Successful Meeting Planning September 6, 2009

Become a better meeting planner! Master all the skills you need to provide professional meeting planning services for your company—while saving time and money through better industry knowledge and increased efficiencies.

Learn how the meeting planning industry works, what the terms mean and how all the processes add up to planning meetings successfully.
How You Will Benefit

* Know how objectives and budgets drive meeting planning decisions
* Know with whom to communicate when doing meeting planning tasks
* Plan meeting room setup to match meeting objectives
* Select the appropriate hotel facilities and A/V equipment
* Understand food and beverage options
* Effectively negotiate hotel contracts
* Know which services hotels provide

What You Will Cover

* Objectives and budget
* Site selection: negotiations and hotel contracts
* Room setup and design: audiovisual, food and beverage
* Communicating with the facilities
* Registration
* Request for Proposals (RFP) and vendors
* Managing meetings from afar

Who Should Attend

Executive secretaries, senior secretaries, administrative assistants, administrative secretaries, administrative coordinators, executive assistants, meeting coordinators and any individual with an office support function or responsibility for planning meetings.
Extended Training Description

Learning Objectives

* Know How Objectives and Budget Drive Meeting Planning Decisions
* Know with Whom to Communicate When Doing Meeting Planning Tasks
* Match Room Setup with Meeting Objectives
* Select the Appropriate Hotel Facilities and Audiovisual Equipment
* Understand Food and Beverage Options
* Effectively Negotiate Hotel Contracts
* Know Which Services Hotels Provide

Introduction to Meeting Planning

* Recognize That Many Planners Share the Same Challenges and Concerns
* Define the Skill Set Required to Become a Meeting Planner
* Deal Proactively with Your Boss about Meeting Issues
* Recognize the Terminology and Acronyms of the Industry

Objectives, Budgets, and the Meeting Specification Sheet

* Evaluate Whether a Meeting Should or Should Not Occur
* Develop a Meeting Specification Sheet
* Identify the Major Revenue and Expense Areas of Meetings

Site Selection

* Identify the Components of a Proper Site Selection, Including Effective Industry Resource Utilization
* Refine Your Site Selection Needs

Room Setup and Design

* Identify the Various Types of Room Setups, and Match Them to Specific Meeting Formats
* Determine How Much Space per Person Is Required in Each Room Setup

Negotiations and Hotel Contracts

* Identify What Is and Isn’t Negotiable in a Hotel Contract
* Identify How Hotels Make Money, and Assess the Value Your Business Represents
* Understand Critical Hotel Contract Clauses and How You Should Modify Them
* Recognize the Power of "No" in a Hotel Contract Negotiation
* Practice Your Negotiating Skills by Learning the Needs of the Hotel

Audiovisual Technology

* Identify Various Types of Fundamental AV Equipment
* Discuss Four Rules Critical for Successful AV Presentation
* Understand AV Money-Saving Tips

Food and Beverage

* Recognize How Food and Beverage Activities Complement the Program and Make an Appropriate Selection
* Define Key Money-Saving Tips in Food and Beverage

Communicating with Vendors

* Identify the Key Players within a Hotel and within the Hospitality Industry

Registration

* Recognize Why Registration Is Needed, and How It Can Make or Break the Entire Event
* Understand Key Elements of a Successful Registration

Computers in Meeting Planning

* Navigate the Internet Sites and Portals That Are Designed for the Meetings Industry
* Understand Critical Terminology Referring to Bandwidth
* Redefine the Capabilities of the Basic Work Software You Already Have (Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases) in Assisting You to Accomplish Meeting Planning Tasks

Customer Service and Other Issues

* Describe How Poor Customer Service Negatively Impacts Your Business

Official Website: http://www.focustraco.com/index.php/tm-training-schedule/details/243-101203