19 Feb 10 Balancing Planning Activities for Small and Large Events
Corporate meeting planners who are in charge of planning everything from weekly meetings to annual events constantly have a lot on their plate. Because the larger events and conferences are much more time-consuming and are typically the priority as far as planning resources are concerned, it can be easy to put off planning tasks for the weekly meetings, or to simply run out of time when attempting to pull together the larger events.
If the regularly scheduled meetings are check-ins, committee meetings that stick to specific topics or other meetings that are repetitive in nature, that will make your job a bit easier; however, there is still some planning that needs to take place on an ongoing basis and that cannot simply be put in place in the beginning like scheduling the room and equipment for a year of weekly meetings.
In order to keep these weekly or monthly meetings on track while focusing primarily on your larger responsibilities, setting up as much as you can beforehand and scheduling reminders will assist you in making sure you do not forget the tasks you need to complete for each meeting, such as confirming the room reservation, arranging for room set up, organizing the food and drinks, and sending out meeting reminders to the attendees.
Set up your email program, calendar, PDA or your mobile phone to notify you with reminders and you will be able to keep your smaller meetings just as well-organized as your major annual events.
Tags: Attendees, Committee Meetings, Conferences, Corporate Meeting Planners, Events Planners, Food And Drinks, Ins, Job, Mobile Phone, More Time Consuming, Organizing, Pda, Planning Resources, Priority, Program Calendar, Reminders, Room Reservation, Scheduling
24 Aug 09 Let’s Talk in a Few Months
This is one of the ways businesses are putting off spending money. Delaying is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make your job as a planner a little rough around the edges. Rather then let it completely fray you, here are two approaches to delays and cutbacks companies are currently experiencing.
Contact Them Before the Deadline
If someone says you should talk in a few months about scheduling the meeting, call them in a few weeks and see if anything has changed. Rather than feeling like you’re bothering them, they may appreciate that you were thinking of them. You can even say that on your call: “Okay, let me give you a call in a few weeks and see if that is still your target. It will help me plan better for you.” This way you get permission to make the call and you’re doing something special for them. (more…)
Tags: Assets, Business Course, Cancellation, Contact, Friendship, Grief, Job, Loyalty, Rough Around The Edges, Scheduling, Spending Money, Target, Virtual Meeting
20 May 09 Big Fish and Bigger Fish: When Scheduling Meetings Can Lead to Catastophe
We live in a society where competition is supposed to be a good thing. Generally, that is true. But what about when an organization schedules a large meeting for their members and clients, and a competing group suddenly comes up from behind and schedules an identical event in the same general geographic area? In a time when almost all organizations have an overlap of members with another institution, preventing this sort of competition is critical to success of an event–and sometimes of the group itself.
Although it can happen quite by accident, sometimes a group will schedule its meeting earlier–but after the competing group has made its event announcements–simply to quash the other group’s membership numbers. The group that now has the later date will not have the same attendance numbers, the same booth rentals, or the same energy from those who do attend.
What can you do in the planning stages to prevent this competition? You are a potential client of a hotel, its facilities, and possibly an entire event center–use financial clout. (more…)
Tags: Attendance Numbers, Big Bucks, Big Fish, Clout, Competitor, Lead, Members, Membership Numbers, Organization Schedules, Planning Stages, Scheduling, Success, Tactic, Tap, Verbiage, Willingness, Would Make Sense
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