trade shows, read trade publications and search online for the latest news in the meeting planning industry, so all you need to do is take this desire to learn and grow, and apply it to other topics.
Here are two ways you can begin your journey towards learning about new cultures, diets, industries and other particulars:
1. Read. A lot. Whether it is an eco-friendly magazine, a book about a particular religion or websites with information about particular groups of people or particular industries, reading is a great way to begin this journey.
2. Watch documentaries. There are documentaries on everything from farming and healthcare to being vegan or growing up Amish. While it is important to be careful not to assume that everyone, or every company, in a group shares every characteristic, documentaries are a great way to learn something new without even having to leave the house.
Tags: Being Vegan, Clientele, Confidence, Cultures, Desire, Documentaries, Farming, Group Shares, Groups, Growing Up Amish, Horizons, Journey, Little Bit, Meeting Planning, New Diets, Particulars, Religion, Seminars, Trade Publications, Two Ways
30 Nov 09 Increase ROI on Meetings & Events
Most meeting planners have probably already read about how companies want more value than ever before from their conferences. While this can create more work for you, there are some things you can do to work out the kinks long before they happen.
Think Replacement
If you need to help the company keep expenses at a minimum, replace these meeting parts:
- Replace the reception with a working lunch — this will let people meet and network, as well as enjoy a meal together.
- Replace the open bar idea with team building exercises or mind storming training–these programs have a much better chance of improving the ROI than a bunch of drunk employees blowing off steam.
- Replace entertainment with a spa wellness trip. You will have more refreshed folks ready to work.
- Replace land based venues with a cruise meeting, and save as much as 40%. Cruising is all-inclusive, so planners may be surprised to know that meeting rooms, meals, A/V equipment and luxury accommodations are all included in one low price.
Think Reduction
What if the customer says, "Okay, these cost savings are great, let's get rid of the reception, evening entertainment, and and welcome reception open bar meet-and-greet! So what do we do on the last day, then?"
Get rid of it. Tell your client that not only will she not need to make the usual expenditures that don't improve ROI on the cost of the meeting, she can eliminate the last night's hotel bill as well.
By just replacing the non-ROI generating activities and events, you have already increased the value of the meeting. Your client will be grateful for that for a long time. And happy, satisfied clients translate to more meeting planning business for you in the future. So, it pays to find every way to cut out unnecessary expenses and increase meeting ROI for your clients.
Explode meeting ROI with a cruise event. Cruising offers a savings of as much as 40% of the cost of hotelvenues, since a cruise is all inclusive. Go to Seasite.com to use the state-of-the-art cruise meeting planner, and make your next company event a cruise event!
Tags: Amp, Better Chance, Blowing Off Steam, Conferences, Cruis, Cruise, Evening Entertainment, Events Planners, Expenditures, Hotel Bill, Kinks, Long Time, Luxury Accommodations, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Meeting Rooms, Quot, Roi, Spa, Team Building Exercises, Unnecessary Expenses, Welcome Reception, Working Lunch
16 Nov 09 Event and Meeting Planning Tools
Marriott offers some good event and meeting planning tools on their Web site, including:
Budget Calculator
What will be the cost of your event… for hotel rooms… for food and beverage service… for each attendee?
Event Space Calculator
How much space do you need to host a banquet or reception for 150 people? Get the answer with Marriott's Event Space Calculators:
Checklists
Invite speakers. Check. Notify guests. Check. Schedule your meeting at Marriott and relax. Check and double check. Use the downloadable checklists and check off every important detail.
Tags: Amp, Attendee, Budget Calculator, Calculators, Downloadable Checklists, Exhibits, Food And Beverage, Food And Beverage Service, Hellip, Hotel Rooms, Marriott, Meeting Planning, Negotiation Techniques, Planning Tools, Publicity, Sessions, Site Selection, Space Calculator, Speakers, Square Footage
12 Nov 09 Blogging for Success…
Blogging is a great way to promote your meeting and event planning business. It is a one of the best ways to get your message out, post by post. You can also announce events, get feedback on past events, and connect with clients and vendors.
Anyone who maintains a blog can tell you that it is not always easy to come up with regular, interesting posts. Many good blogs fall by the wayside for this very reason.
But the importance of blogs should not be ignored. A study from BlogHer, a women's blog network, found that 42 million women in the U.S. alone participate at least weekly in social media of some type. Although Facebook was first on the list, blogs are the second choice with 23 million women visiting blog sites regularly. They tend to spend more "quality" time reading blogs that are relevant to their job and industry.
For bloggers, that's a real opportunity to build a strong readership by developing and maintaining a blog that develops a loyal following.
If you decide to setup a blog for your meeting planning business, here are some tips that may be of help:
- Catchy titles – having a title that jumps out from the page can gain you more curious readers
- Quality content – the content must backup the titles. You need to provide quality information that is interesting and useful for your readers
- Update regularly – establish a schedule for your blog posts. Having a regular schedule of posts lets your readers know that your blog is active and alive.
- Respond to comments – aside from spammy comments, it is a great thing when people comment on your posts. It means they are not only visiting your site, but reading your posts, as well. Responding to their comments shows you care about what they say – even if it is on the negative side.
- Read other blogs – if you read enough blogs out there, you'll get a good idea of what works and what doesn't. Also, by following blogs related to your industry, you can stay on top of events, news and issues important both to you and your readers. You may also gain ideas for future posts on your own blog.
Tags: Blog, Bloggers, Blogging, Catchy Titles, Curious Readers, Event Planning, Indust, Job, Meeting Planning, Nbsp, Quality Content, Readership, Reason, Second Choice, Success, Time Reading, Wayside
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