Meetings have the capacity to be soul-crushing events or very lively, team-building exercises if they are properly planned. Meetings that are about creative problem solving can be broken up into two stages with a break in the middle.

The first stage is one where all ideas are accepted and negativity is simply not allowed. This promotes better idea sharing and creates a more open atmosphere that allows others to build off of ideas that may or may not be practical. The second meeting is one where negativity and even constructive criticism still need to take a back seat to the priority of choosing the most reasonable plan. Emotional investment in ideas should be distributed due to the very nature of the first meeting, and thus nobody should be championing a cause to further their own ends.

Another idea would be to give people special seats on corners when they are ‘idea’ people. The seats are honorary positions that change whenever a new idea comes up that is useful. Some meeting planners have special incentives ready for whoever spends the most time in one of these chairs, such as a covered parking spot for a period of time.

By following the aforementioned ideas and/or being a little creative, it is possible to create strong incentives without having to actually spend any money. Furthermore, productivity gains from smart meeting planning can be phenomenal and almost impossible to put a price tag on.

Although you are a meeting or event planner, that term really does not encompass everything you do. On the other hand, what you do is likely so specialized that you have placed your specialty in front of your general job description, like “Wedding Planner,” or “International Events Planner.” While this is a very common thing to do, understanding the market segment may not be so common–this understand, though, could help you expand your business into other areas of your segment.

For instance, if you are a wedding planner, your general area of influence is wide. The event is really a large celebration, so celebrations is more your all-encompassing job description even though you mostly plan weddings. This can help you in times like the last year, when weddings have taken a back seat to elopements due to the recession.

A wedding planner who did not take advantage of other kinds of needs over the last year has suffered greatly. Those who added cultural coming-of-age celebrations, graduation parties, and even political events fared well. Every segment of the meeting planning business can overlap into others; you can expand your knowledge and experience as well as your customer base in very short time.

So take a look at your market segment. An event planner can always expand her influence, and should in case of a downturn like we just had (and are still suffering through). Be out there, shake hands, open up your opportunities, and be prepared.