In tough economic times, few in the industry bear the brunt as much as independent meeting planners. When clients cut back on budgets and the frequency of meetings, it’s independents, particularly those in one-person shops or very small firms, who immediately feel it in the pocketbook.
At the same time, those who successfully work on their own tend to be particularly adept at weathering storms. To gain insight on just how challenging things are these days—and how independent planners are coping with those challenges—<i>Meetings MidAmerica</i> sought the perspective of veteran independent planners Hannah Greenberg at Meeting Mavericks in Cherry Hill, N.J.; Peggy Young at Peggy Young & Associates in Santa Cruz, Calif.; Reggie Sears at Sears Enterprises in Sacramento, Calif.; Pamela Milan at Milan & Associates in Beltsville, Md.; Nonie Lowry at LP Etc. in Overland Park, Kan.; and Judy Tonkin at Raspberry Communications in Washington, D.C.
Also consulted were job placement gurus Sheryl Sookman Schelter, principal at The Meeting Connection in Novato, Calif.; and Dawn Penfold, president of The Meeting Candidate Network in New York City, as well as James Montague, chairman of PMPN, a 1,500-member network of independent planners based in Charlotte, N.C.
What is the job market like out there for meeting planners right now—and what kind of impact is this having on independent planners?
Penfold: It’s a tough job market out there. I haven’t seen things this challenging since the early 1990s—and it’s tough across the board. Financial companies are laying off people, pharma companies aren’t hiring.
However, there are opportunities for temps, independent contractors. The work still needs to be done and some companies are hiring them to get through the tough times.
Schelter: Some companies are doing what they did in the 1990s, scaling back and holding the line financially. They’re not using as many independent contractors, but I’m still seeing work out there for contractors.
The structure for how companies work with independents is changing, largely because procurement departments are more involved. It’s not as easy to get the work—you can’t just go up to someone at an MPI lunch, make a connection and get a job. There’s a process now. You may have to be a preferred vendor or you may have to work through an agency to get the job. It’s not that there isn’t work, but the way that you get it has changed.
Another problem is that some corporations have policies now where they’ll work with a contractor for a year or 18 months and then take a three- or six-month break before they hire them again. They do this to avoid the appearance of having a permanent employee. So it means some contractors are having to fill long gaps.
Montague: Applicants from independent planners for joining our network are up. Because of downsizing, meeting planning departments are getting smaller these days. In some cases, our corporate clients are asking us to sign on their in-house planners, who then come back to them as independent contractors.
Companies seem to be outsourcing more now. It’s a pendulum that goes back and forth. We’re in one of those environments where people are not hiring, so they are outsourcing more than they were a year-and-a-half ago. With the uncertainty in the economy, companies are reluctant to expand their staffs. But they still need help.
How challenging is the economic business climate for independents right now?
Greenberg: We’re in crisis. Our four-person company has just moved to smaller quarters. We’re keeping the overhead lower.
I see clients cutting back, both on the number of meetings and on attendance. I have a manufacturing client in New York, which typically does bi-monthly sales meetings. Now they’re doing about three a year. They also have had an annual event—a thank- you event where they might take people to a resort in Mexico. They’re not doing that now.
Tonkin: We’ve had a lot of challenges because of clients who are sensitive to the downturn. It’s particularly true of a client in the semiconductor industry. This industry has scaled down in regard to trade show participation. Once they scale down the booth size, they tend to have the show handled in-house.
Lowry: Most of my clients are medical associations. They’re sensitive to rates and we’re careful of that. However, not that much has changed with their meetings.
But I also have corporate clients, and they are really making changes. They are downsizing their departments and have gotten rid of contractors. They’re in a holding pattern.
Milan: I’m seeing association clients go more for regional meetings. It doesn’t really save them money as they have to use more venues, but it saves money for the attendees. I’m also seeing them do more webinars.
Young: I work with educational organizations tied into the University of California system and therefore the state budget. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now and the purchasing departments are coming down on us in a way they didn’t before. And lead times are getting shorter—I used to recommend multiyear contracts, but now I can’t. People are more concerned with cost and are doing more webinars.
My clients have reduced staffs and I see people wearing three or four hats. This makes things difficult for the independent planner as people are stressed and sometimes you don’t even know who to work with.
Sears: My clients are feeling the effects of the economy. I have an association client who wanted to do a training meeting in September, but could not get the attendance they needed. So they postponed it for a couple of months so they could market it more and get the numbers up.
What are you doing to get through the tough times?
Greenberg: Along with lowering our overhead, we’re looking into consolidation. I’ve had a couple of inquiries from large meeting planning firms that I’m considering. Instead of hiring more sales people to land accounts, these companies are looking at consolidating with independent meeting planners. I think the company approaching me wants to diversify into my specialty. It’s a good thing for them, but I’m not sure I want to give up my independence and join a big organization.
Tonkin: My partner and I are branching out. We have been approached to do government meetings for a long time, but we always have put this on the back burner because we were too busy and these are time consuming pieces of business. Well, now we have the time.
We’re also branching out into meetings for other types of industries. I took a workshop last summer to learn more about an industry that we want to target.
Milan: It’s very important in these economic times to find ways to save clients money. For instance, if croissants are served in the morning, get them cut in half. So there’s less waste. Whole fruit is less expensive than cut-up fruit. You can save a great deal with small things. The client can tell their comptroller how much they saved. It makes them look good.
You really have to let the client know what the meeting will cost. Make them aware of how a $2 cup of coffee is really $9 after all the taxes and hotel charges are added on. You need to be their advocate.
Young: It’s important to understand the needs of suppliers as well as those of your clients. You need to balance the two. I ask hotels what it is that they need, then I can negotiate on this basis. For instance, if I can get a sponsor to pay for the meeting room, I can give this to the hotel, then ask for some extra amenities for the attendees.
What kind of impact are the large meeting planning firms having on the independent planner with no or few employees?
Schelter: The large meeting planning firms have an edge because they know how to work the corporate procurement processes—they have those relationships established. They also are more likely to have the right kind of insurance and offer a credit card payment plan, which more corporate clients are requiring. But while the large companies have an edge, they are also a source of work for independents, as they contract as well.
Young: Your best edge as an independent planner is to really know the content of a meeting. I won a large federal contract against a large meeting planning company because I had the content knowledge and they didn’t. The big meeting planning firms will be around for awhile, but independents will always have a niche.
How important is it to form partnerships?
Tonkin: We’re a company of two partners with two different backgrounds. My partner comes from a trade show background, while I was a corporate event planner for a pharmaceutical company. So together we cover a lot of territory.
It gives us a lot of flexibility. I can cover a trade show for her in California while she goes on-site for me at a meeting. We don’t have to be in two places at once.
Lowry: I’ve created an online community with 10 people who are also independent contractors. There’s a printer who does all the marketing materials, a graphic designer, a webmaster who maintains the website. We use Cvent for online registration and for a database tool. All of the people are remote and work from home, but we can pull up the information.
Young: I’ve never partnered with another planner, but I do hire temps when I need them. This is a really good thing to do.
Should independents have a specialty?
Sears: It’s good to have a focus. Mine is on associations, fraternal groups and family reunions. Reunions in particular are a growing business. With the advent of websites like Ancestry.com, people are locating many family members they never knew they had. So there are many more reunions than there were 20 years ago.
Often people holding a reunion don’t think they can afford a meeting planner, but I explain that I work on commission, so it doesn’t cost them a thing. And they come out looking like a star.
Penfold: It’s always good to have a specialty. The meetings industry has become very niche oriented. Yet you need flexibility. Don’t paint yourself into a corner.
What tips to do you have for starting and maintaining a successful business as an independent planner?
Milan: It has become more important than ever to really understand the meeting’s objectives. The meeting has to be all about the content. People want to learn something; something that will help them advance their careers. It’s not all about the entertainment and the food. People are less interested in the fluff.
Sometimes it’s hard for the client to understand this at first. However, they will get kudos from management if the content is great. It’s important to do an evaluation at the end of the conference—the survey will come back in your favor.
Sears: One thing that works for me in keeping my business strong is to treat even a small group of 25 with the same care and diligence that I would with a group of 1,000. If you take care of a small piece of business, you will get more through word of mouth.
My other advice is to have a business plan before setting up shop. Take a workshop and learn how to do this.
Young: Before the meeting I draw up a Scope of Work and a timeline that delineates everything I’m going to do for the client. It’s important to make it clear who’s doing what and define the role of the independent.
I keep abreast of what jobs are opening up out there. I sometimes approach a company that has a job opening to let them know about myself just in case they may want to outsource.
Schelter: Independents should pay attention to the business news. If you see that two companies are merging, that could be an opportunity. In such cases, they often need to do more meetings. Keep your ears to the business climate.
Is this a bad time to be hanging out a shingle as an independent?
Greenberg: This is not a good time to leave a job—unless you have already established accounts that you can take with you, with business already signed. Planners new to the field should take time to get logistics training. First, be a corporate planner and learn the basics. Those of us with established accounts will be okay. But this is not a good time to set up a new business. It’s similar to the case with mortgage brokers—the established ones will survive.
Penfold: An independent planner who is a good business person is going to be successful. It’s not just about being an independent planner, it’s about being an independent business person. And, of course, a lot of people will not have the choice in times like these but to be independent. That’s not the best circumstance for starting your own business.
