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Have You Joined a Meeting Planner Association to Further Your Career?

March 1, 2013 By Comments
become a member of a meeting planner Association

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Ask a seasoned meeting planner what they would recommend you do to further your career and, more often than not, they will tell you to network. Networking is a great way to meet industry leaders as well as to keep on top of the latest and greatest event planning trends. Think of it like organic growth. You won’t necessarily start to see the results of your efforts until you have attended several networking events. But, by becoming a member of a meeting planner association, what you are doing is establishing a long lasting reputation for yourself as a meeting or event planner.

For a Meeting Planner, Establishing a Relationship with a Potential Client Is Key

Let’s face it, obtaining customers is a never-ending task. Most of us do not like cold calling. While sometimes necessary, cold calling can be deflating. How many times have you been trying to get contact information when it was obvious that the person on the other line could not wait to get off the phone?

The key for attracting a new customer, or to retain current customers, is integrity. A potential customer wants to know that the event planner has their best interest in mind. So how do you inform a potential customer that they would be in good hands working with you? Well, again, it boils down to establishing a relationship. And by attending an event planner association’s function you’ll be introduced to many colleagues as well as potential clients. But be careful, the last thing you want to do at these events is to jump into a sales pitch. Wait for the client to ask you for that information. Otherwise, you should be discussing common interest items. Not only will you be nurturing relationships with potential clients but you’re also going to gain valuable industry information from your peers.

Related article: Networking Is a Big Part of Event Planning-But Is It Done Right?

An Event Planners Association Is a Great Place to Start Networkingevent planning association logos for MPI, PCMA, ADME

When I first started in the meetings and events industry, I was part of a young, upstart, DMC (Destination Management Company). What I and my partners quickly learned was that we needed to join industry associations so that we would start to be recognized.

The first association was our local CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). Being a member of your local CVB is crucial. Not only will you be listed as an event supplier, you will also get great exposure to meeting planners that are bringing groups to your city. Next we joined two of the industry’s largest associations; Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). We also joined the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME). ADME is great for developing and standardizing codes of conduct, contract language, best practices, etc.

Most meeting planner associations also have local chapters. This is a great way to meet all of the key industry players in your area as well as to have an active role in the local management of the association.

A meeting planner association is a great way to develop new contacts and learn key industry information from your colleagues. Many customers prefer to select their event planning companies once they have developed a relationship. In other words, Integrity is crucial for repeat business.

 

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Event Planning Education-the Theme of the Week at PCMA

January 16, 2013 By Comments
event planning education

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Are you wondering where all the meeting planners are this week? Right now PCMA’s annual conference, Convening Leaders, is in full swing at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. As I have outlined in an earlier post, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is hosting their annual convention which concludes January 16. And if you are serious about meeting and event planning, then a membership in this association is a must.

Additional information: Do Meeting Planners Slow Down for the Holidays? Absolutely Not!

Event Planning Education for a Changing Industry

Education plays a key role in every industry. A lot of what we’re seeing at this year’s Convening Leaders Conference is how technology is helping to shape the meetings and events industry moving forward. At times many of us view new technology as an added burden to our already hectic schedules. However, as many attendees are finding out, we should be embracing technology that will assist us in our day-to-day roles. Corbin Ball gave an excellent presentation on technology for small offices and home office environments. A term that is known as SOHO (small office, home office).

Additional post referencing Corbin Ball: Meeting Planning Template Tips

Here at Plan an Event we couldn’t agree more regarding the importance of education for our industry today. Part of the focus of this blog, in addition to providing industry news and information, is geared towards the meeting and event educators and students. We salute the educators as they are helping to shape and train our future leaders. Students play a crucial role as well. They are the ones that are taking the baton and moving our industry forward. PCMA has maintained an active role in promoting meeting and event planning education.

Related posts for industry education:

What Meeting and Event Planners Are Saying about This Year’s Conference

PCMA has created the hash tag #pcmacl so that anyone can follow the conference updates in real-time on twitter. Below are a few of the top tweets with this hash tag:

 

Event planning education is crucial to ensure that our industry stays current. For those of us that are experienced in the industry, the challenge is to embrace technology that will help us improve and do our jobs more effectively.

 

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Do Meeting Planners Slow Down for the Holidays? Absolutely Not!

December 5, 2012 By Comments
meeting planners are busy

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There is no rest for the wicked. I’ve been in the conference and convention planning business for well over 20 years (that’s a whole other story). Many of my friends assume that meeting planners and industry suppliers have a lot of down time over the holidays.

Wouldn’t that be nice!

However, the truth is that when there is a perceived “quiet time” for meeting and events, that’s usually when planners are busy working on proposals, closing files and, you guessed it, attending planning conferences.

Planning Conferences Increase during Industry Downtimes

The holidays can actually be a very busy time for meeting planners.  It’s just that you’re not necessarily seeing them execute programs. But they are busy.  And really, isn’t the best time for a meeting planner to attend a conference when their clients are not meeting.

That’s why our industry’s top associations hold their planning conferences during the, so-called, shoulder months. And it makes good business sense; attendance is higher and convention center rates are lower. Meeting Planners, for the most part, are able to concentrate on the conference’s programs, many continuing their career development, without being interrupted with their own business’s demands.

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA)’s annual conference is held in January. The next one is in Orlando, hosted at the Orange County Convention Centre, from January 13-16, 2013. For more information about this planning conference, visit PCMA’s convening leaders site.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) will be hosting their annual European Meeting & Events Conference from January 29-31, 2013 in Budapest. Please click here for more information regarding this conference.

The Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI), one of the top industry supplier associations, is hosting their annual conference in Montreal, Canada from February 7-9, 2013. For more information click here.

 

Conference Facilities and Host Cities Benefit with Industry Planning Conferences

What would normally be a slow period for many convention cities can become quite lucrative for cities that host meeting planning conventions.

So, while the conference and convention industry’s meetings may be slower over the holidays and new year, meeting planners and industry suppliers are busy attending their own planning conference. In addition to networking with industry colleagues, these conferences are also an excellent way for individuals to continue their growth through education.

 

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Do You Use a Green Meetings Toolkit?

September 12, 2012 By Comments
green meetings toolkit

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There’s no doubt that green meetings and events are becoming mainstream. As proof of that pretty much all of the major meetings and events associations have adopted green meeting guidelines. Apart from the fact that this is indicative of an industry embracing sustainability, these associations are also a great resource that you can use to make your meetings a little (or a lot) greener.

A Green Meeting Toolkit Can Include Checklists As Well As Resources

At industry conventions or networking events I often talk with my colleagues about going green. And quite often a lot of the meeting planners in the room will tell me that, while they want green events, they are often faced with the challenge of how to go green within their budgets. Well, thanks to many of the associations, the ability to go green is becoming easier and easier.

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Has an Excellent Green Meetings Toolkit

Prepared by Sandra Wood (CMP with the Canadian Medical Association), in conjunction with PCMA’s Canada East chapter, the green meetings toolkit is available for download from PCMA’s website. In the toolkit you’ll find information to get you started on green meetings including; checklists, a green directory, standards and regulations, as well as a wish list and future trends to watch.

The toolkit also provides some interesting statistics and facts, such as:

  • 51% of business travelers would be willing to add a percentage of their room cost to the hotel bill if it meant their stay would be more environmentally friendly
  • 75% of all hotel guests stated that they are willing to participate in eco-programs
  • 67% of meeting and event planners have taken green considerations into account when planning an event
  • 27% of all food reduced in North America is wasted
  • by changing towels only on request, a hotel can save upwards of 200 barrels of oil (which is enough to run a family car 180,000 miles)
  • a venue can save 520 gallons of water just by not pre-filling water glasses at a banquet table
  • if every passenger pack 1 pound less in their luggage, that would save enough fuel to fly a Boeing 737 around the world 474 times

Green Meetings Can Actually Save You Money

Going green can actually save you money. From the report we learn that a conference of 1300 delegates can save money by going green as follows; using online registration instead of printing and postage can save roughly $3900, eliminating conference bags can save upwards of $12,000, not providing a printed handout can save around $2000, providing pitchers of water instead of plastic bottles can save upwards of $12,000, using closer venues for off-site functions will eliminate transportation costs that can range anywhere from $30-$40,000 (for an average three-day conference).

It’s hard to believe that we still live in a world where many people are in denial regarding climate change. The old line that we used to hear as an excuse was that going green would cost way too much money and negatively affect the meetings and events industry. Regardless of your position on climate change, we can all agree that by going green we are helping our planet and future generations. I’m also very happy that the meetings and events industry is taking the lead in this area. And by doing so, the meetings and events industry is showing that there are many benefits by providing green meetings.

 

 

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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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Do You Work with Event Planning Agencies?

January 3, 2012 By Comments

Planning an event takes a great deal of skill – in particular organizational skills. Working with event planning agencies can help lessen the burden of event planning. Event planning agencies offer experience and have the know-how to make any event a success. That is, of course, if you’ve selected the correct event planning agency. Like any industry there are good and bad event planning agencies.

What to Look for When Selecting Event Planning Agencies

For this post were not going to mention any specific event planning agencies by name. From time to time you may have noticed that we do profiles on reputable companies in the event planning industry. And we will continue to do that as we feel it’s important to highlight the leaders in our profession. But for this post were going to deal mainly with the type of characteristics that you should look for when selecting event planning agencies.

There are a few key characteristics that I look for in event planning agencies. Now this isn’t to say that an event planner without some of the following characteristics are bad companies and shouldn’t be hired. Rather, it’s just that we believe that any serious event planning agency would have at least one of the following attributes or characteristics.

Some attributes or characteristics of top event planning agencies are;

They are members of the industry’s leading associations. Aurora cable company should belong to an association that is recognized by the industry. Two of the largest associations in the meeting and event planning industry are MPI (Meeting Professionals International) and PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association). These associations provide education for the industry as well as certification programs (MPI).

They are members of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB’s). A CVB is one of the first places that someone bringing a group to the city contacts for planning assistance. Most reputable event planning agencies are members of their local CVB’s. CVB’s provide sales initiatives, often in the forms of FAM (familiarization) trips. FAM trips are great ways that CVB’s bring potential business groups to the city. Members of the CVB’s participate in these trips by offering services to those clients.

Past client lists. All reputable event planning agencies have a long list of clients. Ask to see that list and, more importantly, contact a few of those clients to see how their event was handled. Have a list of questions or concerns done up ahead of time. As the answers to these questions will help you make your decision about which event planning agency to work with.

Event planning agencies can help make your job a lot easier. However, you do want to make sure that you match yourself with the correct company for your needs. Do your due diligence on any potential event planning agencies that you’re considering. Make sure that they have established themselves in the industry. Doing a little bit of homework on event planning agencies will help you have a stress free event.

 

 

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