Introduction

The business meetings and events industry, like so many other industries, has experienced major changes in recent times. The technology revolution has made it possible to come together virtually or in a hybrid event (with attendees present in-person and virtually), to become more inclusive, get more bang for your buck, and be more efficient with participants’ time. Meeting and event planners have had to reexamine what they do and how they do it. The need to hold meetings and events remains strong, because getting together with other people continues to be an effective way to accomplish goals and exchange ideas. But the way meetings and events take place is constantly changing.

This book explores how to hold meetings and events in-person, virtually, and as a hybrid of both, to meet the needs of your audience. Let it be your guide to mastering successful strategies and tactics, as well as your source for insider secrets from the pros. Savvy meeting leaders and event planners recognize that every meeting or event they arrange will be different. They also know the importance of constantly staying abreast of new and emerging trends, in addition to fully understanding the ongoing wants and needs of their participants.

About This Book

This book is truly a how-to manual for planning and conducting all types of business meetings and events. It is a down-to-earth, step-by-step guide that takes the mystery out of the planning process. It covers all the vital ingredients needed for success. It takes you through the complex labyrinth of what seems like an endless stream of details in as simple and practical a format as possible. The book is packed full of hot tips, techniques, suggestions, and gems of wisdom for making each event a winner. My aim is to hear you say, after each chapter you read, “That’s easy. I can do that!”

The key to success in business meeting and event planning is being organized and detail-oriented. During the planning process, you encounter a countless number of specifics that demand your constant attention, and this book helps you stay on top of each one. It contains tons of practical advice for getting through the challenges you might face. It also shows you how to skillfully put together a well-designed and flawlessly orchestrated program, even on a shoestring budget, that will earn glowing reviews and make your boss proud … even if you are the boss!

I’ve organized the contents into distinct parts, and the chapters within each part cover specific topic areas in detail. Here’s what you’ll find and where you’ll find it:

• Part 1: Been to Any Good Meetings or Events Lately? In this part, I explore the vital components needed to manage an effective business meeting or event, together with the essential questions to ask before getting started. You find out about many different kinds of business meetings and events, including their design format and major characteristics. I guide you through the ABCs of meeting and event preparation by outlining, in Chapter 3, the necessary components for preparing a small business meeting so that it accomplishes the planned objectives, and then devoting Chapter 5 to planning larger events.
• Part 2: It’s All Show Business. This part covers everything you need to know to develop a business meeting or event that will earn you rave reviews. There’s a lot of nitty-gritty detail, but it’s all stuff you must know. You get the essential behind-the-scenes elements for your event planning, plus I highlight various ancillary meeting considerations. You discover the ins and outs of being an astute travel organizer so that you have happy participants arriving at your meeting or event. Possibly the best part of this section is the chapter that focuses on the basics of food and beverage planning and management. (Remember that the way to a participant’s heart is through their stomach.) I also address the importance of booking good speakers and presenters. It provides guidelines to avoid hiring duds, in addition to giving you information on room layouts and the technology that ensure a high-impact presentation.
• Part 3: No Guts, No Story. This part comes with a “not-to-be-missed” sticker — especially the first chapter, which deals with understanding the fine points of contract negotiations. Master these successfully, and you’ve completed a major portion of the meetings and events formula. In addition, this part helps you grasp some essential information on safety and security concerns and liability and insurance issues. With so many details to take care of, you often want some helping hands, so I dedicate a chapter to helping you find the right vendor to get the job done. However, you won’t manage anything without a realistic budget. I worked hard to make this as easy and palatable as possible, giving you detailed information on preparing a budget and loads of cost-cutting tips to help you get more for less.
• Part 4: Building Bridges with Technology. The title of this part says it all. The chapters in this part explain in simple terms many of the modern meeting alternatives, including conference calling, videoconferencing, webcasting, and other cool stuff. I take the mystery out of each option and outline the major pros and cons. In addition, you discover plenty of hot success strategy tips and techniques.
• Part 5: Exhibiting at Trade Shows. This part takes you into the world of exhibiting at trade shows. It’s highly comprehensive, giving you the must-knows about preshow, at-show, and postshow activities. You find out how to develop strategies that help you maximize exhibiting as a powerful marketing tool.
• Part 6: The Part of Tens. This part is made up of short chapters that highlight some of the basic themes that run through meeting and event planning. The chapters in this part examine meeting alternatives, offer tips on avoiding common meeting mistakes, and help you master negotiating tactics — all essential to becoming a super-successful meeting and event planner.

Finally, because I provide specific, detailed techniques and a blueprint for organizing your meetings and events that’s as easy as 1–2–3, I’ve created several checklists to help you remember all the necessary details; you can find them in the book’s appendix.

Foolish Assumptions

I’ve made a few assumptions about you as a reader, based on why you might have picked this book up and started reading it. Many people within a company or organization may find themselves responsible for planning one or many meetings and events, both large and small.

Generally speaking, if you’re an executive assistant, marketing communications specialist, public relations expert, solopreneur, or (of course) meeting and event planner, this book is most definitely for you. Or perhaps you are looking to use meetings and events to build your company image, bring people together to collaborate, or to educate them on new concepts, products, or services. This book will guide you through the process. Or you are already familiar with setting up live meetings and events but you want to explore the best practices for virtual and hybrid meetings, then this book is also for you! Business meetings and events are valuable tools for connecting with customers. For those looking to jump into the event planning industry, this book will help guide you to success.

Icons Used in This Book

For Dummies books use little pictures, called icons, to mark certain chunks of text that I’d like to call to your attention when you’re reading through the chapters. Keep your eyes peeled for them, as this is what they mean:

This icon marks the information you don’t want to forget.

This icon points to the tips I share that are based on my years of meeting and event planning. This way, you can learn from my experience to make your meeting or event run smoothly — while saving money and time, too.

Occasionally, I talk about matters that are a bit technical in nature. This icon lets you know that you can skip the information if you want only the basics.

This icon indicates an area of concern or offers a tip on how to avoid trouble.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the abundance of information and guidance related to business meetings and events planning that I provide in this book, you get access to even more help and information online at Dummies.com. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet. Just go to www.dummies.com and search for “Business Meeting & Event Planning For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”

Where to Go from Here

If you are new to this “meetings and events” thing, you may decide to start at the beginning and keep reading and flipping the pages until you reach the back cover, reading all of the chapters in the sequence presented!

If you are looking to improve the knowledge and experience you already have, you may only need a bit more insight here and there. For example, if you’re interested in hybrid meetings, flick through to Chapter 16. Or if trade show success is something you’ve always wanted to find out more about check out Part 5. And if you’re looking for an overview of business meetings...