Planner to Planner: 125 Tips

Site Selection and Negotiations
Venues, CVBs, room blocks

1} Reach out and don’t be afraid to go after the city you want, but keep your cards close and do your shopping first. Don’t declare your top choices right away.
- Stephen Hahn, Marriott International

2} Get together with the rest of your planning staff before you begin negotiations and decide on a price ceiling. We’re not under the illusion that we can stay at $79 or $89 a night forever, but we come up with a range of what hotels might give us and what our participants are willing to pay. We basically look at our history and come up with a steady progression of price increases. If a city can’t give us the price we need, we walk away. We don’t waste that city’s time.
- Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, Mennonite Church USA

3} Don’t base site selection entirely on price. You’ll always find people who are prepared to underprice their services just to get business. But how good and reliable are they? Next time you’re tempted to make a buying decision based entirely on price, think again.
- Susan Friedmann, “Meeting & Event Planning For Dummies”

4} Sit on the contract a while before you sign. Realize that hotels have room to bend a little. With that said, however, look for the hotel that will give your participants the best overall experience. Sometimes that will mean added cost to you (it may not be the best offer/proposal), but our end goal is always to give the participants a great experience that will make them feel that their investment was worth it.
- Aileen Reid, Church of God of Prophecy

5} I always have a few extra rooms in my “basket” – five to six extra rooms for those people who walk in and ask if we have rooms. I ask that attendees cancel with me rather than the hotel, because I keep a running waiting list of attendees so I can replace any canceled reservation. I start the wheels turning with the hotel early so that I can make changes and still maintain the integrity of the room count with the hotel without worrying about attrition. We have got to work together as a team.
- Margie Cody, Florida General Baptist Convention

6} Of course you always want to get the best deal, but you also have to be mindful that you’re representing a religious organization and you need to do that in a godly manner.
- Sherry Eschenberg, Presbyterian Church in America

7} Always stop in and check out the public restrooms in the hotel or facility.
- Stephanie Hudson, Providence Events

8} Before contracting a hotel or convention center, ask if it utilizes a union labor force and specifically which departments are in the unions.
- Monica Compton, Pinnacle Productions Inc.

9} If a destination or property is new to you, go beyond the site visit tour and really experience a property, putting yourself in your attendees’ shoes. If possible, visit on your own and spend some time in the lobby.
- Cynthia Rich, independent planner

Communication
E-mail, site visits, phone calls

10} Don’t be afraid to stay in communication. Be willing to ask basic questions like ‘How do you like to keep in touch?’ Some people are phone people and others prefer e-mails.
- Pat Davis, The Protestant Women of the Chapel

11} Remember the old real estate axiom – location, location, location? Well, think instead: communication, communication, communication.
- Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, Mennonite Church USA

12} It seems obvious to do a site visit for an event, but sometimes there isn’t adequate funding – especially for new events – to travel and see the facility beforehand. This can cause major issues. To lessen those problems, communicate all your needs to the host location and facility beforehand, especially if you don’t see the site in advance.
- Will Engle, American Volleyball Coaches Association

Going Green
Recycling, teamwork, goals

13} Encourage and award attendees for going green. Hand out “I was caught green-handed” buttons or offer contests for practices like carpooling and recycling, allowing the winners to go first in the food lines.
- Nancy Wilson and Cathy Kretz, CMPs, from their green meetings webinar

14} Have processes in place to make sure everyone understands their goals. Document everything you’ve done, the good and the bad. The most effective learning tools are the barriers and obstacles you’ve overcome.
- Kimberly Lewis, U.S. Green Building Council

15} Going green is not just one step. It’s a journey, and it’s important to set up a green team to come up with what your organization’s goals are and to assess your progress, your failures and your successes.
- Tracey Messina, Convene Green Alliance

16} Many green practices can be cost-saving or cost-neutral for both the supplier and the planner, including using china service rather than disposable dishware at meals, requesting that hotels change linens every other day and moving registration online to drastically reduce the cost of postage and paper.
- Amy Spatrisano, Meeting Strategies Worldwide

17} Make sure extra food is being donated and promote that fact to raise awareness among attendees and your organization.
- Joan Eisenstodt, hospitality consultant and educator

Meeting Fundamentals
Budgets, RFPs, programs

18} Always show up early for meetings and/or site visits unannounced. In that time, walk around, interact with staff members and ask questions so you are confident they will be able to help your guests should they have questions.
- Terry Tycholis, Can-Am Police-Fire Games

19} Keep in mind the things attendees hate: waiting in line, jam-packed schedules, PowerPoint, being talked at by speakers, bad food, misspelled name badges, bad signage, poor e-mail marketing, websites with no contact info and having to pay for Wi-Fi.
- Keith Johnston, PlannerWire

20} Consider when schools are in session or on a break when scheduling your event.
- Marge Carlisle, Little People of America

21} Date your ideas, but don’t marry them. Don’t be afraid to take risks, actually do what you say you’re going to do and think outside the box.
- Billy Kirsch, Kidbilly Music

22} When attending events, it’s fine to collect 10 or more business cards, but narrow them down to three or four of the most important connections you’ve made.
- Bob Littell, NetWeaving

23} Use online registration. After the event, you will have a long list of the most active members of your organization, along with their mailing addresses, home addresses, e-mail addresses and other contact information. Use this list as a membership database and build on it between events.
- Sarah McNeely, Attendee Management Inc.

24} Ask your suppliers and attendees what will make your show successful for them before you begin planning.
- Chris Price, Graphic Arts Show Company

25} Have a separate room block for exhibitors. If you have space in your regular room blocks and can move them to the closer hotel, there will be no attrition.
- Janet Graff, CMP, Mednax Inc.

26} Calculate all of the program, promotion and travel costs and divide this by the minimum number of people you hope to have. Don’t forget to add in costs for your speakers and resource personnel. Add this amount to the per-person costs and make this your per-person charge. If more people attend than your minimum estimate, you will have some money left over for next year’s deposit and promotion.
- Larry Beatty, Jumonville Christian camp and retreat

27} A comprehensive Request for Proposal should provide an overall evaluation of your meeting. Think of it like a resume, which offers job experience, references, history and more.
- Donn Oswald, Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau

28} Early planning is key. Be sure to be specific on your needs and expectations. Leave no detail uncovered or assumed. Everyone will be happier in the end if you follow these three simple rules.
- Amy Beadle, Springfield (Ill.) CVB

29} Whenever you need to make a change to some existing system, program, schedule or event, have a pool of people, or a “consequence team,” that can help you evaluate potential decisions and repercussions. This team could be other planners, friends, staff or outsiders, but a combination of all would be a great mixture. Sometimes when we bounce ideas off other planners, they only offer us one perspective, but an outsider may offer a totally new perspective that we hadn’t considered.
- Dean Jones, Connect and Rejuvenate Marketplace

30} When branding an event, make it simple. Whittle your message down to the essentials; remove everything else.
- Bruce Turkel, author and branding expert

Food & Beverage
Action stations, wish lists, wow factors

31} Any meeting planner who wants to get the biggest bang for the buck should always talk to the chef. And don’t let any salesperson say you can’t talk to the chef.
- Janet Pickover, Site Inspections Plus

32} Dessert is a good place to go for the “wow” factor. Face it, attendees can not like the salad, find the meal just OK, but if you wow them with the dessert, they’ll remember the whole meal as being fantastic.
- Steve Enselein, Hyatt Hotels Corporation

33} I sit down and start creating a budget. I’ll start with a wish list – everything I want to have. I’ll see what money we have in sponsorships and see how realistic that wish list is. If it’s not, then we start paring it down.
- Chrysta Bolinger, Catholic Campus Ministry Association

34} Move away from lengthy meals to more action stations, where attendees can mingle and sample.
- Giorgi Di Lemis, Gaylord Hotels

35} Always use a trained bartender. This is not the place to cut corners.
- Bonnie Wallsh Associates

Security
Privacy, protection, legal issues

36} From the moment we first consider a city, we look at the experiences of other groups in the area, crime statistics, even weather conditions.
- Jerry Mapstone, Life Impact Ministries

37} Make sure the hotel and meeting center has a good paper shredder and find out what security measures are practical.
- Joan Eisenstodt, hospitality consultant and educator

38} A force majeure provision should be included in every contract. It is also important to include a catchall provision such as the following: “or any other cause beyond the parties’ control.”
- Barbara Dunn, hospitality attorney

39} Make sure all exits are clearly visible, and all aisles, walkways and exits are clear of obstructions. Make sure all drapery and scenic material have been fireproofed.
- Scott Reagles, Initial Production Group

40} Tell attendees about emergency plans during housekeeping sessions.
- Joan Eisenstodt, hospitality consultant and educator

41} Partner with law enforcement agencies in the early planning stages for a better understanding of any overall threats, including recent crime information, as well as potential threats directed towards either the event or the facility.
- Bonnie Wallsh, Bonnie Wallsh Associates

Technology
Texting, Twittering, widgets

42} Ask the hotel or conference center for power cords left in lost and found. Keep them at the registration desk in case attendees need to recharge their electronic devices. They’ll thank you profusely.
- Cate Smith, Education Law Association

43} Mass text messages or text blasts are a great way to keep your group informed during an event.
- Natalie Konowal, Sigma Chi Fraternity

44} Engaging an audience ensures continuous attentiveness during longer presentations. During a 60-minute presentation, getting audience feedback after each 20-minute span of time can ensure that attendees’ brains remain in the “active” rather than “passive” mode so they retain more information.
- Ray Hansen, IML audience response systems

45} If you have decided that you are going to implement an event community, you need to teach people how to use it. You need to have a session and allow people to ask questions and really be patient, speak in plain English and not text terms. Do a one-hour Twitter 101 session to really give people an overview; it helps them not only for the event but it teaches people a new skill.
- Jessica Levin, Seven Degrees Communications

46} Go beyond Facebook and Twitter and utilize platforms like LinkedIn and Second Life to promote your event and get attendees involved.
- Martin Hess, American Club Association

47} Provide a website widget of the Twitter hashtag that users can post on blogs, personal pages and websites. This can be done using Twitter Fall, TwitterFountain, TweetGrid or Widgetbox.
- Jeff Hurt, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting

48} I could have my intern Twitter great things about us all week long, but when someone else Twitters about us who’s a trusted source, that is what’s most significant. Developing solid relationships with influential people in your niche audience who use social media is an incredible use of your time and energy. Those people, when they talk about you, they are going to drive attention and traffic in your direction.
- Matt Markins, Randall House

49} You have to rethink, reposition and promote a dream that will meet the needs of people that attend and equip them to make a difference in line with your mission statement. Traditional marketing strategies are not enough. Viral marketing through networkers who have a vested interest in the success of the event is crucial.
- Martin Deacon, Call2All

In the industry
Questions, service, travel

50} If there’s anything you can do to help the planner before or after you at a hotel or facility, then do it. Work with other planners to make their jobs easier. It always comes back to you one way or another.
- Jeff Johnston, American Contract Bridge League

51} Association memberships are expensive. Not only is there a yearly membership fee, but there are luncheons and other monthly events that cost money to attend. Instead of joining every association that may fit your need, focus on one that could bring you the most benefit, and once you chose that one association, get involved.
- Christine Doyle, Meeting Planning For You

52} Travelers should always plan for a trip to last a couple days longer than they anticipate. That means bringing extra money or credit cards that you can put a room on. When you are prepared, you aren’t as stressed by an unexpected situation.
- Thelma Goodwin, Usher Association

53} No question is a dumb question.
- Sandra Schutrop, Hilton Hotels

54} Rely on your CVB as much as possible.They have a wealth of information to share and services they can provide. For big events, you actually become really good friends because you’ve worked together so much. They really can put the world at your fingertips, and anything that you need in that city, they can help you find.
- Sheri Clemmer, 59th Session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

55} Don’t brush off anyone. You never know when that destination or service will turn out to be the exact fit you’ve been looking for.
- Dean Jones, Connect and Rejuvenate Marketplace

Trade Shows
Swag, sponsors, show floor

56} Give out trinkets (pens, magnets, paperweights, etc.) with the date of next year’s event on it.
- Susan Perry, The Perry Group

57} When it comes to sponsorship, if you don’t have the time to invest in it or don’t have the skill set to organize it, outsource it.
- Louise M. Felsher, CMP, meeting and event consultant

58} This positive environment is composed of many small details. Putting down carpet, for example, creates a more comfortable environment. As a result, they may stay on the show floor two or three hours longer, making them more likely to spend more.
- Susan Friedmann, “Meeting & Event Planning For Dummies”

Speakers
References, storytelling, timing

59} Tell a speaker the goals of your program and what you want to achieve. My story is my story. I have my core speech, but I’m always happy to adapt it to meet the needs of the group.
- Joan Brock, speaker

60} Talk with your speaker of choice about the timing of their presentation. Comedy is useless before 10 a.m. so don’t even bother earlier than that.
- Anita Renfroe, speaker

61} If your conference depends on a key speaker as an attendance draw, the speaker must be well known and able to talk about major issues that relate to the majority of your group. Appoint two or three people to research speakers and musicians. Get recommendations from other groups that have done similar retreats. Most program directors are willing to share information and ways to contact speakers and musicians. Word-of-mouth is usually the best way to find the professionals you want.
- Larry Beatty, Jumonville Christian camp and retreat

62} Request that speakers send you a list of six people you can call for a personal phone reference. When they give you the list, be sure to call the last three on the list. This will ensure that you are getting a true assessment, since most people will list the best references first.
- Dallas Teague Snider, author and speaker

63} Tell all the speakers one month before, one hour before and just before they speak how much time they have. Let them know that they will receive a sign (timer) to know when time is up. With prestigious speakers, this detail is sometimes avoided. Don’t avoid the discussion; they will understand.
- Pegine Echevarria, author and speaker

Volunteers
Excitement, training, empowerment

64} Try to get people within your organization to volunteer. If they have a reason to come and get something out of it, they will be more likely to be excited about volunteering.
- Stephanie Hudson, Providence Events

65} Just because someone is willing to step up to the plate doesn’t mean that he or she will be a productive volunteer. You want to know how they get along with people and work on a team. For big events, a selection team can help to weed out inappropriate candidates and let them down gently without having it seem personal. Just accepting someone who expresses interest in volunteering can sometimes do more harm than good if that person alienates or undermines others on the team. I would rather have eight really good volunteers than 25 I’m not sure about.
- Hank Hilliard, Young People’s Ministries

66} Rather than referring to them as volunteers, we call them conference assistants. The team of assistants dons staff vests for events. It is important to empower volunteers to offer quality and effective customer service.
- Robin Kluever, International Network of Children’s Ministry

Youth Events
Safety, music, social media

67} Inviting the community to come together to be a part of youth events is important. There are a number of local networks of churches. The National Network of Youth Ministries is a great place to start to find other churches in the area.
- Ken Allen, Dare2Share

68} Accommodating teens’ biorhythms means starting morning sessions around 10:30 and letting kids stay up later. Setting up expectations before youth arrive on site is important. Kids get missional if you cast them in that light, and a little positive peer pressure goes a long way.
- Mark Matlock, Youth Specialties

69} The first thing we do is talk to the hotel to find out who else will be there and what else is going on at that time. We’ve had hotels tell us honestly that there are weeks we don’t really want to come.
- Chuck Wallace, Student Venture, Campus Crusade for Christ

70} We make sure all doors to the event space are locked except for one set where parents drop off their kids and another set where parents pick up their kids. At registration, parents sign their kids in and get a pass that allows them to enter the room. No pass, no entrance.
- Nita Leckenby, Children’s Conferences International

71} Look for a band or worship leader who is humble and prays while leading, has a certain level of professional skill and understands they are not doing a concert but leading people to God in prayer.
- Scott Anthony, St. Joseph and St. Patrick parishes

72} Everything this generation deals with is based on technology. To be relevant, use video, multimedia, Internet, social media, text messaging – anything to do with technology because that is how kids today relate to the world.
- Marquis Boone, Real Anointed Worshippers

73} You need to be intentional and have a team of people dedicated only to promoting green initiatives. It is something that interests youth of today so much.
- Kymone Hinds, Central States Youth Ministries

74} Anyone who works with children at events needs to fill out a written application, which should be followed up by checking references and a criminal background check.
- Joy Melton, author, lawyer and minister

Inspiration
Journeys, faith, relationships

75} Enjoy the journey, and know where you are going and leading. You can’t do it alone; travel in the direction that God leads you.
- Larry D. Collins, North American Christian Convention

76} If you believe in what you’re doing, just keep on pushing forward toward it. Look at your marketing and pray for ideas that don’t cost a dime.
- Amy Cato, Lifeway

77} We need to shift our thinking from building programs to building relationships with kids.
- Hank Hilliard, Young People’s Ministries

78} We all wish to be good stewards. If we really take seriously what we understand as our role as humans responsible for God’s creation, then there is a moral and theological obligation for people of faith to take care of what we have been given.
- David Melton, North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church

More Tips:

• Jason Ryan Dorsey speaks Gen Y’s language

• James Spellos speaks in html and twitter talk

• Bonnie Wallsh speaks about anything and everything meetings

• Barbara Dunn speaks the truth about legal and contract issues

• Monica Compton speaks from the planner’s perspective

• Scott Reagles speaks from behind the scenes