If you have your own planning business and have suffered over the summer, you’re in good company. Almost every business has reported less business. Even though things are picking up for most people at least to a small degree, things may have changed permanently for planners. You might have to change your methods, advertising, and even your day-to-day business activities to stay lean but productive.

However, one of the best things you can do for yourself–and your clients–is stay positive. Of course you have heard that all summer long. But there is a reason for this you may not have heard from anyone else. Besides keeping yourself emotionally and mentally healthy, it helps you keep your customers. Read the rest of this entry »

The answer: You have to know who your end user is–for writers it’s the reader and for planners it’s your traveler, not the CEO who requests the trip.

Although this is easier said than done in some cases, it is a critical step to successful incentive planning. Although many planners just cover this by offering choices, there may be a time when you can’t do that for any number of reasons. Here are some ways to get to know your travelers.

The best way to understand those for whom you will be planning this trip is just to ask. Today it seems people don’t like to do this. The world in general gets more like a jungle every day, where survival of the fittest sometimes means just looking like you’re the fittest. Is it any wonder people are not willing to ask questions when not knowing is sometimes viewed as a sign of weakness? Read the rest of this entry »

There has been a lot of talk of government restrictions on corporate travel. Frivolous expenditures in other departments has brought meeting travel under scrutiny. However, if planners study the guidelines and make the government a partner instead of an adversary, they can make the recession work in their favor.

First, Look at the Bright Side

No one likes a perennial Pollyanna, but if you look at the positive things the guidelines will do it can help you work your way into a special place in the companies you serve. It will make you a better planner. When you talk to your clients your voice will have a new spirit of confidence. You will have ready solution for their problems. You will be able to give them more value. Read the rest of this entry »

Any planner who wants to specialize in green meetings has some research to do. There are so many ways to “go green” it’s difficult to keep track of them all long enough to decide which ones will apply in each situation. However, there are some basics that can help you keep your ideas organized and give you a way to build a large file on green meetings–paperless, of course.

First, let’s divide ideas into four categories. The three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), automation, waste impact, and community impact. You can easily reduce waste by requiring advertisers to offer reusable items, like water bottles, grocery sized canvas bags, reusable coffee mugs with lids, etc. This will reduce the use of throw-away plastic bottles and cardboard cups. Ask that the materials used are made from post-consumer waste, and this should also go for any printed material (which will also be recycled locally). You can also request that handouts be delivered electronically as well, or provided on portable digital media. Read the rest of this entry »