When you were young and dreaming about what you wanted to be when you grew up, you probably didn’t know what a meeting planner was… or at least, you didn’t know what was involved. As you moved from elementary and middle school through high school, you found that you were always the one taking the lead on things. From the bake sales to the lacrosse tournaments, you jumped right in. Now, fast forward a few years – you’re out of college and you ask yourself, now what? You probably didn’t receive a bachelor’s in meeting planning, although you may have studied communication, marketing, business administration or a half-dozen other things. You just naturally gravitated to the world of hospitality, organization, and, well – planning.
Following graduation, you may have had the good fortune to have met a meeting planner, or two – someone that you could see yourself becoming one day. For those of you that didn’t find that mentor early on, it’s never too late. When you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll do well at it. For me and my team, it’s meeting planning. We thrive on the adrenaline, the timekeeping and list marking. We get excited when we have new attendees as a result of our plans and cheer when a client becomes a repeat. This is where the rubber meets the road.
It’s one thing to have a client event, once. It’s much different to be able to sustain long-term clients. Meeting planning is built on top of hospitality, relationships, trust and honesty – oh and good organizational skills don’t hurt either.
If you are truly interested in learning about the world of meeting planning and event coordination, find someone doing what you want to do – and talk to them. No one is going to guide you without you taking the first step. Seek out a mentor – find out what you like doing and what you don’t. There are tons of resources on the internet to find associations and organizations for meeting planners. Do your homework – research everything that meeting planning entails – and then, go find a way to take your passion to the next level.
Whether you find an internship, or you volunteer, the more hands on experience you bring to the table the better. Work in different situations, doing different jobs. Everything from the pre-planning through registration and post-event marketing, knowledge is power. Make sure you spend time in each aspect of meeting planning. After all, this may end up being your career.
In an article from Entrepreneur [online] magazine, they site the following reason’s why some are not successful:
- Not understanding fully, your client’s needs
- Poor choice of vendor selection and or venue selection
- Lack of coordination between you and the team
- Everyone has an important role during an event – don’t let your ego get the best of you
- Inaccurate estimates of:
- Time
- Headcount for sessions / workshops
- Cost / Expenses
- Poor customer service
So, what can you do to ensure you won’t fail? Here area few checklist items to ensure your success:
- Stay calm
- Create good energy at the event
- Acquire professional training, do your homework, find a mentor
- Focus on what it is that you do best
- Exceed your client’s expectations
This quote resonates so well with me, and with what we do –
A meeting planner’s career is built on a solid foundation of intent, minus ego. There will be days you have to sweep something up, or you have to help carry in packages, or someone calls out sick, and you have to do both registration for attendees and speakers. The life of a meeting planner is complex, rewarding, frustrating and absolutely the most fun job in the world!