| EVENT INTELLIGENCE 07.01.09 9:00 AM |
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| Are You Worth It?: The Argument |
| These discussion points make the case for the value of smart, experienced event and meeting planners. |
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Cost Savings
Nothing speaks to employers like the bottom line, so you should already be keeping track of how much money you’ve managed to save through negotiations, partnerships, and minor budget-saving adjustments.
“Even more than the economy today, people are worried about future money,” says Gen Art New York event director Kaki Stergiou. “Something I would have hired a freelancer for, I’m now hiring volunteers [to do], on the promise of partnering with them on something else. And for venues that are hesitant to give a low rate, I’ve gotten discounts for signing on to do two [events] in a year instead of just one.”
It also makes sense to acknowledge the need to cut back before it’s asked of you. Heather Greer, director of special events at New York’s Citymeals-on-Wheels, worked out her 2009 budget last summer, but in light of the economic decline, decided to make a more modest draft earlier this year.
“We revised our projections and presented them to the board,” Greer says. “Even though we’re spending less, by leveraging relationships with vendors and offering sponsors more visibility at events, we’ve managed to keep our cost to raise a dollar the same.”
When presenting your savings, the point is to provide specific numbers. For example, you might show an itemized bill from a hotel that lists its original rates for a meeting—and the lower fees you negotiated. If your annual salary is, say, $70,000, showing that your negotiations saved the company $100,000 makes a pretty compelling case for your continued employment.
Centralization
Planners on staff are the main repository of knowledge and expertise. They keep track of past events, vendor information, budgets, and blueprints for annual initiatives. They know about negotiated discounts with suppliers, and they can make sure that all company events and meetings adhere to a set protocol (or at least work toward it). They have clear responsibilities, and don’t work on the details of an important meeting between other non-related tasks.
They’re also there every day, so they can answer questions, help other departments, and contribute to event initiatives from their beginning stages, vetting costs and contributing ideas as concepts take shape.
“We work alongside other departments to keep proactive as possible,” says Cathi Culbertson, director of protocol and corporate entertainment at Forbes in New York. “If sales has to meet with clients about future projects, we hand them five different event concepts, so when they pitch them, they’re guaranteed to get a good reception on at least two.”
Relationships
The deposit you would have lost when the company canceled a meeting, but which got turned into a credit when you leveled with the catering manager you’ve known for a decade? The 20 percent discount you got from recommending a caterer to a friend at another company? So much of the value that experienced planners bring to their companies is based on the relationships they’ve forged with vendors and other professionals. So make sure people know what your personal connections mean to your employer.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as sending out emails after an event to say, ‘Look at this great rate we got,’” says Stergiou. “It shows people what you’re doing and how you’re cutting costs.”
Brand Consistency
Full-time employees are inevitably more immersed in a company’s brand and corporate culture than outsiders, and skilled marketers can translate those qualities into the events and meetings they produce, whether they’re sales-driven events for customers or internal events for employees.
“I think there’s a level of brand awareness you don’t get when you bring someone in from the outside that ultimately hurts the experience,”
says Al Silvestri, vice president and director of corporate marketing and strategic development at Hachette Filipacchi Media in New York. He maintains a dialogue with his company’s sales departments and clients. “We’ve now got weekly meetings with clients to make sure they’re aware we’re integrating them into our experiences in an organic way while showing our company that we stay true to the brand.”
Accountability
The ultimate success—or failure—of an event depends on the conduct of the people in charge. Valuable professionals accept responsibility and know what to do if something goes wrong.
“In all of my events, I make sure that I’m there for every step,” says corporate event planner Jennifer Leto, who troubleshoots by maintaining a presence at each of the 20 to 30 meetings she produces each year for the New York-based Hess Corporation. “Guests have information that tells them exactly what they need to know—everything from knowing that gratuities are included to what number to call if there’s an emergency. You can’t leave anything to chance. Executives shouldn’t be worried about logistics when they’re at an event.”
Things often go wrong in the course of an event, but even when they’re caught off guard, seasoned pros have a backup plan—or can come up with one on the spot. They deal with unexpected weather conditions on the day of an outdoor party. They know whom to call when a vendor goes belly-up the week before a conference. They have the forethought to secure insurance to avoid hidden penalties. They know the ins and outs of security and how to handle medical emergencies. Most important: They know when to keep quiet and smile through such catastrophes, and when to show their bosses how they’ve skirted disaster. One possible time to speak up: when an exec is looking to hand over your responsibilities to someone who likely isn’t willing or able to be similarly accountable for them.
—Michael O'Connell
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