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Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Lead acquisition is the primary reason most companies invest in exhibit marketing. But what happens to those leads once they're acquired? And what percentage of those prospects ultimately become customers? To help you benchmark your efforts and improve your organization's management of these critical assets, here are eight tips – all based on hard data – to improve lead follow-up and ultimately increase your conversion rates.
Follow up on leads within two days of a trade show.
According to the 2014 Lead Response Report from InsideSales.com, between 35 and 50 percent of sales ultimately go to the vendor that responds first. And data from EXHIBITOR Magazine's 2015 Sales Lead Survey indicates that 62 percent of exhibiting leads are contacted within five days. So if you hope to be among the first companies to contact prospects, you may want to reach out within 24 to 48 hours of the show, as only 22 percent of exhibitors respond within that time frame.
Time your post-show communications correctly.
InsightSquared (a Salesforce.com Inc. company) claims that emails sent before noon are almost two times more likely to get opened than those sent in the afternoon – and more than four times more likely than those sent at night. Also, most sources report that emails sent in the middle of the week have the highest open rates. (It's worth noting that others argue Saturday and Sunday are good days because most marketers send their e-blasts during the workweek, creating increased competition for recipients' attention.)
A 2015 VentureBeat Insight Report, which surveyed 257 email marketers, determined that incorporating some form of personalization results in increased click-thru rates. So if you're among the 52 percent of exhibitors who follow up on leads via email, then, consider a personalized missive sent on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning. However, if you're among the 33 percent of companies who respond to trade show leads by phone, heed the advice of James Oldroyd, Ph.D., visiting research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who compiled three years of data and determined it's best to contact prospects via phone on Wednesday or Thursday.
Only pass along qualified leads to your sales reps.
Spending time hopelessly pursuing dead-end leads is a roadblock in itself. Yet the 2015 Sales Lead Survey found that 69 percent of face-to-face marketers pass along all leads to sales without first vetting them to determine whether or not they're qualified. But according to Gleanster LLC, only a quarter of marketing leads, on average, are actually qualified.
So instead of dumping every lead form and routing each badge scan, consider sending your sales reps only the leads that meet certain criteria, allowing them to focus their energy on the prospects most likely to purchase. To help you quickly and efficiently vet leads, establish a lead scoring or ranking system in tandem with your sales reps and prioritize the criteria most important to them, such as budget, purchasing authority and buying time frame.
Establish a three-touch minimum for all trade show leads.
Data from SiriusDecisions Inc. shows that the average salesperson only makes two attempts to reach a prospect before giving up. But according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 54 percent of sales made with a trade show lead require three or fewer calls to close. (Meanwhile, 61 percent of sales initiating from sources other than trade shows require more than three sales calls.) So it would behoove your firm to establish a three-touch minimum expectation for leads sourced at exhibitions and other events.
Nurture leads through ongoing communication.
According to the 2015 Lead Nurturing Benchmark Study, nurtured leads tend to produce a 10- to 20-percent increase in sales opportunities versus leads that are discarded if they do not convert within a specified time frame. Furthermore, Forrester Research Inc. found companies that nurture leads make 50 percent more sales at a cost that's 33 percent less than leads that are not nurtured.
Still, according to the 2015 Sales Lead Survey, only 16 percent of companies nurture prospects indefinitely or until they become clients. Consider adding all show-related prospects to a database for regular follow-ups so that when those buyers are ready to make a purchase, your brand is still top of mind.
Automate your organization's lead management.
Research from Gartner Inc. claims companies that automate lead management see a 10-percent or greater increase in revenue within six to nine months. What's more, Carlos Hidalgo of The Annuitas Group claims businesses using marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451-percent increase in qualified leads. So if you're not automating your lead-management and nurturing processes, try investing in a customer relationship management system that offers those features.
Ask current clients for referrals.
A 2015 report from Influitive Corp. titled "What You Should Know About B2B Referrals (But Probably Don't)" claimed that based on surveys conducted with more than 600 business-to- business sales professionals, leads referred by current clients have higher conversion rates, take less time to close, and represent a higher lifetime value than leads sourced via other means.
Still, fewer than 30 percent of B2B firms have a formalized referral program in place – and according to a statistic from Dale Carnegie and Associates Inc., only 11 percent of salespeople ask for referrals in the first place. This is troubling, considering research from The Nielsen Co. found that customers are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.
Bottom line: Making it standard practice to ask current clients who they might be willing to refer during at-show meetings or in-booth surveys is likely to generate heightened returns,as it allows sales reps to open communications by dropping a name that may make new prospects stop and take notice.
Send direct mailers instead of emails.
Data from the 2015 Sales Lead Survey indicates only 5 percent of companies follow up with promising trade show leads via direct mailers, versus 52 percent who follow up via email.
As such, you may be better served by eschewing email and employing a post-show direct mailer – or even a handwritten note. In fact, the Direct Marketing Association's 2015 Response Rate Report found that direct mail achieves a 3.7-percent response rate when sent to a pool of recipients from a preexisting, internal house list, and a 1-percent response rate when sent to recipients on a new-prospects list. That compares favorably to a .1-percent response rate for emails sent to either pool.
Source: ExhibitorOnline
Need help with converting your leads? Get in touch with us at info [@]bestevents-asia.com
Improve Lead Management After your Trade Show
Lead acquisition is the primary reason most companies invest in exhibit marketing. But what happens to those leads once they're ac...
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
A critical step in the event planning process is to evaluate and prepare for potential security incidents. Event coordinators are skilled in taking every detail into consideration, with one exception--safety.
Often emergency situations are left out of the planning process. Security is a necessity that should never be over looked. Oftentimes event management professionals put the emphasis is on the decor, food, lighting, speakers and visual details--however overall safety is often disregarded.
Location, Location, Location
It’s one of the first decisions a meeting organizer makes, and potentially the most important. You likely have plenty of options, from your home city to another country and everywhere in between. Regardless of where you go, the security of the venue and the training of the staff should be your top concerns. Look for a venue that has any physical security you might need, such as fences or walls around the perimeter. After that, determine how comfortable you feel with the security staff. Ask questions.
“Who’s your contact? What’s their plan? They won’t show you the whole plan, and they shouldn’t,” Bob Mellinger, owner of Attainium says. “On the other hand, they shouldn’t just say, ‘Trust us, we have a plan.’ If you’re not comfortable with their answers, I would not go there.”
Depending on the sensitivity of your event, you might even make some more formal requests, Alan Kleinfeld, an event professional says.
“Put in a clause about the hotel providing an emergency evacuation plan or a security liaison,” he says. “All they can do is say no.”
Mac Segal, head of hotel and site security consulting at AS Solution advises choosing a venue with conference doors that can lock from the inside in case you need to keep someone out. Even for smaller, low-profile events, Segal suggests considering only venues that have their own security department, good alternative exits, tight access control and emergency response protocols already in place. He says it’s wise to prepare a security questionnaire outlining your requirements and send that to potential locations before choosing.
If you’ve chosen a venue but don’t feel totally comfortable with the security staff, Kleinfeld suggests hiring off-duty police officers or, at a minimum, notifying local law enforcement of your event.
“If a planner calls the police and says, ‘We will have 600 attendees and want to work with you to keep our people safe,’ most police departments will say, ‘Thanks for being proactive, and let us know how we can help,’” he says.
If the venue already has a relationship with local law enforcement, so much the better.
“For large-scale events like conventions, we work closely with hotels and they give us a heads up,” says Ashley Savage, public information officer at the Arlington County Police Department in Virginia. “We make sure that our patrol staff is aware and we have the resources available should we be needed.”
Plan for communication
After physical safety, the single most important concern in a violent situation and its aftermath is communication. Some things to consider:
- How will you communicate with staff? Via text? Does everyone have everyone else’s number stored in their phones?
- Where will you meet once it’s safe to do so? Where is your “command center?”
- Who’s in charge? When the venue or media asks to speak to the person in charge, is that the CEO? The head meeting planner? A media affairs professional? “That has to be figured out, because the wrong people giving the wrong message can create a secondary crisis,” Mellinger says.
- How will you communicate with attendees and their guests? Do you have emergency contact info for everyone?
- Who is your point of contact on the venue staff?
- How will you deal with injuries?
- How does this plan differ for the various incidents that could take place? Riots and shooters aren’t the only concerns; there are bombs, biological threats, suspicious packages and more.
Invest in training
Segal suggests that venues train all staff, from housekeeping to the general manager. Meeting professionals also need training, but it needs to be in the right areas. While everyone should be briefed on how to handle an active-shooter situation, for example, the focus of their training should not be on skills such as hand-to-hand combat or target shooting. Instead, invest in awareness and preparedness training. Those are the tools that will help your staff keep its cool when everything goes wrong.
“Good training would be things like how to stay calm in a crisis, and how not to faint at the sight of blood. Also, what are the first steps you take when you hear a shooting? Do you call 9-9-9? Tell the hotel? Find your CEO?” Kleinfeld says. “Meeting planners are good in a crisis in general, and if they just know what steps to take, they’d be able to take them fairly calmly.”
Act accordingly
Once you have a plan and adequate training, you should hope you’ll never need to use them. But if you do, act calmly. Your fight-or-flight instinct will kick in, and your rational brain will need to override it.
“The kneejerk reaction to run is not always the best idea,” Segal says. “Only run if you’re certain the place you’re running to is safer than the place you already are. If I’m in the conference room and I hear shots fired in the hotel, I should probably not run. I should lock the door, stay away from the windows and stay close to the floor. If I run into the lobby, I may run straight into trouble.”
Fight only as a last resort. In that case, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends acting aggressively against a shooter, for instance, using improvised weapons and yelling. If you do any of those things, only do so with absolute conviction.
A plan is insurance
Mellinger, whose company trains between 3,000 and 5,000 people each year—many of those meeting professionals—says he’s happy to see that more and more planners are spending time planning for disaster. In the past, when he asked training attendees whether they had contingency plans, only about 10 percent did. Today, he says, it’s about 50 percent. Whether that’s because of the prevalence of active-shooter situations that seem to frequently dominate news headlines or high-profile terrorist attacks around the world, Mellinger says people are finally starting to internalize what’s at stake.
Unfortunately, some of the people in his trainings say they finally developed contingency plans because they were previously caught without one when they needed it. He advises meeting organizers to not learn the hard way.
“Now, you can’t say you didn’t know. You’re on the hook,” he says. “If you’re responsible for a meeting, whether you’re the CEO or the meeting planner, you’ll all be held accountable. Do you want to be able to say you did your best? That you planned and did some training? Or that you just said, ‘Probably will never happen to us?’”
Train yourself
Terms and resources to help your staff prepare for outbreaks of violence
EAP: Emergency Action Plan
Active Shooter: An individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.
Neutralized: A perpetrator or threat that has been disarmed or rendered harmless.
Shelter in Place: Staying in a small interior room with no or few windows and taking refuge there.
Lockdown: A situation in which no one is allowed to exit or enter buildings near a threat area.
All Clear: A signal, usually from law enforcement, that danger has passed.
To enroll your staff in our Crisis Management Programs, kindly contact us at info@bestevents-asia.com
Are your Events Safe?
A critical step in the event planning process is to evaluate and prepare for potential security incidents. Event coordinators are skilled...
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Savvy planners know that what takes place before, after, and in-between conference sessions can be just as valuable for attendees as the content itself. Clever, unexpected activities can make the experience more interesting for guests—and keep them talking about it long after the program ends. Here’s a look at six inventive activity ideas from a variety of conferences.
Relate is a new conference series from software company Zendesk that is focused on exploring relationships and customer service. To tie to that theme, organizers offered a thank-you note station at the May event in San Francisco. The company’s in-house creative team designed witty cards and invited attendees to personalize them with a hand-written note expressing their appreciation to their colleagues. More than 300 cards were stamped and then mailed by Zendesk staff, and attendees took home an additional 1,000 cards and envelopes.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendesk
At C2 Montréal in May, attendees stepped inside the “Channel” experience, where they could grab one of the phone receivers and have a conversation with another guest in the room. Organizers say the activity was intended to explore what it takes “to truly hear and be heard in our modern, hyper-connected world.” After the conversation, participants moved into a debriefing space to discuss the connection between the experience and their work.
Photo: Agnieszka Stalkoper
At Zendesk’s Relate conference, which took place in Sydney in July, the company created coloring books as a playful look at the complex relationships businesses and customers experience. Each illustration depicted two opposite forces—such as sun and moon, sea and space, etc.—along with a poem or joke that further explored those relationships. Attendees could color the books using colored pencils provided on tables around the event, and they also received a coloring book to take home in the conference gift bag.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendesk
A picnic combines an alternative to traditional meal service with a networking activity. And when held indoors, a picnic can take place year-round. Organizers of the TED Conference, which was held in Vancouver in February, provided blankets and baskets filled with food for six people and invited attendees to find others to share it inside the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Photo: Ryan Lash/TED
With hundreds, or even thousands, of people in attendance at most conferences, it becomes an ideal opportunity to attempt to set a Guinness World Record title. The attempt creates buzz even if it fails. At the National Federation of the Blind’s 2015 conference in Orlando, 2,480 attendees participated in a successful Guinness World Record title attempt for the largest umbrella mosaic. The open umbrellas created the image of the organization’s logo and tagline, “Live the life you want.” The stunt was part of the association’s 75th anniversary celebration.
Photo: Courtesy of National Federation of the Blind
Source: BizBash
Relate is a new conference series from software company Zendesk that is focused on exploring relationships and customer service. To tie to that theme, organizers offered a thank-you note station at the May event in San Francisco. The company’s in-house creative team designed witty cards and invited attendees to personalize them with a hand-written note expressing their appreciation to their colleagues. More than 300 cards were stamped and then mailed by Zendesk staff, and attendees took home an additional 1,000 cards and envelopes.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendesk
At C2 Montréal in May, attendees stepped inside the “Channel” experience, where they could grab one of the phone receivers and have a conversation with another guest in the room. Organizers say the activity was intended to explore what it takes “to truly hear and be heard in our modern, hyper-connected world.” After the conversation, participants moved into a debriefing space to discuss the connection between the experience and their work.
Photo: Agnieszka Stalkoper
At Zendesk’s Relate conference, which took place in Sydney in July, the company created coloring books as a playful look at the complex relationships businesses and customers experience. Each illustration depicted two opposite forces—such as sun and moon, sea and space, etc.—along with a poem or joke that further explored those relationships. Attendees could color the books using colored pencils provided on tables around the event, and they also received a coloring book to take home in the conference gift bag.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendesk
A picnic combines an alternative to traditional meal service with a networking activity. And when held indoors, a picnic can take place year-round. Organizers of the TED Conference, which was held in Vancouver in February, provided blankets and baskets filled with food for six people and invited attendees to find others to share it inside the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Photo: Ryan Lash/TED
With hundreds, or even thousands, of people in attendance at most conferences, it becomes an ideal opportunity to attempt to set a Guinness World Record title. The attempt creates buzz even if it fails. At the National Federation of the Blind’s 2015 conference in Orlando, 2,480 attendees participated in a successful Guinness World Record title attempt for the largest umbrella mosaic. The open umbrellas created the image of the organization’s logo and tagline, “Live the life you want.” The stunt was part of the association’s 75th anniversary celebration.
Photo: Courtesy of National Federation of the Blind
Source: BizBash
Steal These Creative Ideas for Conference Activities
Savvy planners know that what takes place before, after, and in-between conference sessions can be just as valuable for attendees as the co...
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Your company year-end function is as important, if not more so, than the other company events you host throughout the year. Proper planning will ensure that the expectations of your number one asset – your employees – are met.
Step 1: Get management buy-in to the arrangements – this includes the objective, theme and budget.
Step 2: Plan the theme and entertainment around the agreed objectives.
Step 3: Decide on personnel demographic seating arrangements – a seating plan is vital to breaking down any barriers within the company and must be conducive to easy dialogue and interaction.
Step 4: Timelines – At the very latest, the first three rules should have been agreed by mid-year. If this hasn't been done, start now!
Step 5: Venue selection – The theme, entertainment, demographics, capacity of the gathering as well as transport and parking arrangements must be taken into consideration when selecting a venue. Hotels tend to be fully booked from October to December. You might want to consider alternative venues such as restaurants and clubs and work around themes that suit these venues.
Step 6: Invitations, acknowledgement and reward – Make the invitations fun and indicate that the presence of the employee at the function will be important to the employer, and that the event is a reward and acknowledgement. Printing and writing their names on the card might be time-consuming so sending e-cards or even asking them to register via eventbrite are possible options.
Step 7: Budget considerations – Although a budget is usually allocated at the very outset and line items added along the way, it should be regularly updated in order to ensure that any adjustments are taken into account.
Step 8: Admin assistance – Ensure that there is admin backup. Prior to the function, internal personnel should be utilised in the planning, but on the day of the function ensure that company employees invited to the function are not expected to coordinate and organise on-site. This is when the Event Manager who they've been liaising with all this while comes into full force.
Step 9: Control and monitoring – Keep one person accountable for all impromptu decisions that has to be made. This person should be the only one updating the Event Manager on any changes.
Step 10: Enjoy the party!
Have you invited your guests to the Gala Dinner?
Your company year-end function is as important, if not more so, than the other company events you host throughout the year. Proper plannin...
Monday, September 5, 2016
As the Zika virus continues to spread, here are five ways that event planners and others in the hospitality industry can take steps to keep their businesses on track.
As the Zika virus spreads, its effects can be seen at mega events—where some journalists, and spectators have stayed away—to tropical weddings and corporate events.
As of September 1st, 2016, the Zika virus appears to be spreading rapidly in Singapore, with 115 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, according to government officials. At least one pregnant woman is among them.
And a woman from Malaysia who had recently been in Singapore has tested positive for the infection, Singapore's health minister announced Thursday.
On Saturday, Malaysian authorities said they had detected the first local infection: a 61-year-old man in the city of Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian part of Borneo island.
"The confirmation of the second case of Zika in Kota Kinabalu suggests that the virus is already present within our communities," Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said.
"Zika is present in our country. New cases will continue to emerge," he posted on his Facebook page.
The issue needs to be front-of-mind for event planners, and not just those based in affected areas, says Chris Weinberg, C.E.O. and founder of Miami-based Chris Weinberg Events. “It's a global issue,” she says. “There's a way for our industry to combat it in a calm and educated way. Be prepared for anything at any moment's notice.”
Here are five tips for event planners when planning events that could be affected by the outbreak.
1. Educate clients.
In Puerto Rico, where the epidemic has pushed the U.S. government to declare a public health emergency, the industry has confronted the situation proactively. Meet Puerto Rico, which promotes the destination for meetings, conventions, trade shows, and incentive groups, is addressing the issue with prospective clients.“When the Zika situation hit, we immediately put into action a strong meeting professional/attendee-centered strategy that included a fact-driven education and communication program addressing the concerns of our clients,” says Meet Puerto Rico president and C.E.O. Milton Segarra. “We listened to them and provided the most accurate and up-to-date information on Puerto Rico concerning Zika, and it paid off. As a result, our clients trusted us, our team in the field, and our members.”
Instead of avoiding the topic, Meet Puerto Rico distributed Q&As with facts from official health organizations and offered real-time testimonials from clients who hosted events in Puerto Rico in the midst of the outbreak. The organization has reported a 7 percent increase in meetings and conventions business booked for June to August, compared to the same time period in 2015. Since March, it has added 57 new bookings, such as conferences and other events, that will take place through 2017.
In Malaysia and Singapore, it is not uncommon for citizens from both sides to attend or organize events in each others countries.
2. Provide incentives.
Hotels in Miami, which typically have a drop in business during the summer, are offering incentives that extend to the fall, such as discounts on hotel services, free overnight stays, and complimentary valet parking. On Saturday, the monthly Wynwood Art Walk festival took place for the first time since the Wynwood Yard area was shut down from August 2 to August 10 for pesticide spraying. According to the Miami Herald, the event had a “bustling” turnout of local residents and tourists. Businesses in the area received a significant boost because of a “Love for Locals” campaign, which had more than 25 Wynwood businesses—including Wynwood Diner, Coyo Taco, and Zak the Baker—giving discounts or freebies.The issue needs to be front-of-mind for event planners, and not just those based in affected areas.
3. Get legal protection.
Contracts with venues, suppliers, and others should address the Zika virus. Cancellations, refund policies, and other considerations should be addressed beforehand. Venues and event planners are still sorting out whether a force majeure clause in contracts would apply to Zika concerns. The answer could depend on the location of an outbreak in relation to the venue, for instance. The Zika virus “is not an act of God, like a hurricane,” says Weinberg. “But it's hard for businesses to protect themselves, even if the C.D.C. is targeting a specific area and your event happens to be five miles away.”4. Offer alternatives.
For concerned clients, planners can move outdoor events inside to minimize exposure, or even relocate events to locations where cases are not as widespread. “I think California is going to see some of that business,” Weinberg says. “It depends on the size of the group and the budget. While destinations like California are very appealing, I can also very easily see millennials frequenting more places like New Orleans, Chicago, and New York.”5. Stay informed.
Facts about the spread of the epidemic are changing constantly, so keeping track of the latest developments is crucial for event organizers. Marquee events like Art Basel Miami Beach, slated for December 1 to 4, are monitoring the situation carefully. “Art Basel is closely following all reports from health officials regarding cases of the Zika virus in Florida, as well as the aggressive counter-measures taken by Miami-Dade County officials, including increased spraying and mosquito abatement efforts in the impacted area,” the organization said to BizBash in a statement. “We remain confident that the city is taking precautionary steps to confront the virus and ensure Miami is a safe environment for visitors to the show in December, and for its residents year-round.”ANY UPDATES TO SHARE? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.
5 Ways the Event Industry Can Deal With the Zika Virus
As the Zika virus continues to spread, here are five ways that event planners and others in the hospitality industry can take steps to ke...
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
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| Photo credit: Greaterthanentertainment |
Matthew Saravay, the president of Wizard Studios gave planners and production managers tips on slideshows, audio, and speaker management at a recent event.
1. Use a dark background and light letters for presentations.
For PowerPoint presentations and others that involve speaking with a screen, Saravay said to always use a dark background—such as black or purple—with light letters, so the letters pop off the screen. “For presentations, I want to fool people's eyes,” said Saravay, who noted that an audience will have trouble viewing a presentation with a light background and darker letters. Saravay also said it's best to ask clients to build slideshows in a 16:9 aspect ratio.2. Equip speakers with an appropriate microphone.
Saravay noted that giving speakers an appropriate mic is key for the most effective sound, as microphones pick up signals in different ways and signal flow is key. Lavaliers are popular, because they're small and don't have to be held, and can easily attach to clothing around the chest area such as a tie. For instances where one is wearing a top that won't suit a lavalier, Saravay said it's best to suggest a handheld mic.3. Consider what's behind the presenter.
“Make sure a podium sign or logo is behind the presenter. What you don't want directly behind the presenter is the screen,” said Saravay. “Think about what the photographer will have as the shot. The screen should be above or to the side.” He also noted that there should be texture on signage, as well as a pattern or color other than pure white.4. Ask clients what their needs are so the right type of stage can be selected.
Saravay noted that planners should always ask clients questions about the logistics of staging, including whether there is a band, if there's a drummer, and the number of people who will be on the stage. He also says that for talent and V.I.P.s, there should be green rooms that have a clear path to and from the stage. The sequestered space should have a separate entrance and exit to the venue.5. Use teleprompters effectively.
“When to use a teleprompter is up to your client and what your specific needs are,” said Saravay. “It's better than a written script.” He explained that they should be used in a way where the speaker can have a conversation and look at the audience as they're delivering their message. “You always want people to rehearse because of pacing,” he said. “You want to make sure the rhythm is in sync, so words are going at a pace that sounds natural.”6. Set different lighting looks.
When it comes to lighting an event, he said that planners should understand the difference between functional and decorative lighting elements, and that lighting designers should design rooms with different lighting looks. One thing he said to always stay away from is the use of LED blue lights on stages, as they cause light distortion.7. Create a show flow.
“Think about a show flow and how to integrate service,” said Saravay, who mentioned that planners should figure in breaks for light refreshments and clearing tables so that it's not out of place or awkward during an event.8. Be strategic when selecting a venue.
“If I've never been to a venue, I will always give clients a preliminary quote,” he said. When it comes to venue and site selection, he noted some of the most important things to check for are the availability of power, rigging points, and Internet access.Source: Bizbash
8 Audiovisual and Production Tips for Stage Presentations
Photo credit: Greaterthanentertainment Matthew Saravay, the president of Wizard Studios gave planners and production managers tips on ...
Thursday, August 25, 2016
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| Photo credit: www.rsexecutiveprotection.com |
Violent crime, terror attacks, natural disasters: A sense of danger is putting a chill on special events, and adding more urgency to the jobs of special event professionals. Many of the big DMCs profiled in SPECIAL EVENTS' latest "25 Top DMCs" tell us that they have been putting greater focus on security planning in their work for clients.
For starters, here is a Q&A with Jeff O’Hara, CMP, DMCP, president of AlliedPRA New Orleans, on the tactics he takes to keep guests safe and happy at events in the Big Easy.
SPECIAL EVENTS: Are more clients raising the issue of security to you than they were five years ago?
Jeff O'Hara: Yes. To be sure, the vast majority of concerns and tactics are around intellectual property protection, especially in technology, pharma and financial. With that said, given the recent events in Europe, we have started to hear concerns from our clients in the recent months and have shared our emergency plans more frequently than in the past.
SE: Do you find that most clients today are security-conscious, or do you have to stress security?
JOH: Clients are definitely security-conscious. It is a collaborative discussion we have in the logistics phase of event implementation. Sometimes we have to nudge them along--see nametags below as a frequent example--but most big organizations have this as part of their standard review.
Something as simple as requiring nametags for admittance to off-site events is a strong security step in the current environment. Sure, attendees find it a pain and planners are reluctant to ruffle feathers with enforcement--but a terrorist is unlikely to know to counterfeit a credential to gain access to the target. Nor is a common thief who poses a different type of security threat.
SE: How have you developed your approach to security and risk management: professional experience, consulting with security experts, other?
JOH: In New Orleans, we regularly host international large-scale events--Super Bowls, Final 4, BCS Championships, Mardi Gras, Jazz Festival, NBA All-Star Games. Not to mention just normal nights in the French Quarter. As a result, the city has developed quite an expertise in security of large crowds wrapped in the velvet glove of being welcoming.
The hospitality community has regular strategy meetings with the New Orleans Police Department, U.S. Homeland Security, fire and paramedics to coordinate ongoing and special event plans, and we are able to leverage those relationships to assist in our plans. Further, we commonly use off-duty police detail for traffic control and event security. In addition to the roles they play for us, these officers are highly trained in recognizing threats in large crowds, so we have their expertise at our service.
SE: How has your approach to security at events evolved over the last five years? Are there threats you plan for now that were not such a concern five years ago?
JOH: Absolutely. The global terrorist actions show that any large gathering of people can be a target. We regularly produce off-site events for several thousand people, so we have to make this part of the planning.
In the DMC world, we often use nontraditional spaces for our events. As a result we have to educate partners for whom this is not a normal concern and likely don’t have an existing security plan of this magnitude.
SE: Can you share any anecdotes of how your security planning protected an event from a threat?
JOH: There have been multiple instances where our event staff has intercepted people who did not belong at events we were producing.
Recently at a technology company kickoff meeting, we had to constantly remove people away from a product launch. They could have been innocent, curious hotel guests, or they could have been looking to find out about the IP being launched. We’ll never know.
Similarly, we have stopped people from entering our off-site events several times in the past year. They could also be curious and innocent, could be small-time thieves, or worse. Again, we will never know but by being proactive and having staff trained to look for suspicious persons, we will never have to know.
SE: How much of any security plan can be a template (e.g., identify entrances, get emergency contacts) and what must be customized to an event?
JOH: The basic things are a quick checklist--event entrances and exits, means of identifying credentialed attendees, security posts, venue emergency procedures, etc.
However, a lot has to be customized for each event. There are external factors that could impact the event--what other events are going on in the city that night, what type of crowds might those events attract, do we have headline entertainment that may induce gate-crashers? In New Orleans there can always be unannounced parades on any given night, so we check for parade permits with the city to understand implications on traffic flow. If we are using a nontraditional venue--warehouse, art gallery, etc.--we have to develop the venue security plan and then educate the venue on how to implement it.
SE: Have you seen the increased focus on security adding to the cost of special events?
JOH: It certainly adds to our internal costs, as the time required to ensure we have a proper security plan in place is extensive. As a DMC, this is part of the service that we provide to clients and one of the key reasons that they engage a DMC. So it is not something that increases costs to our clients in the scope of our programs. However, many do have internal security teams and they being deployed on-site more often now, so that is an increased cost to the client.
At the end of the day, all of the preparation that goes into this--our planning with the venue, the client, the on-site protection--has to be invisible to the attendees, which is kind of ironic. While everyone wants to be safe and secure, nobody wants to see it. People who attend our events attend events all over the world and understand the inherent risk of travel, but nobody wants to be in a security state. So by definition, all of our hard work needs to go unnoticed!
Source: SpecialEvents.com
Tactics to Keep Guests Safe and Happy at Events
Photo credit: www.rsexecutiveprotection.com Violent crime, terror attacks, natural disasters: A sense of danger is putting a chill on ...
Thursday, July 28, 2016
If you want guests to stick around long after noshing on nibbles, your exhibition space should not be only functional but also comfortable and inviting. To help inspire your next in-booth lounge, here are six delicious designs that deliver hospitable spaces with fashionable furnishings.
PHOTO: XAVIER VILA PHOTOGRAPHE
Theater in the Rounds
Exhibitor: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
Show: Mobile World Congress
Design: Jack Morton, London, 44-208-735-2000 www.jackmorton.com
At the Mobile World Congress, the Ericsson brand serves up a full-on meal along with a heaping helping of drama, thanks to moody lighting, colorful chairs, and multiple screens showing an array of content. Meanwhile, round tables promote intimate conversations between guests.
PHOTO: DIRK WEYHENMEYER FOTOGRAFIE
Spacious and Gracious
Exhibitor: ICS International AG
Show: LogiMat
Design: Atelier Damboeck Messebau GmbH, Neufinsing,Germany, 49-8121-975-0, www.damboeck.de
Housed within a one-of-a-kind, spherical exhibit, this hospitality zone offers ample seating via benches, chairs, and stools. Mirroring the overhead bands of color, accent pillows offer pops of blue, green, and gray, which provide a delightful contrast to the exhibit's stark-white surfaces.
White Light
Exhibitor: Osram Spa
Show: LivinLuce
Design: Cerqiglini & Rossi Architecture, Varedo, Italy, 39-362-571-066, www.cerquiglini-rossi.com
Light takes center stage in this hospitality area for Osram Spa, a manufacturer of light-management systems. White surfaces and embedded lighting in the floor and bar area are paired with Osram-orange chairs, creating a vibe that says "Osram is light!" without shouting.
PHOTO: STANDS
Highly Hospitable
Exhibitor: Superior Energy Services Inc.
Show: Rio Oil and Gas
Design: Excalibur Exhibits, Houston, 713-856-8854, www.excaliburexhibits.com
Who says a hospitality area has to somehow be separate from the larger exhibit? This roughly 1,500-square-foot exhibit features an open, airy conference room as its star. Sitting atop a wood-patterned floor, bistro-style tables and chairs surround a similarly styled bar.
PHOTO: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V. (PHILLIPS LIGHTING)
Square Trade
Exhibitor: Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Philips Lighting)
Show: EuroShop
Design: Totems Architecture B.V., Amsterdam, 31-20-508-13-10, www.totems.com
In this upper-level hospitality lounge for the Philips Lighting brand, it's all about the angles. A rectangular overhead structure caps the space and adds a touch of illumination, while colorful, angular chairs and white, square tables pepper the inviting area below.
PHOTO: CZARNOWSKI DISPLAY SERVICES INC.
Plane and Simple
Exhibitor: Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Show: National Business Aviation Association
Design: Czarnowski Display Services Inc., Chicago, 800-247-4302, www.czarnowski.com
Housed within an exhibit resembling an airplane hangar, this expansive space conveys an airy yet orderly feel befitting of an aerospace firm. Easy-to-clean white-laminate tables and chairs dot the room while floral arrangements and cloud-like light fixtures add a touch of color.
Source: ExhibitorOnline
PHOTO: XAVIER VILA PHOTOGRAPHE
Theater in the Rounds
Exhibitor: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
Show: Mobile World Congress
Design: Jack Morton, London, 44-208-735-2000 www.jackmorton.com
At the Mobile World Congress, the Ericsson brand serves up a full-on meal along with a heaping helping of drama, thanks to moody lighting, colorful chairs, and multiple screens showing an array of content. Meanwhile, round tables promote intimate conversations between guests.
PHOTO: DIRK WEYHENMEYER FOTOGRAFIE
Spacious and Gracious
Exhibitor: ICS International AG
Show: LogiMat
Design: Atelier Damboeck Messebau GmbH, Neufinsing,Germany, 49-8121-975-0, www.damboeck.de
Housed within a one-of-a-kind, spherical exhibit, this hospitality zone offers ample seating via benches, chairs, and stools. Mirroring the overhead bands of color, accent pillows offer pops of blue, green, and gray, which provide a delightful contrast to the exhibit's stark-white surfaces.
White Light
Exhibitor: Osram Spa
Show: LivinLuce
Design: Cerqiglini & Rossi Architecture, Varedo, Italy, 39-362-571-066, www.cerquiglini-rossi.com
Light takes center stage in this hospitality area for Osram Spa, a manufacturer of light-management systems. White surfaces and embedded lighting in the floor and bar area are paired with Osram-orange chairs, creating a vibe that says "Osram is light!" without shouting.
PHOTO: STANDS
Highly Hospitable
Exhibitor: Superior Energy Services Inc.
Show: Rio Oil and Gas
Design: Excalibur Exhibits, Houston, 713-856-8854, www.excaliburexhibits.com
Who says a hospitality area has to somehow be separate from the larger exhibit? This roughly 1,500-square-foot exhibit features an open, airy conference room as its star. Sitting atop a wood-patterned floor, bistro-style tables and chairs surround a similarly styled bar.
PHOTO: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V. (PHILLIPS LIGHTING)
Square Trade
Exhibitor: Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Philips Lighting)
Show: EuroShop
Design: Totems Architecture B.V., Amsterdam, 31-20-508-13-10, www.totems.com
In this upper-level hospitality lounge for the Philips Lighting brand, it's all about the angles. A rectangular overhead structure caps the space and adds a touch of illumination, while colorful, angular chairs and white, square tables pepper the inviting area below.
PHOTO: CZARNOWSKI DISPLAY SERVICES INC.
Plane and Simple
Exhibitor: Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Show: National Business Aviation Association
Design: Czarnowski Display Services Inc., Chicago, 800-247-4302, www.czarnowski.com
Housed within an exhibit resembling an airplane hangar, this expansive space conveys an airy yet orderly feel befitting of an aerospace firm. Easy-to-clean white-laminate tables and chairs dot the room while floral arrangements and cloud-like light fixtures add a touch of color.
Source: ExhibitorOnline
6 Ways to Make your Exhibition Space Inviting
If you want guests to stick around long after noshing on nibbles, your exhibition space should not be only functional but also comfortable a...
Thursday, July 21, 2016
From corporate meetings to employee appreciation events to music festivals, many events are opting to use food trucks for catering services. Some are run by dedicated food truck operators, while established restaurants and hotel catering departments have launched their own food trucks for events. Hiring a food truck brings its own set of logistical challenges. Here’s what you need to know to have a seamless food truck experience.
1. Obtain all necessary permits and insurance.
Organizers should make sure food trucks have the necessary permits and insurance to operate. Planners should also have insurance that covers any potential mishaps at an event, which may be trickier than it sounds. It differs so much with every municipal council.
2. Read your contracts carefully.
There is no one standard contract for food trucks, and juggling the details can be challenging when hiring multiple food trucks for one event.
3. Determine where the food truck will be located at the venue.
Not all venues lend themselves to food truck catering. It's important to inform the food truck if their trucks are required to climb slopes and hills taking into consideration the equipment they have inside.
Arrange food trucks along the perimeter of the event. They should not compete with the focal point of the event.
4. Choose the menu carefully.
Streamline the food truck’s usual menu at events, or even ask for new dishes. When you're thinking about menu and theme, some food truck companies will be flexible and work with you in any way, and others say, ‘This is what we do, take it or leave it.’ You won't know if you don't ask.
5. Calculate how much food you will need.
A key question for food truck operators is: “How many people can you feed in X amount of time?” The answer will let you know how many food trucks you will need.
6. Use food trucks strategically.
Another strategy is to use food trucks in combination with a traditional caterer. A possibility is to hire a traditional caterer for a meal but then add on an array of specialty food trucks for craft coffee service or desserts.
7. Figure out when food trucks should arrive.
The beauty of some of these trucks is, you’re curating the freshness right there. It’s made to order, not sitting in a chafing dish somewhere. They need to have come already prepped, or they will need to get there in enough time so when the bell rings they’re ready to take orders and start serving. The extra hour gives operators enough time to set up any signage, canopies or overhangs, or trash cans.
8. Spell out what you want—and don’t want—trucks to provide.
Should organizers create custom signage to identify the food truck and display the menu, or should the food truck operator provide that? If hiring more than one food truck, should the host provide plates, napkins, and other items for a consistent look?
9. Devise strategies to keep the line moving.
An event host should consider streamlining a food truck’s full menu for large events to prevent guests from waiting in line. If lines form, plann entertainment such as roving performers to distract guests. Another strategy is to have food truck staff offering samples of items to guests in line.
10. Decide who will handle trash and cleanup.
Some food trucks bring trash cans while others do not.
Source: Bizbash
byBest Events
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12:29 PM
10 Things to Know about Having Food Trucks at your Event
From corporate meetings to employee appreciation events to music festivals, many events are opting to use food trucks for catering service...
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Teambuilding activities such as retreats, community service projects, competitive games, and problem-solving challenges can be great tools for companies to strengthen employee relationships, improve communication, break down barriers, re-energize staff, and ultimately improve the work climate and positively impact the bottom line.
But those outcomes don’t just happen—they require advanced planning and follow-up. BizBash surveyed four teambuilding professionals for ideas on how to create long-term value from a teambuilding activity. Here are their tips for extending the value of teambuilding activities.
1. Create a long-term plan. Don’t view a teambuilding activity as a one-time event. Teams that like each other and get together on a regular basis are more excited about working, because they like the people they work with. Do teambuilding on a continuous basis so people know you are committed to it and are committed to them getting to know each other as people, especially in this day and age when we all sit in cubicles and exchange emails and do virtual conferences.
2. Involve employees as facilitators during the event so they can be the point of contact for continued conversations.
3. Capture the event with photos and videos. Those pictures and videos are the memories of us bonding together. Relationships are everything at the office. When you have that you can draw back to it.
4. Schedule a meeting immediately after the event for participants to debrief with one another. Use internal facilitators to lead a discussion driven by questions such as: What was the most interesting or surprising part of this activity? How was the level of cooperation? How will what we learned affect our performance? Are there suggestions for improvement for our next teambuilding activity?
5. Share lessons learned through employee communication channels such as e-newsletters, internal message boards, or bulletin boards. If you think of the organization as a community, communities have stories. And stories are the things that weave the social fabric of the organization … so you get better results, so that then the organization flourishes and people within the organization flourish.
6. Show that teamwork is important in a variety of ways. Prioritize teamwork at group meetings and individual performance appraisals. That way you show that building a team is a priority of mine as a leader and that’s always something we discuss. Not just once a year at an all-employee meeting.
7. If your teambuilding activity involved competition among groups of employees, consider maintaining those teams throughout the year and encouraging that competition. People like to win. If you can keep those teams together and get a little friendly rivalry going within your department or company depending on the size, that’s a lot of fun. Sometimes you will need somebody in a tough spot in a business situation and to have that to draw on is really unparalleled for what you can get done.
Source: Bizbash
7 Tips to Extend the Value of Teambuilding Activities
Teambuilding activities such as retreats, community service projects, competitive games, and problem-solving challenges can be great tool...
Friday, July 1, 2016
The biggest effect of a Brexit on meetings would be the resulting economic uncertainty, expected to last for several years. In fact, some large events already are on hold pending the outcome, according to an article in the U.K.–based Meetpie.com. Destination management companies in the U.K. also have reported losing business because of Brexit.
An article in Conference & Incentive Travel magazine cites staff shortages in hospitality industry as a major potential impact of a Brexit because so many of these workers are immigrants. The article also mentions the free movement of people and event and exhibition goods among EU member states as a major benefit to the meetings industry, and one that the U.K. will potentially lose now that it has voted to leave the EU.
“The meetings and event industry is easily affected by economic and political uncertainty, however it will take at least two years for the separation conditions to be negotiated and no one really knows what will happen,” said Al Wynant, co-founder and CEO of Eventinterface. “I don’t think there will be an immediate impact and I foresee business as usual until there is more clarity on the process.”
Wynant said an immediate impact could be seen related to production cost for international planners hosting events and conferences in the UK related to the significant fall in the pound’s exchange rate.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is projecting UK air travel to decrease by 3 to 5 percent due to the country leaving the EU and the resulting economic downturn.
It will take some time to for the full impact of the vote to be felt. The UK has not yet formally declared the intention to leave, causing additional uncertainty. Once the declaration has been made, a two-year period of formal negotiations by the UK and EU will spell out the terms of the separation and hopefully stabilize the market. In the meantime it may be business as usual for the meeting and event industry.
The devaluing of the sterling could also make the U.K. a destination where you can maximize your dollar or euro, potentially making it a prime location for traveling to destination meetings and events.
Source: Meetings.net and EventInterface.com
How will #Brexit affect Meetings and Events in the UK?
The biggest effect of a Brexit on meetings would be the resulting economic uncertainty, expected to last for several years. In fact, s...
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Bravo Events and Design Foundry incorporated the silent auction items into the decor. Items were displayed on two walls as well as on tables and stands.
Photo: FotoBriceno
Without the need for bidding sheets, Design Foundry could display the local dining gift certificates and plaques on a mixture of shelves and crates attached to one of the gallery walls. This provided a better vantage point for multiple guests to view the items at once, like in a museum, compared to a table arrangement where only one guest can view an item at a time.
Photo: FotoBriceno
The wall arrangement for the auction items opened up 100 square feet of event space that Design Foundry filled with high-boy and café table seating.
Photo: FotoBriceno
Lounge areas provided a secluded respite for V.I.P. guests and sponsors compared to general admission. Design Foundry mixed tufted chairs with wooden tables, metal stools, and industrial-style accent tables to create the farm-to-table meets urban chic ambience requested by the Board of Visitors.
Photo: FotoBriceno
Chalkboard signs indicated the V.I.P. lounges listing the sponsor levels—each named for various types and bottle sizes of wines—for that lounge.
Photo: FotoBriceno
When using tables in a silent auction layout, planners often face the challenge of how to use them after the items are cleared away. Windows Catering turned the tables to dessert buffets throughout the room within 15 minutes of the auction closing.
Photo: FotoBriceno
Source: Bizbash
Ideas for an Engaging Silent Auction Display
Bravo Events and Design Foundry incorporated the silent auction items into the decor. Items were displayed on two walls as well as on tab...
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
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| Lucite chairs, candles, and sleek white linens dressed the 150-foot tables at the Joffrey Ballet gala in Chicago in 2010. | Photo: Greg Davis/Powell Photography Inc. |
For his September show in New York at Spring Studios entitled “Beauty,” Jason Wu went simple and stark with the all-white venue. Produced by Bureau Betak, the space featured simple white bench seating and a floor-to-ceiling backdrop that mimicked a deconstructed boudoir mirror—with detached molding that created a mirage-like effect.
Photo: Jamie McGregor Smith
The 2006 Screen Actors Guild awards gala in Los Angeles had a striking but simple look from event designer Stanlee Gatti, with bunches of upside-down calla lillies hanging overhead. White furnishings were arranged in lounge-like formations.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
At this year's Dining by Design, the annual fund-raising event hosted by Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, Smartwater's space aimed to reflect the brand's natural water purification process, which is mirrored after rain clouds. The fluffy fixtures lit up like a storm above the simple table setting. The event took place at New York's Pier 92 in March.
Photo: Cornelia Stiles/BizBash
A joint event between Variety and British Airways in 2013 took place at a Los Angeles mansion, and black-and-white decor took on a residential feel. To celebrate the heritage of British Airways, the Union Jack appeared on black-and-white pillows at a seating group that surrounded a modern fire pit.
Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Variety
At a Saucony-hosted event in Boston in 2011, an art exhibit around the perimeter of the space incorporated the brand's sneakers and minimalist art.
Photo: Phase One Photography
In 2012, Yahoo marked the relaunch of Genome, a brand previously known as Interclick, with a minimalist affair in New York. To create a modern aesthetic inside a SoHo townhouse, the producers employed a mix of clean lines and white furnishings. For entertainment, the organizers brought in synchronized swimmers dressed to look like aliens.
Photo: Sean T. Smith
At a 2013 brunch for L'Oréal, designer and producer Joe Moller added subtle branding to the setup on the Viceroy Miami's outdoor terrace, adding L'Oréal lettering to the backs of chairs and using shallow gold vases filled with products as tabletop centerpieces.
Photo: Joe Moller
The Women's Wear Daily Beauty Summit in 2013 had a sleek, all-white design from Shiraz Events. Guests sat in clear Miro chairs at communal tables topped with white linens and simple birch vases holding cobble moss balls.
Photo: Sean Smith
To cap off New York Fashion Week in 2010, Calvin Klein hosted a party with seating vignettes of minimalist, low-slung white sofas and ottomans around fireplaces.
Photo: Billy Farrell/PatrickMcMullan.com
At a product launch for watch brand Q&Q in New York, guests were encouraged to take photos against a modern backdrop. Guests who posed for snaps received a coin that would allow them to receive a free watch from a giant gumball machine.
Photo: Kent Miller Studios
To launch its newest A8 model at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2010, Audi created a 45,000-square-foot temporary structure. EventStar worked with Audi, German architecture firm the Design Company, and Miami event management firm Siinc Agency to design the pavilion.
Photo: Elizabeth Renfrow for BizBash
At a dinner to mark new gallery openings at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011, Heffernan Morgan bathed webbed scrims in golden light to cast spiderweblike patterns throughout the modern dinner space.
Photo: Robert Carl
Source: Bizbash
Minimalist Designs for Events
Lucite chairs, candles, and sleek white linens dressed the 150-foot tables at the Joffrey Ballet gala in Chicago in 2010. Photo: Greg Dav...
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Recently, I wrote on this blog about creative team building events and how a Spartan Race fulfilled our team building goals for 2015. In response to that article, a couple of questions popped up that sounded similar to:
“We’re not really the Spartan Race kind of company. Do you have additional thoughts for how we can build/strengthen our team?”
As I have for many years now, I’ll start the conversation of team building at the bottom of Patrick Lencioni’s pyramid for highly functional teams – Trust. Like many other authors and leaders have suggested, trust is the first, and most critical foundational piece for building strong teams.
But saying trust is important for your company is a bit like saying a foundation is important to building a house. It’s likely one of the first elements you thought of. But why is it the most important element? How can you assess your teams’ trust level, and what actionable steps can you take to build trust across your teams?
Trust IS the Foundation
I’m a big fan of Patrick Lencioni and, especially, ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ which is widely considered one of the best books (Amazon Top 10 for Leadership Books) on team-building. It was one of the first books I read as a new manager and has significantly shaped how I view, talk about, and try to build teams.
In the book, Patrick describes the 5 dysfunctions of a team and uses a pyramid to show the levels:
- Absence of Trust
- Fear of Conflict
- Lack of Commitment
- Avoidance of Accountability
- Inattention to Results
Alter the pyramid to show the 5 critical components of a highly functional team, and Trust is at the bottom: the most important piece. For Patrick—and for me— a lack of trust prevents a team from true commitment, accountability, and results.
Along with the ‘Five Dysfunctions of a Team’, there are other great books that are specifically about trust or discuss trust and its importance:
Trust Works! By Ken Blanchard: High trust = lasting relationships
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey: High trust = high-performance
The Trust Edge by David Horsager: High trust = foundation for genuine success
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek: High trust = Circle of Safety
All of them point to trust as a critical and fundamental piece to success – in business and in life.
Piggy-backing all these thoughts and making it personal to myself, trust enables me to be more. It enables me to:
- Accomplish more and do better work by getting feedback and synergizing
- Grow and learn more by allowing myself to be “open” and receive information
- Teach more and serve by letting me focus my attention on others
- Care more and empathize because I’m not constantly worried about protecting myself
- Be more human
Trust helps you accept deepening relationships and removes politics and silos from the work place, creating an organization within which people feel safe. At its simplest, trust is a catalyst for your organization to be more: more nimble, more efficient, more effective. It’s like oxygen for a successful team – one simply can’t exist without it.
As strange as it sounds though, it’s important that it is the right type of trust.
What Type of Trust is Needed?
There are two types of trust that are (possibly) present with teams: “common” trust and vulnerability-based trust.
“Common” Trust: the confidence / belief that a co-worker or team member won’t break generally accepted laws, norms, policies, etc. It’s the trust that you extend to others that they won’t steal the computers if left in the office alone or deliberately corrupt the DB.
It’s the type of trust that we extend to each other when driving. We “trust” people know the rules of the road, will stay on the right side, and stop at red lights.
Without “common” trust, it would be very difficult to operate as a company (or society). Belonging to the team typically grants you this type of trust.
Vulnerability-Based Trust: a much deeper confidence that you can be vulnerable with teammates. The belief that you can do things like take risks, ask for help, admit mistakes, or confront and hold others accountable without fear of retaliation, humiliation, or resentment.
This type of trust has to be earned and given.
Strong, high-performing teams base their entire foundation on vulnerability-based trust. “Common” trust simply isn’t enough.
So, how do you build vulnerability-based trust?
How to Build Trust
Authors and leadership experts offer many great ways to build vulnerability-based trust. Some of my favorites include:
“Go First”: As a leader, it is your job to model the behavior. Be the first to “open up” and extend trust to others. As Ken Blanchard says, “When you open up and share about yourself, you demonstrate a vulnerability that engenders trust.”
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”: From another of my favorite books, ”The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’”, this encourages you to listen with the intent to understand rather than with the intent to reply. It’s not a competition; you have to be willing to stop thinking about winning and open up to considering someone else’s idea.
Create a “Circle of Safety”: You do this by first, treating your people like people. Give them a sense of belonging, a shared purpose, some autonomy, and care for them. People must feel cared for and safe to trust.
Try any (or all) of the “13 Behaviors of High Trust” from ‘Speed of Trust’: Behaviors like, Talk Straight, Right Wrongs, and Keep Commitments. All of these behaviors help build and strengthen trust.
Pick up the “Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide” and try any of the exercises inside.
Patrick offers a couple of them online for free: Personal Histories Exercise and Team Effectiveness Exercise
Share an experience together: (As you know, I recommend a Spartan Race.) Any time you actually get to practice being a successful team, you re-enforce the trust and strengthen the foundation.
Whichever method you choose, it’s important to understand that building trust is not a destination. It’s ongoing, and you’re either building it up or tearing it down.
Published by Ryan Yeoman in Knocking Down Doors
Team Building Starts with Trust
Recently, I wrote on this blog about creative team building events and how a Spartan Race fulfilled our team building goals for 2015. In ...
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
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Delivering the keynote address a few years ago at an Annual Users Group meeting of TMA Resources, maker of association management software, usability expert Amy Schade, director, Nielsen Norman Group, told attendees she’d visited all of their websites in preparation for her talk, a review of the 10 biggest mistakes nonprofit organizations make in designing sites. (She kept her promise not to name names.)
“Nobody’s intention is to have a poorly designed website,” she said. “The crux of the problem is that you and your colleagues use the same information and the same lingo, and everything on your site makes perfect sense to you. But your users have a totally different mindset. You must engage with your users and do user testing.”
Based on her perusal of attendees’ sites—in addition to her company’s careful study of more than 1,300 other Web sites across 17 countries—she offered her top 10 mistakes, along with ways to remedy them.
Mistake 1: Believing that users read what you write
People don’t read, they scan to find the answer they want right now. “Eyetracking”—which shows exactly where a user’s eyes are focused—reveals that people look at bulleted text, headings, bold text, and hyperlinks. Therefore, Schade said, “a wall of text is not a good way to relay information.”
Remedy: Write copy so that it’s easy for people to find information when they’re scanning, not reading. “Chunk it,” she said.
Mistake 2: Reflecting your priorities rather than the user’s needs
You want to increase membership, encourage participation, drive conference registration, and get users to stay at your site. Users want clearly stated benefits, useful information, the answer to the question they have at the moment, and to get in and get out.
Remedy: Balance the two sets of priorities. Schade showed a Web site with compelling “industry news” headlines. But clicking on a headline brought up a log-in window. “It’s OK to require users to log-in, but don’t do it right away,” she said. “The user doesn’t know yet if your organization or your site is worth it. Give them something, then ask for the log-in.”
Mistake 3: Ignoring user’s top questions
Organizations often assume everyone knows who they are and what they do. Don’t believe it. Schade’s research revealed that 53 percent of nonprofit home pages do not offer basic information about what the nonprofit does. This can cause them to lose potential donors, members, or conference registrants who come to the site and can’t easily figure out the group’s purpose.
Remedy: Put a clear and concise mission statement on your home page. Show your expertise. Clearly state the benefits of membership or conference attendance and make it easy for users to identify themselves as a certain type of member or attendee.
Mistake 4: Ignoring standards
Don’t innovate for the sake of innovating. People expect to see a search window in the upper right corner of your site, for example. Don’t hide it somewhere else.
Remedy: You can innovate intelligently. If it’s a new design and it’s usable, it will become a convention. Web standards are changing all the time.
Mistake 5: Using the wrong images
“I saw a lot of stock art out there,” Schade said, as the audience chuckled in recognition of a common practice. Images that don’t get attention are those that are: generic, boring, not related to content, or look like ads.
Remedy: Images that do get attention are related to content, clear, appropriately sized, and of approachable, “real” people or actual association members.
Mistake 6: Taking control away from the user
Tops in this category: the home-page carousel, a revolving set of images and headlines whose movement is automatic.
Remedy: Use a carousel that rotates through several images and stories, but show all the headlines alongside those images as they scroll, so the user can select any one of them at any time.
Mistake 7: Making content look like ads
Why is this a problem? “Banner blindness,” Schade explained, which is the tendency for users to ignore anything that looks like an ad. She showed an almost unbelievable user-testing video, where the subject was at a major bank’s website trying to find a tool that would help him calculate how to save for a home improvement project.
Dead center, taking up a third of the home page, was just the tool he needed. But it was highly designed and included a smiling young female model. Although he scrolled up and down that home page for minutes, he never “saw” the tool. The user-testing facilitator ultimately had him stop scrolling and clicking and just look at the home page, and at that point he finally saw the huge sentence “I want to save for” and the drop-down menu that included “home improvement.”
Remedy: Don’t over-design your content, and don’t mix your own content blocks with advertising blocks or it might be overlooked.
Mistake 8: Overwhelming users with options
According to Schade, this is common on membership pages: There are too many links and too many choices.
Remedy: Believe it or not, the U.S. government is a model of simplicity at its home page. “If they can do it for the entire U.S. government, there is hope for you,” Schade quipped.
Mistake 9: Leading users on a wild goose chase
How often are your users clicking on the same word in different places but getting no closer to their goal?
Remedy: It’s not the quantity of clicks, it’s the quality. In Schade’s view, a design goal such as “users will never have to make more than three clicks from the home page” is pointless. Your goal should be to offer some kind of value or fine-tuning with each click.
And while she was on the subject of clicks, Schade said users should always be clicking on something descriptive, never on “click here” or “more.” And don’t have your content open in a new browser window, which “breaks the back button” and prevents users from returning to where they were. “Go through some key paths on your site,” she said, “to find out where and why users are dropping off.”
Mistake 10: Thinking your full site looks fine on mobile devices.
It doesn’t.
Remedy: The mobile version of your site should have less information and fewer options. “Choose appropriate content. Mobile users are killing time, looking for a specific answer, or engaged in time- or location-based activities,” Schade said. Keep that in mind when creating your mobile design.
This article was originally published at MeetingsNet.com in 2011.
The 10 Worst Association Website Mistakes—and How to Fix Them
Credit: www.freshdesignweb.com Delivering the keynote address a few years ago at an Annual Users Group meeting of TMA Resources, make...
Friday, May 27, 2016
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| St Regis Kuala Lumpur |
By Candy Adams of BoothMoms
Choosing a venue for your corporate event is one of the most important and difficult parts of planning an event. How do you distinguish between the rosy picture venues present when they're courting your business and the reality of what your guests will experience?
Once you've determined your event objectives, assessed the needs of your attendees, and narrowed your possible venues to a short list of two or three sites, it often comes down to the all-important site inspection. Follow these 10 tips, and you're far more likely to find a suitable venue without landing yourself in the seventh circle of event-planning hell.
1. Start Off Stealthily
An attendee's first impression of a venue sets the stage for the rest of the event. And it may be very different from your own first impression if you're being picked up at the airport by a limo, skipping standard front-desk check-in, sleeping in an upgraded room, and being pampered with top-end amenities.
The best way to get a realistic idea of what attendees will encounter is to start your site inspection in "stealth mode." Fly in before your scheduled tour and check out the site for yourself first.
When you get to the venue, what is your first impression? Is the main entrance welcoming, with areas for your attendees to meet informally? If it's a hotel property, does someone greet you as you arrive and ask if you need any assistance with your bags? Is the front desk adequately staffed?
As you walk around the property, pay attention to the venue's directional signage. Can you easily find your way around? Also ensure that the venue disabled friendly with accessible parking, wheelchair ramps, braille signage, etc.
Check out the condition of the property – including the cleanliness of the carpets, curtains, and furnishings in the public areas. For hotel venues, pop into rooms that are being cleaned to see if they're on par with your room and the other rooms you'll see on your tour. And regularly check your phone or tablet to see if free Wi-Fi is available throughout the property, or if coverage is slow and spotty.
2. Request the Right Guide
When setting up your official tour, ask if the person you'd actually be working with (i.e., the convention services manager or facilities manager) is able to conduct your tour, instead of a salesperson who will tell you anything he or she thinks you want to hear. The person you negotiate the contract with isn't the person who'll follow you through the planning process, and you need to find out if that person is someone with whom you would be comfortable working.
You'll also want to request the credentials and experience levels of the person or people you'll be working with. I've had bad experiences working with unqualified facilities managers, during which I spent all my time teaching them the "language" of the hospitality industry, and hearing "I'll check on that and get back with you."
3. Do a Background Check
When you begin your tour, ask when the last renovations of the public/function areas were completed, and, if applicable, the date of the most recent upgrades to the sleeping-room furnishings and linens. My colleague Margaret Kennedy, CMP, says bedding and mattresses should be changed at least every five years – especially in convention cities with high occupancy – and other décor and cosmetic updates should be done every eight to 10 years, minimum.
Ask about any future plans for construction or refurbishment and if those plans might impact the dates of your event. Is the property currently up for sale or pending sale? Is the property planning on changing management, and if so, when?
Find out what other organizations will be holding functions during your event at the same venue. Can you be notified if other groups contract for adjacent space during your event?
Ask what services are included in the venue package and what the add-ons cost.
4. Picture Your Event
As you tour the function space, imagine your specific event arrangements. Where would you place your registration desk? Which meeting rooms would you use? Where would you set up your exhibit hall, hold hospitality functions, stage entertainment, or serve meals? If any of these functions are being held outside, what would be the backup plan in case of inclement weather? Where would you locate staff offices and green rooms for speakers? Evaluate whether each area is adequate to serve your needs.
Make sure to get accurate floor plans with maximum capacities for various setups (e.g., reception, theater, classroom, rounds, crescents, etc.) and the official fire-code capacities for all rooms, considering the AV equipment and food, class material, or serving stations you'll need.
Does the facility have overflow space if your attendance expands beyond your initial estimates?
Ask plenty of questions regarding Internet access and the cost of wired and wireless Internet connectivity. Get your internal technical team involved if necessary to make sure that you've adequately assessed all Internet and power requirements.
Visit the meeting rooms you would use during your event. Are they on the same level of the facility or distributed on different floors? If elevators are used to get between them, will the number of elevators be adequate for moving your guests during breaks?
Is there adequate signage to direct attendees? Are there sufficient restrooms near the meeting areas? If your guests will be served snacks and meals, what is the proximity between meeting rooms or the exhibit hall and the food-service areas?
Keep an eye on room capabilities as they relate to your AV needs. Consider built-in sound systems, data ports, electrical capacity for AV and attendees' laptops, etc. Check for visual obstructions such as supports or light fixtures and issues with sound bleeding from adjacent rooms, especially if rooms are separated by folding walls.
Temperature always seems to be a "hot button" with attendees. How is temperature in the function and meeting rooms controlled, and is each room on a separate thermostat? If so, who controls it?
5. Go Behind the Scenes
Don't restrict your visit to the areas that the venue wants to show you; ask for an impromptu tour of the "back of house" and look for cleanliness and organization. Depending on the type of meeting, check the access to the property's shipping docks, the proximity and capacity of freight elevators, the facility's freight-receiving and material-handling capabilities, and the location and security of storage.
Ensure the venue's inventory of meeting furnishings, linen, centerpieces, props, etc. is adequate for your event. Make sure the condition of these furnishings meet your standards, as many venues have extended the life of these items to save money.
6. Chow Down
Food quality matters to your attendees, and you don't want bone-dry salmon to be the most memorable part of your event. Consider the venue's standard menus and ask if you can work with the chef or other caterers on custom menus for themed events and for attendees with special dietary requirements. With so many different food requirements these days (e.g., vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerant, nuts or seafood allergies, etc.) it's important to find out which accommodations are standard and which may require other arrangements with the kitchen.
Consider setting up a tasting of the items you'd likely be serving to check food quality and presentation. What is the venue's guarantee of food quality? What quantity does it guarantee will be available above the number of estimated guests? By what date does the venue require final attendance figures? Also inquire about minimum charges, either per meal or event, since food and beverage (F&B) is a major source of venues' revenue and will be considered as you negotiate for both sleeping and meeting rooms.
Obtain a list of any additional fees that will be charged, such as administrative fees, staffing fees for bartenders or baristas, buy-out fees for using your own F&B providers, and standard percentages for tips, gratuities, and sales tax. And find out the ratio of servers to guests to assure that staffing will be adequate. Lastly, order room service to test the friendliness of the phone staff, promptness of delivery, and quality of menu offerings.
7. Meet the Staff
Hotels and other venues are squeezing budgets to improve revenue after some lean years, and many have cut back on staffing. So find out the ratio of staffers to guest rooms and the average length of employment of the staff. Compare those numbers to other properties you're considering. Longevity is a good indicator that the staff is treated well and will treat your guests well in turn. It is especially important to find out how long the facility's general manager and department heads have worked there, as they will play crucial roles in your event's success.
Make sure to meet the banquet manager and captain, as well as the people who manage the meeting room furnishings, linens, décor, room setup, and meal service. If other services such as AV and Internet are exclusive, also meet the managers of those areas. They will all be very important points of contact during your event to keep everything running smoothly and on time.
If applicable to your event, ask for a list of local third-party vendors with which the venue has working relationships, such as general service contractors, destination management companies, security providers, and transportation vendors for moving your guests between the airport, hotel, and events.
Find out what restrictions are in place under the venue's union contracts that may impact your ability to complete basic tasks on your own, such as running standard video cables from your laptop to a projector or setting up your own projection screens. Those may seem like tiny details, but they can count up quickly when it comes to your final invoice.
Once, when I brought my own video cable to an event, I was told I couldn't use it. Instead, the venue charged me $50 to rent its cable, and then tacked on labor and service fees, as well as tax. Another time, I held a luncheon at Moscone Center and was charged two five-hour minimums to set up and tear down a simple pop-up projection screen and LCD projector.
Finally, ask if the hotel employees are part of a collective-bargaining agreement (members of a union) and if so, when their current contract is expiring. If their contract expires right before or during your event, there may be an increased likelihood of a labor strike, which could disrupt your event.
8. Do a Safety Check
It's your responsibility as an event professional to make sure that the venue you select is safe for your attendees. Ask about local crime rates, get a copy of the venue's safety and security policies, and inquire about its current security-staffing levels. What types of training have the venue's security officers completed?
Are its security officers trained in CPR or the use of defibrillators (if they're available on site)? How far is the venue located from the closest hospital with an emergency room?
Take note of lighting in the hallways, limited-access doors that are activated by room keys during evening hours, and lighting in parking garages and lots. Also check to see that all fire exits are properly marked and illuminated, and discuss the venue's evacuation procedures.
9. Check References
Ask your sales rep for the contact information of three event planners who have recently held events at the venue. And utilize the industry grapevine online through LinkedIn groups or other forums in the hospitality and event industry to get firsthand knowledge of venues.
If the opportunity arises during your site inspection, introduce yourself to other meeting planners on site who can share their insight into their overall dealings with the venue.
10. Take Good Notes
Make sure you use the same matrix to gather and record information at each venue. I like to make a spreadsheet to compare the different aspects of the venues I'm considering, with plenty of room for jotting down quick notes as I tour. I also analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the venues I tour. And I take loads of photos of each property to help refresh my memory as I move through the decision-making process.
Although your hundreds of questions may leave your tour guide exhausted, careful inspections and a detailed analysis should help you detect any fire and brimstone behind the pearly exteriors of potential venues.
Step-by-Step Inspection
Here's a brief overview of my 10-step approach to site inspections. Use it to help guide your next venue inspection and aid in the process of selecting the best property for your company's corporate events.
1. Start Off Stealthily: Arrive with plenty of time before your scheduled visit and observe how you're treated by hotel employees before they realize you're there to conduct a site inspection.
2. Request the Right Guide: Ask that your on-site guide be the person you'd actually be working with if you book your event at that venue.
3. Do a Background Check: Find out when the hotel last updated its bedding and mattresses. As a general rule, these things should be changed out at least every five years.
4. Picture Your Event: Get accurate floor plans with maximum capacities for various setups and the official fire-code capacities for all rooms, considering any audiovisual or other equipment.
5. Go Behind the Scenes: Ask for an impromptu tour of the "back of house" and look for cleanliness and organization.
6. Chow Down: Arrange a tasting of the items you're considering serving to guests to check food quality and presentation. Also ask for a list of any additional fees that you may incur.
7. Meet the Staff: Make sure to meet the banquet manager and captain, as well as the people who manage the meeting room furnishings, linens, décor, room setup, and meal service.
8. Do a Safety Check: Ask about local crime rates, get a copy of the venue's safety and security policies, and inquire about its current security-staffing levels.
9. Check References: Ask your sales representative for the contact information of three event planners who have recently held events at the venue. Contact those individuals for feedback and insight.
10. Take Good Notes: Make sure you use the same matrix to gather and record information at each venue you visit. And take loads of photos to help refresh your memory after your visit.
Checklist for your Event Site Inspection
St Regis Kuala Lumpur How do you cut through the marketing hype and choose the right venue for your next corporate event? Here are 10 s...
