My personal tip is to learn to use and love Microsoft Excel. I’ve used several meeting planning tools, particularly for budgeting and matrices, but there is nothing that beats Excel. It is a program that makes my life easier and allows me to track several pieces of information. Currently, I am planning a 200-person, three-and-a-half-day meeting for January, and I have one Excel file with all of my information—all of my speakers’ travel information, AV needs, catering menus, scripting for the event, agenda, etc. I know not every planner loves technology, but this one sure does!
Elizabeth Dackson
Manager, Continuing Education and Conference Planning Program
Manager, Multimedia Educational Resource Center
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Tampa, FL
Everything is negotiable. You cannot be told “no” unless you ask—so go for it. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Donna Ozmun
Director
Lutheran Financial Managers Association
Northfield, MN
I have a couple of tips to share with readers of Meetings South.
1.) Never book a conference facility sight unseen!
2.) To keep people from leaving early, we conclude each conference with a must-be-present-to-win “Benjamin Franklin Award.” This is simply a drawing for a $100 bill. This encourages people to stay through the final session. We also draw for other prizes that have been donated.
Jaime Barnhart
Conference and Events Coordinator
Employee Assistance Professionals Association
Arlington, VA
We are starting to plan how we can make our jobs more efficient. We try to come up with new ideas weekly via weekly meetings. One personal tip we have used in helping cut F&B costs is to use the dessert from lunch for the afternoon break. With everyone watching what they eat, this helps them and the budget.
Beverly Witt, CMP
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Dallas, TX
Our placement allows us to be somewhat flexible, so if a resort prefers to have its weekends to sell for FITs, we can easily schedule a Sunday-Friday pattern, which is the opposite of a city hotel. We try to have the hotels provide value-adds for our attendees, who tend to be more budget-conscious than other groups. Generous food and beverage is always a crowd-pleaser, and friendly, competent staff is a huge asset to any property.
Linda Hrycaj, CMP
Director of Operations
Keystone Symposia
Silverthorne, CO
Negotiation is all in relationship-building. Appeal to their senses and you will get a lot of negotiating power.
My attendance-boosting method has been marketing. Basic question: Do you want to boost your bottom line? It is all about saving money for our members.
Debra Trulli-Cassale, IOM
Events Director
NYS Hospitality & Tourism Association
Albany, NY
Relationships, relationships, relationships. It all boils down to that. Be ethical, treat your suppliers the way you want your clients to treat you, and be fair all-around, all the time. That’s the real key to success in this business.
Senior Event Manager
EvenImage
Montreal, Quebec
Sometimes I feel like the “Queen of Lean,” and it’s led me to some pretty creative outlets for design resources. A client provided a very low investment allocation for centerpieces for a motorcycle-themed event, so we converted the entry into a “biker bar” and the stage backdrop was the bar itself. Careful not to infringe on trademarks, everything was themed in black and orange…so I phoned the Goodwill collection center and asked them if they could be so kind as to select and sort out 32 pairs of black biker-style boots and built centerpieces with tubed tiger lilies and wired Gerbera daisies. Creativity is key to fiscal stewardship with all resources.
Gloria Nelson, CSEP
Gloria Nelson Event Design LLC
Winneconne, WI
