Friday, February 26, 2016

SURVIVING CONFERENCE PLANNING WITH 10 TIPS & TRICKS!
Casey Thayer, CGMP 

One of the main goals when planning a conference is for your attendees to walk away with a memorable and impactful experience. Conferences are a way for people to connect and communicate with others in their industry who share the same interests and goals. Effective meeting planning is essential to accomplishing this. Although not always easy, it is attainable. Here are the top ten tips and tricks for planning a successful conference based on my professional experience as a Certified Government Meeting Planner (CGMP).

1.       ORGANIZATION IS KEY. If there is one thing I can’t stress enough it’s to be and stay organized throughout the planning process. There are three parts to a conference; pre-planning, the actual conference, and post-conference. Seventy percent of your work will take place in the pre-planning stages before the conference even takes place. You must remain organized or you will become overwhelmed. Use spreadsheets, timelines, notebooks with tabs, whatever helps you stay organized.  For larger conferences, online event planning software is key and will pay for itself in time saved and errors avoided.  See #4 below. 

2.       START EARLY. Begin your planning and timeline as early as you possibly can. Venues book up fast, food and beverage negotiations can go back and forth for months, not to me when you can start planning can depend on contracts and client approval, it is important to make every effort to start as early as possible.  A year to nine months is not too soon to start plannention, your attendees need time to get approval and register for the event. Although the dating.

3.       AGENDA FINALIZATION. No matter how early you start planning, people are going to be looking for an agenda to see if the sessions and speakers peak their interest. Set an abstract submission deadline and create a committee to review and decide which speakers to select. The sooner you can finalize an agenda and a key note speaker, the sooner you will see people registering for the event.

4.       ONLINE REGISTRATION. Do away with paper registration. In this era, there are more online registration options than you can imagine. Use your registration website for registration, hotel booking, logistics, FAQs, agenda, etc. If you are collecting funds set up a merchant account to automate this process (Paypal and many other services offer this for a small fee). The reporting options and on-site registration opportunity will make your life easier. Ask about our reseller discount for Cvent, the #1 event planning software in the industry.

5.       SPONSORS & EXHIBITORS.  Use sponsors and/or exhibitors to defray the costs of the event for attendees and/or fund meals, breaks and evening social events.  Determine your levels of sponsorship and what benefits come with each level.  Sponsor logos on the conference website, banners, and programs … acknowledgements from the podium during plenary sessions … pre- and post-conference email blasts … inserts in the conference registration bags -- these are just a few of the creative ways that sponsors can be acknowledged.  Whether it’s a networking event, reception, or print materials-use their money to help fund your event while promoting their business.

6.       SMART COLLATERAL. The signage and materials handed out at your conference can really be a time saver if done right. It will save both the attendees and the planner the hassle of asking conference staff where rooms are, which way are the bathrooms, and who is speaking in which session. The use of proper directional signage is key:

a.        Rooms should be visibly labeled.
b.      Agenda should include room numbers and speaker names.
c.       Include a map of the venue with all areas of interest highlighted in the attendee packets.  

7.       SUPPLY BOX. Have you ever managed a conference and you find yourself in need of tape, a stapler, paper clips or scissors? To save yourself time, prep yourself with a small box of office supplies-including attendee materials like extra lanyards and name badges.  Having a portable onsite printer is handy because there is inevitably someone who needs to register onsite.  All badges professionally printed instead of some hand-written reflects well on your professionalism as an event organizer. 

8.       A/V. It’s likely that your speakers will have a PowerPoint they need shown on a large screen in the front of the auditorium or room. One of the worst things is having your audiovisual not function properly. This delays a speaker’s presentation (cutting into their allotted time), wastes attendees time, and makes conference staff look unprofessional. When touring venues, ask if there is a designated A/V person that will be assigned to support your event. Get their contact information and keep them informed with what you will need from them. If you have to hire an outside vendor for A/V, get quotes and shop around. Look for customer ratings and make sure they can provide what you need.   During the event, assign “room monitors” -- volunteers or event staff who will be responsible for checking the A/V and setting up the presentations prior to each session.

9.       POSITIVE ATTITUDE. There is nothing worse than being greeted by a grumpy, unfriendly person at the registration desk. Make sure staff at the registration desk are upbeat and knowledgeable as they can set the tone for your event. General customer service training is advisable for all on-site support staff--especially when you are hiring local students or temps just for the even.   I use a tailored version of industry best practices to cover the basics like greetings and de-escalating stressful situations.  Make the attendees feel welcomed and excited for a great conference!

10.   POST-CONFERENCE SURVEY. Always send out a post conference survey. Not only will this let you know how well the event was perceived by attendees, it will give you specific feedback on the sessions; speaker choices; topics; the venue; social events and lunches -- all of which will be helpful for planning next year’s conferences.  Make sure to ask in the survey what you can improve.  Once the feedback is received and compiled, hold a “hot wash” meeting with the key individuals responsible for the conference to discuss what went well and what should be changed for next time.  Knowing these things and reviewing lessons learned will make for a better conference the following year! TIP:  To increase the response rate, offer a random prize as an extra incentive to people to fill out the surveys.  Be sure to announce the winner--perhaps with a “save the date” for next year.

All in all, no matter how much you prepare, something will go wrong.  There are so many details and personalities--It’s inevitable.  You can minimize your risk by being prepared, however know that most things can be fixed rather easily if you don’t panic and work with your team to sort out the issues.  You know you are a professional planner when only you notice the mistake(s) while the attendees and your client have a great time.  After the conference don’t forget to reflect on a job well done........and start the planning for next year!
More information on Conference Planning:
Need help with conference planning? Contact us about OPP’s BOOSTSM Conference Planning services.