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World Time Clock for a Meeting Planner

March 20, 2012 By Comments

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As a meeting planner, you already know how busy you are. For any of you reading this that are not meeting planners, you must be wondering – how does a meeting planner plan international meetings? Is there some sort of world time clock for a meeting planner? By now you know that one of the top characteristics, or personality trait as it were, of a meeting planner is their ability to organize.

World Time Clock Options for a Meeting Planner

For meeting planners who need to arrange meetings with people in various parts of the world, a world time clock can be a necessity for a meeting planner. Obviously, as part of the planning process, a meeting planner needs to consider the various time zones that each of the attendees are in.

One of our blog post earlier talked about a world time zone app for iPhones. In that post we featured how the app can be useful when scheduling meetings in various time zones. All that you have to do is enter the cities were each of the attendees reside and the app will tell you what the local time is for the meeting that you are trying to schedule. It’s a perfect app for meeting planners that require a world time clock at their disposal.

There is also a website available that shows a world time clock for a meeting planner. The website is appropriately called timeanddate.com. Similar to the app all you have to do is enter the cities and then it’ll show you the local times in each of the cities you entered. From there you can also determine what the best time would be to host a meeting based on the locations that you enter.

No one looks forward to the scheduling nightmare of arranging a meeting for attendees in many different locations throughout the world. But now a world time clock for a meeting planner enables the planner to determine which times work best in the locations entered. Whether you download the app for iPhones or simply visit the website timeanddate.com, there is scheduling help for meeting planners.

 

 

 

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Do You Belong to a Meeting Planners Association?

March 15, 2012 By Comments

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Many meeting planners evaluate the pros and cons of belonging to a meeting planners association. There are many meeting planners associations out there to choose from. So which one is right for you? Well, of course, that really depends on what you intend to get from a membership to a meeting planners association. Some people are looking for educational components where others are looking for networking and supplier ideas. Whatever your requirements, rest assured, there is a meeting planners association for you.

The Pros and Cons of Belonging to a Meeting Planners Association

Let’s face it, if you’re like most people then time is valuable. And when we think of joining another association quite often the first thing that enters our mind is whether or not we have the time that we can devote to that association.

Some of the benefits from joining a meeting planners association are:

  • a great opportunity to continue your education in the meetings and events industry
  • a chance to network with peers and people within the industry that you look up to (which, by the way, can also be your peers)
  • keeping on top of current industry trends and how they relate to your business
  • converse with industry colleagues on topics that will help you avoid disasters and keep your meeting or event chugging along

While I have to admit it’s hard to come up with a list of cons, here are a few that some of my colleagues in the industry have presented:

  • costs -sometimes, especially new starts in the industry, do not have the budgets readily available to pay for memberships, conventions and travel requirements
  • scheduling – many meeting planners feel that they are so busy that adding additional time requirements is just something that’s not feasible right now.

A Couple of the Industry’s Top Meeting Planners Association’s That You May Want to Consider

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) – as they say on their website PC MA is the leading organization for meeting and event professionals. Their main focus is education. In fact their mission statement is to deliver superior and innovative education and promote the value of professional convention management. This meeting planners association is a favorite for seasoned planners. Definitely a good sign.

Meeting Professionals International  (MPI) – MPI strikes a balance between meeting planners and industry suppliers. In fact it’s their goal that for every vendor there must be a matching planner as to not tilt the balance of membership. MPI is about providing professional development as well as a place for business opportunities. It is literally a community for industry professionals to network, learn and develop together.

Finding the right meeting planners association for you can be a huge step towards your career development. While you do have to balance the need for an association membership against your budgeting requirements, it is always recommended that serious players do get involved with industry associations.

 

 

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Event Planning Conference Software

March 14, 2012 By Comments

We often talk about event planning conference software on this blog. And it’s no secret that we are big fans of event planning conference software. Part of the reason that we often profile industry software is because we are always looking at new and innovative ways to help meeting planners plan, organize and execute their meetings and events successfully.

Event Planning Conference Software Allows the Meeting Planner to Focus on the Event Itself

It’s very easy to get lost in the organizing stage of a meeting or event. I’ve been in that position where I tend to focus more on organizing myself than actually getting the tasks completed. And sometimes when we think of an event that were organizing we start to feel stressed out because of all of the details that are required in order for the event to proceed successfully. You’ve heard the expression you can’t see the forest for the trees. Well event planning certainly fall into that category. What event planning conference software does is help you, the event planner, take a methodical approach to the event itself. Hopefully the goal is to relieve the stress that’s associated with the planning stages of the event.

I was impressed with a particular event planning conference software called “Sign Up 4“. In fact “Sign Up 4″ actually has four event planning conference software packages. The company was started by meeting planners (the first positive sign of a good product for the industry) in 1999 and, as their website states, their objective is to design, develop and deliver cost effective event management tools for event and meeting planners.

The Event Planning Conference Software Products from Sign up Four Include:

Event Management System – this software product allows planners to manage multiple meetings and events from a single dashboard. It allows the planner to create customized event websites with online registration and payment options. The report monitoring for attendee registration alone is valuable with this software.

Travel Management System – handles transportation logistics.

Spend Management System – incorporates accounting modules into the customize workflow design.

The Strategic Meeting Management Suite – this package encompasses the event management, travel management and spend management into one bundled package.

The goal of event planning conference software is to assist the planner in executing successful conferences or events. Software is particularly useful if the planner’s working with multiple events at once. It’s important to remember that when you’re considering event planning conference software it should be designed around what your specific needs are. While there are some common requirements for everybody each of us has specific needs based on our own workflow.

 

 

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Do You Use Meeting Planner Software?

March 13, 2012 By Comments

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It’s a question that I often ask of meeting planners. Whether or not they use meeting planning software. While I have to admit most meeting planners do use some type software to assist them with their meeting planning, you would be surprised at how many meeting planners aren’t using any specific software at all.

Some Meeting Planning Software Could Be Categorized Homemade

I should elaborate here. When those meeting planners told me they weren’t using any specific software, most were using spreadsheets or databases to help them organize and execute their events. So while that is technically using software, it’s not really using customized software for the industry. A lot of us use spreadsheets where we set up our own customized columns and enter information into the various cells where we can later sort and review the information as we need it. Some meeting planners have been doing meeting planning for so long that they have developed their own systems that work quite well for them. Others, including seasoned meeting planners, are always looking for new and innovative software that they can easily implement into their meeting planning routine.

Most Meeting Planning Software Includes a Registration Element

The one component that many meeting planners do say is vital for them is their ability to track the registration of their delegates for their various meetings. And if registration involves a financial transaction than those meeting planners are always looking for software that has an e-commerce component.

Parts of meeting planning that most often utilizes meeting planning software are; transportation (manifest preparation software), client relationship management or CRM, and registration software. Companies that encompass many of these technological requirements are the ones that meeting planners more and more are turning to for an ongoing relationship.

Eventbrite is one company that specializes in promoting your event as well as handling registration and payment. Eventbrite is ideal for those meeting planners that are focusing on events themselves as opposed to an overall meeting program. It’s very easy to set up and it’s just as easy to load all of your contact information and start marketing to potential attendees. You can even structure reminder notices for those who have not taken any action from any previous e-mails that you may have sent. And it has the ability to collect payment if required. The nice thing about the e-commerce portion of Eventbrite is that you do not need your own merchant account to collect credit card payment.

Cvent is more robust in that it can be used for an overall meeting program. Cvent also has a large area where meeting planners can review and select vendors for their programs needs. Like Eventbrite Cvent has a great registration component to their software. On top of that their CRM can be integrated to all aspects of Cvent’s cloud-based software. Think of it as a one-stop shopping for meeting planning. When I first became aware of Cvent, they were pretty much the leaders in registration software. Since then they have become much more robust and are certainly an industry leader for meeting planning software.

Like everything, meeting planning software is personal. Some meeting planners prefer to create their own spreadsheets or databases to execute their meetings or events. Others are always staying on top of the latest and greatest in technology for this industry. Whichever side of the coin you happen to fall on, I’m sure you won’t disagree that there’s plenty of meeting planner software out there to help you plan and execute your meeting or event.

 

 

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Four Ways That Corporate Meeting Planners Can Trim Budgets

March 9, 2012 By Comments

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Corporate meeting planners are always looking for creative ways that they can trim their meetings budget without losing too much of the overall program. To say that that’s a bit of a juggling act might be an understatement. Today, corporate meeting planners have a tough job. Of course for many corporations and associations meetings are a vital part of their operation. But the question for many corporate meeting planners is “how do I still put on a top-notch program with a reduced budget?”.

Corporate Meeting Planners Take a Fresh Approach to Orchestrating Their Meeting

Many corporate meeting planners that I speak with tell me that, for their organization, meetings are still proceeding at full speed. However what they do concede is that these meetings must be executed with a much lower budget than they are used to in the past. So we thought that, after getting some feedback from these corporate meeting planners, we would share a few tips on how you can still execute a successful meeting and save a bit of money at the same time.

Four of the Top Areas That Corporate Meeting Planners Review Are:

The Times That Your Meeting Will Occur- a lot of corporate meeting planners have been able to save money on the hotel portion of their meeting by negotiating room rates and whether or not they can be lowered by moving their meeting two different days of the week. Additionally there can be even further savings, at times, by moving the meeting to a different time of the year are altogether.

Transportation – we’ve talked a lot about transportation here in the past. For corporate meeting planners especially, transportation is an essential part of their program. Their delegates have come to expect that they will be transferred from the airport to the hotel where the meeting is occurring. What a lot of corporate meeting planners are now doing is narrowing the timeframe of which they are offering complimentary transportation. Also they are looking at the type of vehicles they are booking. For example they may group arrivals within a timeframe of 30 to 45 min. into the same vehicle. Additionally if corporate meeting planners are hosting evening functions then transportation also plays into that budget as well.

Evening Events/Food and Beverage Functions- many times corporate meeting planners have to include special events outside of the actual meeting itself. This is a chance for the delegates to relax and network with each other (especially if they come from different parts of the country). We touched above on how transportation also plays a part in evening events, especially if the event is away from the hotel. Some corporate meeting planners have told us that they still have evening functions but instead of busing their delegates to a venue away from the hotel they either host the function inside the hotel or select a venue that is within walking distance from the hotel. The benefits for having a function in the hotel is that you will save not only on transportation costs but, quite often, there are also savings from room rental and service and equipment charges that are associated with off-site venues.

Entertainment – a lot of times corporate meeting planners view entertainment as a fringe element to the program. In other words something that they can easily cut out to save money. But many corporate meeting planners also say that there are ways to still offer entertainment yet save considerable budget dollars at the same time. Often times entertainment is during the evening function or perhaps as part of the last day of the meeting. And many times corporate meeting planners have spent a small fortune booking a very popular band or special presentation for their group. Today many are still offering entertainment. It may however be reduced somewhat in style and format. For example a trio would still be a nice complement for an evening function. Or, on the last day, there’s nothing wrong with hiring a comedian to entertain the troops for the last 30 to 45 min. of the program.

Today corporate meeting planners are becoming very creative at putting together their programs. Many still want to offer the more traditional elements to their events but need to shave budget dollars at the same time. It may take a little more planning time, but there are definitely ways that corporate meeting planners can achieve their desired results without blowing the budget.

 

 

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How Do I Choose Between Event Companies? – Focus, Focus, Focus

February 21, 2012 By Comments

So, you’re the lucky person who’s been chosen to create this year’s holiday party.  Or, your company’s president wants this year’s executive retreat to really “blow the team away”.  There are literally thousands of meetings and event companies out there. How do you choose?

The meetings and events industry tends to be segmented with many event companies specializing in one or more market segments – corporate events, association meetings, conventions and events, social events, fundraising for not-for-profits – to name a few. So start by searching for a company in your city that specializes in the segment that best reflects your company or organization.

Who’s Already Using the Event Companies

Obviously most of us will start by searching through websites to see what type of events the event company has already created.  Search the list of existing clients to see if they “match” your company/organization’s culture.  Reputable event companies will give you a list of client contacts so that you can speak with people who are actually using the planner’s services.

Price is Important when Selecting Event Companies – But It’s More about Value

Reputable event companies understand and respect the fact that you’re on a budget.  The better planners will work creatively to ensure that you get value for your dollar.  They won’t necessarily just recommend the cheapest option but rather they may suggest you cut back in one area so that you can spend more in another area. For example, décor is very important but so is the food. Cutting back a bit on the lighting or special affects may mean a higher quality meal.  The planner will help you with these decisions to ensure your event is memorable, for the right reasons, even if you’re working under tight budgetary restraints.

Look for Event Companies on Business Directories and CVBs

There are a number of convention, meeting and event companies directories out there.  Industry sites such as mywelcometothecity.com will give you a good overview of the meeting and event companies operating in your area.  Also, take the time to visit your local Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).  A good CVB can direct you to the very best industry suppliers – including meeting and event companies – in your city.  If you’re planning an event in another city – again, the CVB is a good place to start your search for qualified event companies.

 

 

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Finding a Good Meeting Planner Template on Microsoft Office

February 16, 2012 By Comments

Finding a good event planner template to assist you with your meeting or event can, in itself, take a little bit of time to find the right one for you. We’ve talked a lot about meeting and event planning templates here in the past. Many planners that I speak with tell me that often they develop their own templates based on their previous experiences. Basically, you want to look at in event planning checklist or template as an overview of what’s needs to get done and when.

Meeting and Event Planning Templates Helps You Keep Organized

When a lot of people think of making or utilizing a meeting planner template they often get a bit stressed out as they think the task of creating the templates will be quite the undertaking. Well I guess it depends on exactly what the templates going to be used for as to whether or not it needs to be complicated. Most do not need to be that extravagant. Microsoft Office has free event planning templates  that will provide you with a basic outline that you can customize. But what I also like about the Microsoft Office event planning templates site is that it tells you how many people downloaded the document as well as how they rated it. Depending on your own personality type, sometimes it helps you if you know that other people in your industry have found the meeting planner template helpful for them.

Additional meeting planner templates from Microsoft Office includes:

  • monthly and weekly planning calendars
  • the scheduler
  • meeting management
  • monthly planning guide
  • project planning calendar
  • and many, many more

A Meeting Planner Template to Fit Your Needs

Meeting planner templates are as unique as the individuals that use them. For me, personally, I usually download one of the free meeting planner templates offered by Microsoft Office and then tailor it to my specific needs. It gets very easy to customize your own template once you have done a few meetings or events. If you’re new to the industry you’ll soon find your work groove and then you’ll tailor any templates towards your style.

 

 

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What Items Make up Your Conference Planning Checklist?

January 18, 2012 By Comments

For many of us, a conference planning checklist is a custom tailored document. What I mean by that is that we all have our own way of scheduling our own to-do list. There’s no doubt that a conference planning checklist helps you by breaking down all of the little components of a larger event or conference. And if anyone has ever tried to orchestrate a conference without a checklist than they probably know all too well how stressful and chaotic that can be.

A Conference Planning Checklist Will Help You See the Trees in the Forest

I know we’ve talked about event or conference planning checklist here a lot in the past. But I can’t stress enough at just how helpful a conference planning checklist can be to help put the conference itself into perspective. When I attend networking events and when I’m talking to meeting planners, a common question that I get asked is what items do I put on my conference planning checklist. My answer usually covers the basic items (which I’m going to review below), but I also stress that really the checklist should be developed around the work style of the person that’s going to be using the checklist. And really the overall goal of the checklist is to make sure that each and every component, no matter how small, gets addressed. After all it only takes one small item being overlooked to have a negative impact on your overall conference or event.

Think of the Conference Planning Checklist As a Map of Your Conference or Event

Once the overall conference itself has been planned, you should now be in a position where you can take the larger components of your conference and start breaking down the various steps that are needed to execute it properly.

The following are some basic conference components as well as suggestions on how to break down those components into smaller “to do” actions:

Hotel

  • conference dates determined
  • rates negotiated
  • meeting rooms allocated
  • room setups determine based on meetings format
  • equipment needed to be brought for the meeting
  • speakers, outside suppliers required for meeting
  • food and beverage requirements

Travel/Transportation

  • car company rates negotiated for airport transportation
  • additional transportation requirements (shuttle bus tickets, coaches for mass transportation)
  • system in place regarding flight manifests and how the car company will handle changes
  • local transportation provider (i.e. airport meet and greets) selected

Tours/Attractions

  • determine if a local destination management company (DMC) is required
  • determine free times and availability for tours
  • schedule appropriate tours

Off-Site Activities

  • determine which dates require off-site scheduling
  • determine theme for off-site (i.e. local restaurant, renting an attraction, venue)
  • as in tours and attractions, determine if a local destination management company (DMC) is required

A conference planning checklist helps you take a large conference or event and break down the various components so that you can see, at a glance, what needs to be done for a successful conference. In addition to a general outline of items (as above), you also need to address the due dates and how they will fit with your overall conference. When you take the time to sit down and map out all of the components to the conference, you’ll find it helps relieve the overall stress of getting things completed. A conference planning checklist is also a great tool for delegating the various components of your meeting or conference.

 

 

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What Did Event Planning Conferences in 2011 Tell Us to Expect in 2012

January 13, 2012 By Comments

We keep seeing small signs that the current economic downturn is turning the corner. Reviewing the results and trends of event planning conferences in 2011 we are seeing that there is a degree of optimism for the year ahead. What the meetings and events industry is now realizing is that it is becoming part of the solution rather than simply just a cost to businesses. With the European Union still in economic turmoil, I do want to caution that we are by no means out of the woods. Yet it is refreshing to see this optimism.

What Can You Take Away from Event Planning Conferences in 2011

According to a 2011 industry trends and market share report from EIBTM (Exhibition for the Incentive Business Travel and Meetings) there is a greater degree of optimism within the meetings and events industry than the economy as a whole. According to the report, conference event planning will continue to grow and should approach 2008 levels by the end of 2012. The report also states that demand for meetings venues will rise faster in 2012 than it was in 2011.

A trend that we saw in 2011 and is expected to continue in 2012 is that the price differential between second and third tier cities will continue to widen. This means that there will be more opportunities for second and third tier cities. This will certainly come as good news to anyone planning an event or conference and is flexible on the location.

Associations revenues (which are achieved largely from their conferences and exhibitions) are expected to remain stable. However levels of sponsorship are expected to

Association management

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increase over 2011. Definitely a welcome sign for many association management companies.

We’re also starting to hear the term BRIC. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China. On a global level BRIC’s economies will be in the spotlight as they’re expected to be the economic workhorses of 2012. So don’t be surprised if you start seeing some of your conference locations ending up in one of these countries. And for meeting planners that have clients in any one of these countries they should see strong business growth.

So we’re definitely still very much in recovery mode in most parts of the world. However, the take away good news from event planning conferences in 2011 is that we are also very much in a growth period. There will be challenges ahead for meeting planners and their clients in 2012 as we keep hearing that budgets will remain front and center. But at the same time that we’re hearing about budgets we’re also hearing that many meetings, whether they be corporate, incentive or association management, are going ahead as planned. It’s also nice to see that the meetings and events industry is a major player in the economic recovery.

 

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Where to Look for Guides to Meeting and Event Planning

January 12, 2012 By Comments

There’s certainly no shortage of guides to meeting and event planning. A question that I often get asked is where do I search for guides to meeting and event planning. One resource that I often recommend is Amazon.com. It’s important to note that we do not have a direct relationship with Amazon.com. Rather,  we are merely showing this site as an example of where to get good meeting and event planning guides.

What to Look for in Guides to Meeting and Event Planning

Just a few days ago I was on Amazon.com and I found a comprehensive guide to meeting and event planning aptly titled (well for me anyways) “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meeting and Event Planning”. While I have to admit that the title did catch my eye, it’s when I read a bit further than I realized that this is indeed one of the better references in the industry. From one of the comments that I saw in the reviews section is that the book is assigned reading for an event planner certification course. A very good accolade indeed. And naturally you’re looking for higher ratings or stars that have been assigned to the book or guide.

In today’s world it is hard to distinguish comments that are pushed perhaps by the author or colleagues and comments that are from legitimate industry professionals. As a tip what I like to do is a quick search or click on some of the users that have commented. Of course what I look for is a review of their reading material as well as any industry social media accounts that I can also check out.

Amazon.Com Has Several Books and Guides to Meeting and Event Planning

At Amazon.com, in addition to “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meeting and Event Planning”, there are also several other books and guides to meeting and event planning that are worth a look. All of the books seem to be well reviewed by industry colleagues. Again I always recommend that you do a tiny bit of research on the authors. Of course a reputable site like Amazon.com does everything that it can to make sure that the material they are presenting is reputable. But they can only do so much and really it doesn’t take you that long to do a little bit of additional due diligence. What you’re looking for is whether or not the author is considered an expert in the meetings and events industry. Or at the very least that they are well known within the industry. Today all you have to do is look at some of their social media accounts and you get a very quick idea of the experience that these authors yield.

Guides to meeting and event planning can be crucial towards your development in the meetings and events industry. You do, however, want to be sure that the guides and books you are reviewing and/or purchasing provide the right information from you. Do a little bit of due diligence, which really can be done from your computer, to be sure that you have the best guides available within the industry.

 

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