Negotiating with venues can be a daunting task. But meeting and event planners should not be intimidated. Follow these five tips to make your site selection more successful.
1. Bundle up - Work with the same hotel chain, individual hotel or rep firm for multiple meetings, and it will increase your clout. It’s called bundling, and it’s becoming an increasingly common practice. For better service, make sure the hotel contact knows you’ll be bringing future business.
We all like something for free... and I have yet to meet someone that doesn't like some sort of pie... so read on and see if you might like a slice of this $20 Billion dollar pie.
It won't cost you a thing to look into this business and find out if it might be the right career choice for you. In fact, we're happy to help you get started. All you need is a sincere desire to succeed, some applicable skills; including people skills, excellent organizational skills, follow-through and an uncanny attention to detail. Beyond this; some basic communication tools like a computer and a cell phone will be all you need. Once you have these checked off your list there is no shortage of opportunities. If you'd like to learn more, keep reading or contact us and we'll help point you in the right direction.
Computer generated images superimposed onto actual human models - Avatars. Truly a game-changer in the movie industry, but what about other real world applications?
In the events industry this technology is already being applied. Companies like Cisco are leading the charge and employing this technology today and saving hundreds of millions on their annual event spend. What may be even more impressive is that it is "green"... everyone wants to be green right! Well imagine reducing your event production costs by 25, 50 even 75 percent and all the while reducing your carbon dioxide footprint - (yep you can measure that too); in the case of Cisco they estimate 84,400 metric tons over a period of 4 days.
Seth Godin illustrates the point well in his blog about permission-based marketing.
We recently put Seth’s assertion to the test and here is what we found. – He’s RIGHT!
In the “old days” marketers searched out birds of a feather and then blasted them with all manner of marketing material, direct mail, phone banks; (better known as boiler rooms or dialing for dollars), fax blasts and for the last ten years primarily email blasts.
Here is where I have to admit a lesson learned… recently our company was researching ways to cultivate new relationships and I suggested renting a list of email addresses from a reputable firm who has received permission from the people on the list to allow companies like ours to send them relevant messages regarding their business. STOP THE PRESS!
Another great article to illustrate that the customer has the freedom to choose and event planners have an obligation to educate.
Customers must choose well in advance of signing an agreement with a facility.
This article puts into perspective why corporate and association customers alike end up feeling like fish in a barrel. They are trapped, feel they have nowhere to go and are at the mercy of multiple unions working to make sure everyone gets a piece of the pie - their pie.
Apple's iPad - 200,000 apps and counting.For the purpose of this blog an app is something you upload to your device through your browser, some apps are free, some are on a pay-as-you-go basis; like a monthly user fee.
Be sure to look for the basics during an on-site visit. Visit the venue when it’s at full-occupancy and there are plenty of meetings taking place, as well as when it’s empty. Make sure the venue can accommodate your meeting. This is the time to be truly detail-oriented. No matter what venue you pick, expect to put down a deposit on the space and be sure to ask exactly what’s included in the usage fee (for example, meeting space, complimentary breakfasts, coffee breaks and additional meeting space should you need it).
It must start with a mental shift from > hunting customers > to farming customers > to just being a customer.
WWWW – What Would We Want? We all want thoughtfulness from others and abundance in our lives, but somehow this doesn’t ring true as a sound business process; or does it?
Trust is the cornerstone of all relationships. Defined as the reliance or ability of a person to do what they say they will do. A pretty simple concept right?
We have all heard the old saying "a man's word is his bond" and we all know those days are long gone, but what else do we really have to measure a persons trust other than their word and are there metrics we can put in place to safeguard ourselves? Like most things in life there are no guarantees. At the end of the day we have to put our trust in others and hope they stay true to their word.
In this case, NO MORE BATCH PROCESSING! To be inventive it is not always necessary to try and solve problems in today's world. It can be just as valuable, maybe more so, to simplify complex solutions. Take credit card transactions, there is no uproar, no apparent problem, but when a company comes along and radically simplifies the current process; the "problem" becomes painfully obvious.
