What Type of Planner Are You?
If you're reading this, you're probably considering a career as an event manager. You've probably given it a lot of thought, and know that you have what it takes to be able to plan meetings and events, weddings, trade shows, corporate outings, fundraisers, or non-profit events. The event industry is a large field to break into, so before you jump right in, be sure to give some thought to the type of planner you'd like to become.

Here are some basic questions you've probably already answered when deciding on becoming a planner:

-        Am I organized?

-        Do I have good time management skills?

-        Am I a good listener?

-        Am I detail-oriented?

-        Do I interact well with others?

If you answered yes, good news, you're on the right track. Event planners are able to manage their time and their events in a very organized fashion. They have to be good listeners, in order to respect their clients wishes, and carry out the dreams that they have in mind for their events. Without good listening skills along with an eye for detail, ideas for an event can be miscommunicated and lost. Last but not least, you must interact well with others. You will be dealing with clients, negotiating with event sites, and communicating with high ranking executives.
To be continued...

What Type of Planner Are You? II
Now that you know this is the field for you, what type of events do you want to plan? What types of events excite you? What would give you a sense of accomplishment? What do you have a passion for? There are two basic types of event managers, Corporate and Social.

Corporate Events:

Planning Corporate events may mean that you are part of a marketing or event team at a small or large company. It may include events such as conferences, meetings, trade shows, fundraisers, conventions, educational trainings, employee meetings, networking meetings, seminars, and more. Most corporate events have goals in mind whether it is to promote a new product, gain sales, or obtain new clients.

Social Events:

If you are responsible for planning social events, you may be planning weddings, various types of parties, celebrations, fundraisers, and more. Most social events do not have goals in mind like that of a Corporate event, but are usually organized to get family and friends together for celebrating milestones and special occasions.

Whichever path in the event planning field you choose, be sure that the job you choose is the best fit for your skills, experience, and career goals.

Event management selling point Part I
Just like when examining a tomato at a market place when shopping its also takes a recruiter about 20 seconds or less to get a first impression. That means you have to possess a clear, concise, and well-written resume that will also stand out among many others. knowing nigerians there are a ton of event management companies out there

Being prepared and organized is probably one of your best features as an event planner, so when it comes time to prepare for an interview, you're ready. If your resume needs a tune-up, or you're thinking about leaving a portfolio with the interviewer or like the popular phrase go, "what's your selling point", here's some things to consider.

Think about how you want to approach freshening up your resume. Does it need a complete facelift, where you would start from scratch? Or are you confident in the format you have now, and would you want to simply tweek and update a few things? However big of an overhaul you decide on.
If you're making minor adjustments, consider peeking at some samples of other event coordinator's resumes online. Perhaps you have a co-worker or colleague that wouldn't mind if you looked at theirs.
To be continued...

Event management selling point Part

-       List your past positions, but don't go too far back. If you were a baba ijebu ticketier in high school, you may want to leave that off the resume. Only keep the relevant jobs on there. 

-       Don't let the title speak for itself, briefly sum up each position.

-       Illustrate your use of time management, efficiency and productivity.

-       Define your achievements. List the largest event you've planned, including budgets.

-       Do you have special skills, such as email marketing? Social Media? List all of your technical skills in one spot, too. 

-       Think about your qualities that may stand out from other candidates, and be sure to include those on your resume and cover letter.

Now that you've got the resume polished, have you thought about creating a portfolio to leave with potential interviewers? Here are some things you can use to create a portfolio that really shows off your work:

- Copies of recent invitations, brochures, flyers

- Resume

- Cover letter

- Letters of recommendation (or print them out from LinkedIn/nairaland)

- Letters of recognition

- Copies of certificates, professional memberships, 

- Wedding planners - include photographs

Staying on Track with Your Event Budget


Last minute expenses, wanting to impress your customers and guests; your event budget can get out of hand much quicker than you thought. First things first: If you’ve held this same event before, look at your budget sheet from last year and compare. Where could you make changes? Here are six ways that can help you to stay on track with your event budget.

 

1.      Know your event. Is it a large gala, or a small gathering? This will determine your budget, and what you should and shouldn’t have. For example, you don’t want a 5-piece band playing at an event meant for a wedding or ball, if you’re only gathering 10 – 15 people together for a business meeting. Going overboard on these types of expenses can ruin your budget very quickly.

2.       Know your event. It bears repeating, but for a different reason. You must choose your location wisely, and this depends on what type of event your holding. Keep your location costs low by doing your research on event sites.

3.       Keep track of every expense. It cannot be stressed enough just how much the little things add up. Whether you made a last minute purchase of pens for all 400 guests, or you added in another screen rental, everything will play into your budget. Use an excel spreadsheet or other budgeting tool to help you see where you are with every kobo. Don’t forget about your miscellaneous expenses, those that seem to just appear on your final bill out of nowhere. For example: services fees, rental fees, omoniles(just kidding) etc.

4       Keep track of your income, if you have any. Perhaps you charge for certain vendor representatives to attend your event. Give them a deadline to get their money in to you, and keep track of who has and hasn’t paid. This will give you an idea of where you stand with your budget, in terms of when you need to pay your event bills. Again, use a budgeting tool for this.

55.      Be the only one in charge. Expenses can add up when there is too many “people untop one matter”. If you’re not the only one in charge of spending, someone else is bound to make a purchase or decision that can throw your budget off track very easily.

6.       Be flexible. Even though you’ve created a budget and are determined to stick to it, being flexible is also important. Don’t say no to something to add to the event last minute if you know it’s important, just because it doesn’t fit into the budget. When creating your budget, make room for flexibility.

The Power Of Feedback To Event planners
the importance of obtaining feedback from
customers was discussed. It is a crucial tool for
event planners especially, because it helps plan for
future events. It helps you know what to do next
time, what you did right this time, and what the
attendees really think of your events. After reading
"Ask For Feedback at Every Event", and now that you
know the right questions to ask, what exactly do you
do with all of that data? It's certainly no use if you
collected valuable information, and don't bother to
analyze it, so here's a few ideas. 1. Sort the data by
who gave it to you. While feedback should be mostly
anonymous, try gathering data that allows you to
sort by certain types of customers. Perhaps you can
do this based on how long they've been a customer,
if it was their first time attending the event. Sorting
this way may help you gain more insight to the
feedback they provided. 2. Don't get offended.
Nigerians can be comics sometimes and deliberately
make degrading comments on your form which can
easily turn you off , but don't get discouraged don't
write off any negative comments as "trolls" or "bad
belle". Remember that this information is very useful
to you in the long run. 3. Don't just pay attention to
what went wrong. Be sure to include a section that
gathers positive feedback too, so you know what
you're doing right. You may be thinking of changing
some aspect of the event, but you may not realize
that it's something your attendees appreciate. Ask a
question "what was the best part of the event?", or
"what makes you want to attend each year?" 4. Look
for trends. Use social media nairaland and co then
pay close attention to what everyone is saying and
"obey", if everyone says the event shouldn't be held
on a Monday, listen to them. 5. Use the data right
away. Nigerians react to trends too so don't just take
what you've learned about this one event and save
the changes for next year. Apply it immediately to
your next event, or event your own job. You may
find out something in the way you plan, and may
want to change something. Remember that feedback
is a great tool, so be sure to use it wisely, and as
often as you can (knowing that not everyone will fill
out the feedback survey) It can immensely help your
customer service experience at your company, and
make for a more positive impact at your events. Last
but not least, be sure to thank your attendees for
taking the time to give you feedback.

Live band services 07034618548/07081550561 22EADB9

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QUESTION:
I understand that gaining helpful feedback is a way of keeping customers however what next? What happens when I get the feedback? What do I do when I get complaints or feedback?

In nigeria, dealing with customer
complaints effectively is an
important skill, many nigerians ignore this skills or don't have it especially particularly if the
feedback comes in the middle of
a live event which causes them to
lose valued attendees as well as clients
forever. People seem to be too emotional when accepting feedback It seems to be
distressing when they receive
complaints – they expect the guests to realise
how hard they worked to avoid
For things to go on great or sometimes they feel like everything
is going great and
"Bad-belle" attendee may still voice a
complaint just to cause unnecessary problems. All these are relatable but you need to understand one thing “the
customer is always right.”
Whatever the circumstance of
the complaint you should struggle to respond to complaints and feedbacks, so how can
you turn a negative situation into
a positive?

Think Positively
Perhaps this sounds strange but
try to think of the complaint as a
gift. The attendee has taken time
to feed back to you so that you
have the opportunity to rectify it
for the complainant but also
potentially for others before the
situation escalates. In essence
you have been given a valuable
second chance to put this right.
Moreover if they didn’t bring this
to your attention they could have
just disappeared without saying
a word, which would have left
you no opportunity to put the
situation right and probably
having lost a customer forever,
without ever being any the wiser
about their dissatisfaction.
Stop Everything
This is a tricky one but the
person complaining wants to
have their say right away, they
need you to stop everything and
take note.
Anger will rise if you try to
dismiss or delay someone who
is primed to have their say.
Try to ensure that all workers know how to handle
complaints and that any junior workers know how
important it is to pass it over to
a Manager promptly and with
care.
At a live event you do of course
need to consider your location
and potentially minimise the
impact on the rest of the event
and other attendees. If you can
suggest a suitable and
convenient location close by to
discuss the scenario in private
this may be a wise move.
Listen
Make sure that you gather the
full facts of the situation before
jumping in. Give the attendee
the opportunity to vent their
anger and frustration as this
may help them to calm
down, as well as filling in the
gaps for you as to what has gone
wrong and the crux of why the
person in front of you is so
upset. The information you
gather here will help to ensure
you can suggest the best
possible solution and outcome.
Keep Calm
Like I said, it is natural to feel defensive
when listening to a complaint,
particularly if their facts are
wrong or unfounded, but try to
remember this isn’t a personal
attack on yourself and never
argue back.
If tensions are high you are
potentially not going to deal with
the situation with a clear head
so it may be best to suggest
some time out for both parties
to simmer down before
reconvening? Or perhaps you
need to escalate the situation on your workers instead? that's why they are there(just kidding)
Put Yourself in Their Shoes
Nobody really enjoys complaining and so going
back to the first point,
appreciate that the individual
has taken the time to give their
opinion to you and that this
probably isn’t easy for them.
Look at the whole situation from
their point of view and see it
through their eyes.
Ask Questions
Not to discredit the attendees claim but rather to prove that the attendee has your
full, undivided attention. Ask
questions to be sure that you
understand the full facts of the
situation and to get them to
clarify anything that is unclear.

Say Sorry
If the complaint is justified
ensure you give heartfelt
apologies to the attendee and let
them know that is not how
you like to do business/your
events to run.
If the complaint isn’t justified in
your opinion you should still
empathise with them, for
example “I am sorry that you
feel that way” or “I understand
how upset you must feel” or
simply “I can see that this must
be inconvenient for you.”
Inspiration
The person complaining truly
believes that you have done
something wrong so resist the
temptation to pass the blame.
The person complaining doesn’t
want to hear you passing the
buck, they want to hear what you
are going to do for them and it is
unprofessional to accuse others.
It is your event and therefore it
is your full responsibility if some
element has been
unsatisfactory.
To be continued

Agree Next Steps
Hopefully after gathering all of
the information you will have a
few ideas for how you can put
the situation right and you can
now share these with the
attendee to collect their
thoughts.
Sometimes it may be
appropriate to ask the person
directly how you can put the
situation right for them; “What
would be a fair solution?” “What
course of action do you want to
see?”
It is important that you jointly
agree what is a fair and suitable
next step to be taken.
Resolve the Situation
Once a course of action is
agreed make sure you move
swiftly to put things into place.
Ideally the person that has
heard the complaint will
personally take the necessary
action and remain the main
point of contact.
If for any reason the actions
taken are not immediate and will
take some time, ensure that you
keep the unhappy attendee
informed or the negative
feelings could escalate again.
Let the person who voiced the
complaint know what changes
and measures have been put in
place to ensure this doesn’t
happen again and to show how
seriously you took their
concerns.
For some it may be enough to be
heard and to receive an apology
and assurances. Only you can
judge the gravity of the situation
though and whether
compensation should be
offered.
Apply it in future
Make sure that all of the team
are aware of the complaint and
steps are taken to put things
right and avoid the same
mistake happening again in the
future. Be grateful for the early
warning sign and the chance you
have been given to rethink and
redesign for the future. The
most important lesson is to
learn from the error.
In Conclusion
If you deal with a complaint at
your event successfully you may
secure yourself a customer for
life and turn a negative
experience into a positive one.
Nearly all customers would
recommend a company to their
friends if a complaint had been
resolved efficiently.

QUESTION:

I recently organized and facilitated a seminar series
for a group of 50 people. At our last session each
person went to the front of the room to share their
accomplishments. As I listened to them I forgot
about the months of preparation, phone calls, late
nights and organization. What I was connected to was
a sense of pride and affection for each person who
had completed the program. I felt connected to my
attendees, I try to not be to forward with customers however how do I forge more connections with customers?

The answer is simple "fall in love with them" let me elaborate

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Events are hard work. They take a lot of planning,
organization, time, money and focus. Sometimes we
get so lost in the details that we forget about the
people. They become numbers on a spreadsheet or
name badges at a registration table. Yet, ultimately
what is most rewarding about planning events is
seeing the effect they have on the people who attend.
Everyone has had an experience of being at an event
where they felt like an outsider. If you treat your
attendees as ‘just another name badge’ they will leave
your event feeling deeply unsatisfied and unlikely to
return next year.
Whether you are planning a conference, a wedding, a
tournament, a seminar or a music festival it
really helps if you allow yourself to care about and,
yes, even fall in love with the people are coming.

Love Me Do

If you want your attendees to love your events then
you need to love them first. Professor Arthur Aron,
an expert in the psychology of love, says that we fall
in love with people who demonstrate that they are
attracted to us. Mutual attraction creates connection
and when we feel this connection we feel better
about ourselves.
At the best events, we have the experience of being
amongst friends. Each person is welcomed as an
individual and appreciated for the unique attributes
that they bring to the table. These types of events are
personal, friendly, intimate and engaging. These are
the kinds of events that we want to go back to time
and time again.

You’re The One That I Want

When looking for a relationship many people start
with a wish-list of desirable attributes. My friend
Lara is looking for a man who is funny, intelligent,
likes dogs and has his own teeth! Lara has a better
chance of finding the man of her dreams because
she is specific about what she wants.
Your starting point is to create a profile of your ideal
attendee. This profile will include aspects like their
age range, gender, what they are interested in, what
websites they visit and where they like to hang out.
The more detailed your attendee profile the better as
this will allow you to design an event that is the
perfect fit for them and will help you target your
marketing and social media outreach.

I Just Called to Say I Love You

One of the biggest influencing factors for falling in
love is repeated interactions. Repeated exposure
creates desire. Which means that the more times
someone comes across your event or brand the
more likely they are to be attracted to it.
Find as many ways as possible to connect with and
send love notes to your attendees. How you express
your love to your attendees is to give them content
and information that is valuable to them.
Thoughtfulness in your communications will go a
long way to creating a strong relationship.

You Can’t Hurry Love

Building a relationship with your attendees takes
time. Most people will not be hurrying to register for
your event on your first announcement. You need to
court your attendees to earn their love and attention.
To woo your attendees give them consistent attention
over time. Social media posts are the pheromones of
your event and you can use social media to create
desire. Your posts should be regular and consistent.
Keep in mind that being over-attentive can come
across as needy, so don’t post too often. Also, don’t
spend all of your time on social media talking about
yourself, as that is the fastest way to turn someone
off.

Love the One You’re With

It’s the day of your event. You’ve been up since the
crack of dawn getting everything ready to welcome
your guests. Then, the worst thing happens: only a
handful of people show up.
Sometimes the turn-out for your event is not what
you hoped or planned for. Perhaps it is so bad that
you are going to lose money or you might be worried
that you will lose face. These kinds of concerns can
get in the way of providing a great experience for
your attendees.
When your attendance is low, make sure your
attention is on the people who are there – not the
ones who didn’t show up. Put all your focus on
making sure they get value and that they all leave
raving about how great your event was.
Only You
Love, intimacy and connection does not happen just
by accident, it can be encouraged and cultivated.
Arthur Aron used a series of 36 questions to build
intimacy between strangers. His study suggests that
simply asking personal questions can lead to deep
connection between people.
Many of his questions could easily be adapted to
create intimacy and connection between your
attendees. Some of them could even be used as
research to create your event.
Here are examples of the kinds of questions that
create connection:
Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would
you like to meet?
Name three things you and your partner appear to
have in common.
For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
Tell your life story in as much detail as possible in 4
minutes.
If you could wake up tomorrow having gained a
quality or ability, what would it be?
Wild Thing
The best conditions for falling in love are when we
are already in a state of arousal, such as being at an
exciting performance or event. When our body and
minds are stimulated we are more easily attracted to
others.
This is good news for event professionals, as we are
experts at creating exciting events. Use music and
lighting to create atmosphere, quicken the heartbeat
and put your attendees in the mood for love.

You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling

As busy meeting professionals it is easy to get caught
up in the doing of events. We are so busy chasing
deadlines, putting out fires and multi-tasking that we
can lose our love and passion for what we are doing.
We may become burnt out, tired, stressed or can end
up just going-through-the-motions.
If you find that you have lost that lovin’ feeling, it may
be time to pause and make sure that you are giving
some love and attention to yourself. Or, you may
need someone to remind you of why you are
planning this event in the first place.
In Conclusion: The Power of Love
Love creates being attentive, generous, kind and
thoughtful. Love makes it natural to pay attention to
the details and to spend a little extra time taking care
of someone.
Most event professionals bring great passion and
love to their jobs and yet there is always room for
more love in the world. Where can you bring more
love to your events and what can you do to show
your attendees you care?

QUESTION:

Hello koboheights, i'm studying to be
a Professional event planner and i will like to ask, what is a check list and how do check lists work?

Pre-event checklists, day-of
agendas and post-event wrap
sheets are essential to the
success of events. So how can
you ensure your event checklists
are productive and beneficial to
you and your staff?
Often times this continuous
series of to-do lists can be
overwhelming and mundane,
but as an event managers, you should rely on checklists to assist you in your
planning process. As you should
know, events evolve during the
planning stages and every event
is different, so although you are
attempting to stay on task with
your checklists, sometimes
these lists become more trouble
than they’re worth.
Here are a few tips to set you on
the right track to start making
the most of your event
checklists:

Create Official Checklists

Event planners all have their own process in place for planning events and while they may not feel the need
to have formal checklists in
place, they can provide many
different benefits. Increased
organization, improved
productivity and better staff
communication can all be
attributed to a great checklist
system.
Before you start working on
your next event, sit down and
organize out everything you
need to do. Once you have a full
to-do list, categorize the tasks
and start a fresh formalized
event checklist. Although this
might sound like a tall task now,
it will pay great dividends in the
long run!
Ensure that your staff are aware
of the checklist and integrate it
into your planning routine.
Having well-presented and
organized documents makes
everyone’s job easier and keeps
your team on the same page
with what has been
accomplished and what still
needs attention.

Compare Your Checklists

There are hundreds of event
checklists on the web and,
although they may not be
tailored specifically for your
event, they can provide you with
a great starting point. Begin by
finding one that aligns well with
your type of event, such as a
wedding, corporate outing, or
charity fundraiser and expand
on it to further fit your needs.
You could also speak with your
event planning colleagues or
coworkers and compare notes.
You may already be a member
of an event planning association

where many other planners are
available and willing to help you.
You could make it a collective
effort and review each other’s
event documents. Collaborating
like this is a great way to build
your relationships in the
industry and expand your
knowledge as a planner. It is
always nice to have a fresh set of
eyes on any aspect of your
event. Taking a look at other
planners’ checklist can provide
you both with new ideas and
help you to remember
something you may have initially
left off of your list.

Proper Checklist Layout

When creating your checklist
make sure that you use a layout
that works well for you. Some
planners organize their lists by
category such as attendees,
BUDGET, venue, and
transportation, while others may
prefer to have the checklist in a
timeline format.
You can also integrate the two
by having your checklist sorted
by timeline, while also utilizing
tags or color codes to signify
specific categories. This will
allow you to see your list in
multiple views at a quick glance.
You will know where you stand
on your timeline and also what
categories may need additional
support or attention.

Assign Tasks To Your Checklist

You can easily use your
checklists to delegate tasks to
your staff. Beside each task,
include an assignment section
and write in the name of the
lead person. This provides
accountability for your staff and
gives them an added sense of
responsibility and ownership. In
addition, this provides you with
a big-picture look at how many
staff members you may need
and how much everyone has on
his or her plate.
You can also make this a fun and
interactive process for your staff
by rewarding them as tasks are
accomplished. Small bonuses
such as special
recognition etc can go a long way in
keeping your staff motivated and
dedicated to your event!
Assigning tasks will also give you
the opportunity to decide WHICH
TASKS CAN BE DELEGATED and
which tasks must be completed
by you as the lead planner.
Letting go of certain tasks can be
a challenge, but when you see
everything on your checklist you
will have a clear picture of how
much needs to be accomplished.
Assign yourself to the priority
tasks and delegate the
supplementary items.

Planning

As each event progresses, you
should add to your checklist and
continue building upon your
system. You will gather more
items as each event is
completed and your checklist
will grow into an essential part
of your planning process.
Following your events you may
hold a recap meeting to review
your successes and possible
areas of improvement. During
this event review, be sure to not
only look at what occurred
during your event, but also take
time to evaluate your planning
process and checklist system. Be
sure to look at what went well
and what can be improved in the
future. With each event, your
checklists will become more
helpful and integral to you and
your team.

In Conclusion

Checklists can become
overwhelming if you don’t take
the time to organize and prepare
them. Starting out on the right
foot with your event checklist
will set the tone for your
planning process and drive your
productivity.
In the end, you will become
more efficient as an event
planner and your events will
improve, because you have an
organized and focused process.
This extra bit of organization
provides for less wasted time
and more energy to focus on
making your events EXCITING
AND ENJOYABLE FOR YOUR
ATTENDEES!

QUESTION:

Hi my name is debbie, and i'm an aspiring event planner but i don't want to blend into the countless bodies of wedding planners and office function planners i was wondering what other unique type of event planner can i be?

How To Stand Out As An Event Planner

Well it's good to stand out from the crowd although i would suggest at your level you make a little compromise and handle some of the generic events you mentioned this could help you understand the industry and train you for the bigger jobs.
However,the big ticket items in event management are exhibitions.
How does it work
- You familiarize yourself with tradeshows and grand exposition events
- You meet firms and interest them in displaying their products and services in these events
-Then convince them to make you the contractor to manage their exhibition
- You make quotations,hire the staff, Pick the designs and add other creative ideas to the list to make your exhibition a success

While being an exhibitor can be quite fulfilling, it can also be quite tricky even the most professional of event planners fail when it comes to holding exhibitions
Time and time again I witness exhibitors
making these same common mistakes at
exhibitions, perhaps you may learn a thing or two from here

1.Not Reading the Exhibitor Manual

Ensure you read and digest every piece of
information the exhibition organiser sends to
you. Don’t just presume that everything will
be provided – check the specifics. Likewise
ensure that you return all the paperwork by
the deadline to help ensure a positive
streamlined exhibiting process and avoid last
minute panic and unnecessary stress.

2. Not Thinking About Your Objectives

How can you know if exhibiting has been
successful for you and the return on your
investment unless you know what you want
to achieve and plan accordingly for this
beforehand? What are your reasons for
exhibiting at the show? How many leads are
you looking to achieve? How can you quantify
the resulting business?

3.Being Shy

Choose confident friendly staff that are happy
talking to strangers and comfortable
‘interrupting’ people passing by in a cheerful,
friendly manner. These staff are representing
your brand so warm people skills are essential
to ensure a lasting impression for all the right
reasons.

4. Your Exhibition Booth Doesn’t
Communicate Clearly What You Do

Think carefully about your stand design and
graphics to ensure it effectively
communicates what you do. Always presume
that people have no prior knowledge of your
company. Pictures really do tell ‘a thousand
words and so ensure your graphics clearly
illustrate your offering.
Get into the mind-set of the consumer. How
does your product or service make their life
easier/simpler/more pleasurable? What
problems can you solve for them? What are
the key features and USPs? Is this information
communicated through your exhibition
booth?

5. Not Making an Effort or Giving Enough
Thought to your Presence

On the busy exhibition floor it is vital that you
make a good first impression (many say
within 7 seconds) and encourage people to
pause, engage with you and cross that
threshold.
Why should people visit your stand? If you
have a lot of money to invest in your stand
this can definitely be money well spent but
even if you are working on a shoestring
budget there are lots of simple inviting
touches which can make a difference such as
offering refreshments or small-chops on your
stand, running a fun competition and
theming your stand.

To be continued...

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QUESTION:

Hi my name is debbie, and i'm an aspiring
event planner but i don't want to blend into
the countless bodies of wedding planners
and office function planners i was wondering
what other unique type of event planner can
i be?

6. Acting Disinterested

No matter how long the day has been
exhibition staff should smile and make eye contact at all times. I expect to see staff on their feet, engaging with visitors to the show.
If you are on your mobile phone, sitting down, yawning, eating, looking grumpy, have your back to the walkway, etc, etc I may simply
walk right on by!

7. Having Too Few Staff
It can be difficult to judge how many staff you
need at a show, however people will only wait
a limited amount of time to speak to someone
before they move on and potentially won’t ever call back to your stand so it is important to have plenty of staff available to ensure
every lead is captured and likewise that your
staff can take regular breaks to eat, drink,
check their phones and rest their weary feet
and voices!

8. Having Too Many Staff

On the other hand it can also be off putting and overwhelming to have too many staff at stand clamouring for your attention, Monitor
the balance.

9. Staff Who Know Nothing about Your Product or Company
I have visited stands before and asked the simplest of questions to be told “I have no idea I am just helping out” with no other staff
on hand to assist. Following on from this I was also once told to “look at the website and
contact the company directly if I want more
information.” Charming!
Ensure all staff representing your company are fully briefed and armed with all the key information. Even if they are experienced current employees you should ensure they are prepared with a coherent message and approach. Hiring promotional staff may be
inevitable but realise how damaging it can be to have the wrong or no information available
to give to a visitor and ensure it doesn’t happen EVER!
Allow plenty of time for briefing and questions
of casual staff and enable less knowledgeable
staff to shadow senior staff until they learn
the ropes. Make sure staff are confident how
to deal or pass on detailed enquiries/any
questions they can’t answer efficiently on a
busy exhibition stand.

10. Not Perfecting your Elevator Pitch
You will need to explain your company and products/services countless times during the show so make sure you can explain succinctly and effectively. Practice and perfect this
before the show rather than learning how to pitch on real live customers as you go along!
11. Not Listening
Ask some key questions and really listen to
your customer to best understand how you
can help them. Talk to them, not at them!
12. Not Having Information to Take Away
Many people will not want information
overload however some will request simple or
detailed literature to take away with them
from the show. Ensure you can provide for
both requirements. Think about if your stand
becomes so busy that the team can’t
physically talk to everyone.
At least if you can hand out some brief
information you have a chance that the
individual will keep hold of the information
and engage with you at a later date or
perhaps even venture back to your booth
later in the show if they think it is worth their
while.
13. Being Cagey about Pricing
Be prepared to answer questions about price
and be upfront. Even if you offer a bespoke
service find some way to quantify this and
give an idea of minimum and maximum
costings on the spot, with the offer of a more
detailed proposal to follow. Without being
willing to talk frankly about figures you could
both be wasting each other’s time and
missing out on more suitable leads passing
you by.
14. Taking Forever to Record Leads
Exhibitions are exciting and I want to ensure I
make the most of it. If I agree to share my
data with you please ensure that you do this
quickly and efficiently, ideally through
scanning my badge and quickly taking brief
details about what I need more information
on.
Asking me to complete a form myself or
laboriously watch you complete a handwritten
form is not acceptable in this day and age,
particularly if there are a million and one
questions! It is in your best interest to
capture and qualify the lead painlessly so that
you can move onto the next visitor too.
In my opinion if you commit to exhibiting an
effective way of capturing leads is an essential
part of the investment you make.

15. Spamming
I will let you into a secret; I purposefully have
two sets of business cards with two different
email addresses listed purely because of the
amount of spam emails received before and
after exhibitions. When registering for an
exhibition and on the show floor I use cards
with a general email address.
A very privileged few receive business cards
with my direct primary email account.
Perhaps it is sad that I do this but believe me
my inbox is bursting at the seams already
without the hundreds of spam emails often
sent through from larger shows. This drives
me up the wall!
It is also a real lost opportunity as you will lose
my attention or be confined to the spam
folder forever if you persist with uninspiring
email content and/or add me to your email list
without expressly gaining my permission!
16. Exhibitors Commandeering the Time of Other Exhibitors

It can be exciting to meet up with industry
colleagues and suppliers at an exhibition but
please talk to them at the bar at the end of
the day, don’t steal their time and attention
while the show doors are open to visitors.
Even at quieter times respect that this is
strictly time for business. Don’t deny yourself
or others a potential lead walking away whilst
you are gossiping to your peers.

17. Uninspiring Tweets
Just because you continually tell people to come and visit your stand using the
exhibition hashtag that doesn’t mean it will happen! Give your social media messages some thought, tantalise people with a reason
to make a visit and have online conversations, don’t just broadcast to them! Use pictures
and video to full effect and to maximise
engagement.

18. Badmouthing Competitors
Focus on your own selling points and be
professional at all times. I don’t want to hear
your assassination of a competitor or rival
product. I will make up my own mind thank
you very much!

19. Packing Up Early
As an exhibitor you are generally expressly
forbidden from packing up your stand early
and surely should commit to milking every
last minute of your presence at the show you
have invested in. Packing up isn’t just a
potential health and safety issue but it
reflects terribly on your organisation and also
the show organisers.
Leaving a few brochures spread out for
people to take does not make up for human
interaction and if you have left the exhibition
early the opportunity to secure my business is
potentially gone forever.

20. Not Following Up Leads Post Event

You may have heard the shocking statistics
that 75% of leads are not followed up AFTER
THE EXHIBITION. Live events change minds
as outlined in these stats from FACETIME so
this is really frustrating to hear and such a wasted opportunity!
However please also take heed of point 15 and do not under any circumstances

In Conclusion

Exhibitions are a great way to meet face to face with organisations you are interested in doing business with. For me it isn’t necessarily the most impressive stand build and design that captures my attention and business, it is those exhibitors that avoid
these mistakes and perfect the basics of exhibiting and engagement that stand out.




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