Program Planning: You Won't Know The Answer If You Don't Ask The Question
By Pegine Echevarria
You sit at your desk dreaming of those wonderful, old golden days.
The days when you could be creative and innovative when planning a
corporate meeting or incentive travel program, and your company had
the money to fully back you up. It used to be "full steam ahead,
don't worry about the costs." Not any more! Now you have to be a
salesperson, a project manager, a negotiator, security conscious,
and, yes, still creative and innovative - but all with limited funds,
higher scrutiny, and far more risk.
Take heart: Meeting planners are not alone. Indeed, in our current
economy, everyone in business is confronted with doing more with less.
Still, how can meeting planners deal with their changing roles and new
demands? One way is by becoming proactive and asking more questions -
when planning a program, when doing a site selection, when evaluating
a potential professional speaker for an upcoming event, whatever the
professional task at hand. Always being sure to ask the right questions
can supply you with the critical information you need that will make you
more prepared, respected, and fully on top of things.
The "In-House" Client
In many corporations meeting planners must propose and "sell" their
"in-house" clients (sales managers, R&D managers, training and development
managers, and so on) regarding the meeting planner's upcoming program
concepts and budget requests. Many times the in-house client will request
that an out-of-town meeting or incentive travel program be planned and
set up, but they will not have even a remote clue regarding the actual
costs or other important particulars. For the meeting planner to be
successful under such circumstances, he or she must ask the right
questions.
When conferring with your in-house client, there are always three
variables that are necessary for you to learn about in order for
you to be perceived as highly skilled, knowledgeable, and competent.
These are the "what," the "whom," and the "expectations."
For your next meeting with your in-house client, ask the following questions:
The "What":
- What is happening in your company that warrants the meeting?
- What key objections and problems has the company had to deal with this
year?
- What will be the attitude of the attendees regarding these issues?
- What key successes have occurred? At the end of the meeting, what key
results should be accomplished? What is the budget available for the
program?
The "Whom":
- Are the meeting attendees predominantly male, female,
or evenly split?
- Do they represent a diverse mix of ethnic or other
backgrounds?
- What are their responsibilities?
- In terms of audience
participation levels and energy level, how would you describe the
attendees by percentages?
The "Expectations":
- Whom are the company's favorite speakers and
why?
- What vision exists for the meeting environment?
- What has occurred in the past during a program that should never occur
again?
- What parts of past programs were best received by attendees?
- What parts should all programs contain?
- By probing along these lines, you will become far more informed
and better equipped to develop a meeting or incentive travel program
that will accomplish the goals desired by your in-house client.
The Staff Meeting
Meetings and conference tend to look and feel similar. If you have
planning meetings for years, your meetings may become rote and stale
because you assume you know everything that is available - after all
you've done this a hundred times before.
However, if you are looking to best serve your in-house client and ensure
that their needs are truly being met, you will need to ask some additional
questions. Why? With the current heavy focus on ROI and budgets, you will
need a plethora of creative thinking and diverse ideas to meet or exceed
expectations. And you can't possibly be creative or thoughtful in an
intellectual vacuum.
Given what you now know about your in-house client's needs and the group
psychology of the attendees, the following questions will guide you to
new and different ways of meeting everyone's needs. Some of the following
questions you will pose to your in-house client. Others you will need to
pose to yourself.
- In the past, what programs produced the results the in-house client wanted
to achieve?
-
What meeting sites best reflect the in-house client's vision and how
negotiable are the sites?
-
What would be the best type of speakers for the in-house client and
the attendees?
-
What speakers most ideally match the qualities preferred?
-
What books or articles deal with the subject of the meeting or conference?
-
What theme best captures the issues and solutions?
-
What types of activities will ideally suit the attendees?
-
What worked best in the past? What didn't?
- What cost-effective ways exist to develop the ambiance that the in-house client wants to achieve?
Some Thoughts On Choosing The Right Speaker
Choosing the best speaker for your program can be a challenging process
for any corporate event. But few tasks will be as important. Often,
the keynote speaker will make or break your program. Costs, celebrity
status, and a match with your program are all important parts of the
picture. Numerous "war stories" exist regarding problems caused by,
and the eccentric behaviors of, speakers. Most of these problems could
have been easily avoided if the right questions had been asked in the
beginning.
Recently I attended a conference where interactive speakers and facilitators
led a meeting. This turned out to be an utter disaster because the attendees
came expecting statistics and low interaction - indeed, they hated
interaction. But apparently the meeting planner decided that he or she
knew better than the in-house client, and disregarded the group personality
of the attendees.
Here is your most basic rule when selecting a speaker: Your professional
speakers must be carefully interviewed before the hiring so that you are
confident they will meet your in-house client's and attendees' expectations.
Here are some questions you will want answered.
- How would you meet the needs of our program?
- What clients have you worked with that have had issues and needs similar
to ours?
- What requirements do you have regarding your speaking, travel, and any
other issues of which I should be aware? (Note: This questions helps
weed out the overly demanding speaker. Remember: There are thousands
of professional speakers who are easy to work with, who want your
business, and who are also outstanding at the lectern.)
-
What is your best type of audience? What is your worst?
-
In your experience, what is the best time of day for you to make
your presentation?
-
How do you handle travel issues and delays? Do you always arrive at the
site the day before?
-
How do you customize your programs?
- What methods do you use?
- What books, articles, or learning tools have you produced that might
be meaningful for our attendees?
- What are your specific ideas to help make your presentation best meet
our needs?
-
How negotiable are you regarding fees?
- What added value can you propose?
Questioning others is an art. It takes dedicated practice, but the returns
on your investment include increased in-house client satisfaction, enhanced
knowledge, and most importantly more effective meetings and programs that
meet the needs of the attendees, the in-house client, and the overall
corporate goals.
Thoughtful questions represent the key in creating the ultimate in in-house
client satisfaction. Question correctly will make a difference for your
program outcomes, your professional reputation, and quite possibly your
career.
For Meeting Planning Professionals