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Survival Strategy #1. Question the meeting need.

Before you jump into automatic pilot to start your last minute meeting organization, challenge the request. Since deciding to hold a meeting demands serious consideration because of the costs involved, both direct and indirect, double-check the rationale for holding the meeting. Develop a few pertinent questions to ask and find out if a meeting alternative, such as a teleconference would achieve the same results.

Survival Strategy #2. Know the basics.

If the meeting really needs to happen, make sure that you plan for the basics:

• What is the purpose of the meeting?
• Where should it take place – on or off-site?
• When is it scheduled for – date and time?
• What’s the meeting agenda?
• Who needs to be invited?
• What refreshments and snacks are needed?
• What specific materials and equipment is needed?
• What travel and hotel arrangements, if any, are necessary?
• What’s the meeting budget?

When it comes to budget, remind your boss that good quality, last minute buying and cheap don’t usually correlate. The reality is that last minute pricing may well come at a premium.

Survival Strategy #3. Develop checklists.

Checklists should be every meeting planners guardian angel. They’re there to help out in time of trouble and avoid unnecessary panic. With the hundreds of pieces that make up the meeting puzzle, the only way to put them together and keep tabs on all the details is with a checklist. Become a checklist fanatic and consider having a checklist for each checklist. Cover all your bases. The more thorough you are, the greater the probability of success, even at the last minute.

Survival Strategy #4. Create a contact list.

When you need something in a hurry who do you call? These are the people who need to make up your contact list. Consider your facility needs, catering, audio-visual, etc. Compile a list with phone including cell phones, fax and email information. Keep this list updated annually as contacts and their information can change. Also include useful website resources as you find them, but remember to check them out beforehand.

Survival Strategy #5. Build relationships.

Don’t wait until you need a favor from someone, rather continually find ways to build a “dream team” or support network. Build a contact base of other meeting professionals, suppliers, vendors and angels you can call on at the last minute to help you out. Take time to discuss their strategies and resources for dealing with last minute meetings, and add this information to your “survival kit.” Don’t forget to include your fellow co-workers who might be willing and able to help out at a moment’s notice.

Survival Strategy #6. Develop contingencies.

Because your plans are last minute, the greater the chance of something not working out the way you’d like it to. So what’s your backup? If you don’t have one, all your original plans could be destroyed in an instant, and you’ll be scrambling even more than before to put a second strategy into operation. Have a Plan B ready “in the wings” just in case you need it. Once again, the more thorough you are, the greater the probability of pulling off this miracle.

Survival Strategy #7. Learn to laugh.

Keeping a sense of humor will definitely help prevent you getting mad, angry and frustrated with those disorganized managers who leave things to the last minute and expect you to perform miracles. Learn to laugh at them and yourself to keep a saner perspective on life. If nothing else, remember that laughing is a great survival technique, which is good for your health and will help reduce stress and blood pressure levels.

From my observations working with hundreds of different companies, I have noticed that people seem to be meeting more, enjoying it less and frustrated that they have so little time to get their “real” work done. They talk about meetings as being a “necessary evil.” Research conducted by the Annenberg School of Communications at UCLA and the University of Minnesota’s Training & Development Research Center show that executives on average spend 40-50% of their working hours in meetings. The studies also point out that as much as 50% of meeting time is unproductive and that up to 25% is spent discussing irrelevant issues.

I have certainly had more than my fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly meetings, both as a paid employee and as a volunteer. I have also experienced the wonderful sense of satisfaction from productive sessions, as well as the frustration and anger from ineffective sessions. I believe that the key to success lies not only in the preparation and organization, but also in the way in which the meeting is managed. When ego and power can be put aside, it is so much easier to get on with the task at hand.

All of this begs to ask the question, “Are meetings really necessary?” Well, sometimes they are and sometimes they aren’t. Wisdom is knowing the difference and fully understanding this primary question.

Are Meetings Really Necessary?

Inherent as part of our society is the need to come together with others to share information, make decisions, plan, discuss, talk things over, argue, question, iron out differences, compare notes, gossip, and much more. Families, schools, clubs, businesses and governments comprise groups of men, women and children all coming together for a specific purpose. All of this means that meeting is a natural function of our existence.

As humans we need the connection with others to survive. Very few people chose to be a hermit and seclude themselves from others. Although, I am sure, like me, many of you reading this may have fantasized about being alone on a desert island, far away from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. We also need to belong, communicate and share a common purpose with likeminded individuals.

The reality is that doing things alone for any length of time is counterproductive. It is only when we work in partnership with others and pool our resources that things get done in a more efficient and effective way.

Meetings are becoming even more necessary for people’s survival with the plethora of entrepreneurs operating from home-based businesses, employees telecommuting or working endless hours in front of computer screens. The need for human interaction is critical.

Not to mention the fact that meetings also minimize or eliminate many of those popular time-wasting activities such as phone tag, unnecessary e-mails, or volumes of paper.

But, when we consider the myriads of business meetings that take place every year, there are many, you know as well as I, which should never have taken place. Now the $64,000 question is “When to hold a meeting (and when not to)?

Thirteen Reasons to Hold a Meeting?

Deciding to hold a meeting should be a serious consideration since there are so many costs involved, direct and indirect – people’s time and productivity, for example. So, the first thing is for the person wanting to hold the meeting to determine how necessary it is to meet. Here is a list of thirteen major reasons people need to meet:

• To communicate or request vital information.
• When you need a group consensus.
• To respond to questions or concerns.
• When you need a decision or an evaluation on an issue.
• When you need acceptance or support of an idea.
• To sell an idea, product or service.
• To brainstorm ideas.
• To solve a problem, conflict or difference of opinion.
• To generate a sense of team spirit.
• To provide training or clarification of a project.
• To alter perceptions or attitudes.
• To provide reassurance on an issue or situation.
• To create an awareness or interest in an idea, situation or project.

Thirteen Reasons Not to Hold a Meeting?

Meetings can easily become addictive, so before you schedule another meeting for the sake of it, check to make sure that you are not meeting for the wrong reasons. Here are thirteen reasons not to hold a meeting:

• When you meet for the sake of meeting – same time, same place, every week.
• When someone’s ego gets in the way and they want to look important and in control.
• When the information could be communicated another way.
• When key people are unavailable.
• When participants don’t have time to prepare.
• When your decision is made and you don’t want any input.
• When your decision is controversial and is likely to create resistance.
• When the costs are greater than the benefits.
• When other issues blur the decision at hand.
• When the subject matter is confidential.
• When nothing would be gained or lost by not having a meeting.
• When you have nothing else to do and want to look busy.
• When you want an excuse to get out of the office.

Eight Common Meeting Substitutes

If after careful consideration you decide that your meeting isn’t necessary, how else can you communicate your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions? Aside from telepathy and carrier pigeon, here are eight common meeting substitutes:

• Arrange a telephone conference call.
• Write a memo (no longer than a page).
• Write a brief report.
• Fax your information.
• E-mail your information.
• Post the information on your company’s intranet.
• Arrange a series of one-on-one discussions.
• Do breakfast, lunch or dinner, especially when you want to get to know the other person better.

What Makes an Effective Meeting?

As I mentioned before, meeting for the sake of meeting is a waste of time and likely to be totally ineffectual. In addition to the planning and preparation of any meeting, an important aspect of what makes a meeting effective, will depend on the perception of the participants.

A person’s perception is their reality, which means that however well the chairperson feels about the meeting, isn’t necessarily how the participants feel. In fact, some opinions may well be formed several days or weeks afterwards, especially, in the case of actions taken, or not taken, as a result of decisions made at the meeting.

With this in mind let’s address some of the positive feelings people experience that help label a meeting as effective. Here are ten common areas:

1. When participants can share and participate openly.
2. When wacky/creative ideas are given airtime.
3. When participants are an integral part of the decision-making process.
4. When participants feel good about agreed decisions.
5. When decisions are high quality and will advance a project.
6. When participants see actions taken as a result of decisions agreed upon.
7. When the meeting begins and ends on time.
8. When all agenda items are covered.
9. When no one participant is allowed to dominate.
10. When participants feel united as a group.

What Makes an Ineffective Meeting?

Since we’ve taken time to list the positive aspects, it’s only right to complete the picture and look at some of the negative perceptions and opinions. Here are ten common areas:

1. When a meeting is called because it’s been a while since the previous meeting.
2. When a meeting is called just to find out what projects people are working on.
3. When a meeting takes up more time than necessary.
4. When one participant is allowed to dominate the entire meeting.
5. When the meeting is a one-way dialogue.
6. When there is no completion and items discussed are left hanging with no action plan.
7. When the meeting facilitator allows discussion to ramble on into unrelated topics.
8. When wacky/creative ideas are dismissed without a second thought.
9. When the meeting includes discussion points that aren’t relevant to the people present.
10. When to many people attend and the group effectiveness diminishes.

These types of affairs differ from your typical corporate business meeting, and you face unique issues and pitfalls when planning them. Rave program reviews are generally the result of the blood, sweat, and tears you devote to the project. A well-designed and well-orchestrated event is analogous to a good stage production. It’s all about getting your act together and performing the right show for the right audience.

The following are 10 tips that zero in on the nitty gritty elements that can help earn your efforts glowing reviews (and make your mom really proud of you). As you begin each planning program, a key question to ask yourself is, “how can each activity engage the participant’s interest?”

Tip #1: Decide When To Stage Your Event

Timing is everything. The decision about when to hold your event is determined in large part by what type of event it is. Ask yourself, is the event better suited for the day or evening? Do you want to hold it during the week or on a weekend? If your event doesn’t have a deadline, would it be best to hold it during a specific season or time of year? Make sure to check that your event doesn’t overlap with any religious holidays, and it’s probably best to avoid scheduling during major sporting events.

Tip #2: Map Out A Location

The first order of business is to decide whether to hold your event indoors or outdoors. However, outdoor events have several major considerations, the elements being number one on the list. Think tents, portable flooring, electric generators, and space heaters, in addition to a well thought out contingency plan. Also, be aware that speeches and audiovisual presentations are notoriously difficult to stage outdoors.

Tip #3: Consider Unique Environments

Hotel meeting rooms can get old very quickly and the thought of a unique environment can immediately add interest and excitement. Consider retreat centers, cruise ships or yachts, museums, stately home, sporting venues, and theaters. Realize that many of these venues work well for special functions, but they don’t necessarily have adequate meeting facilities and equipment. Make sure you do your homework beforehand and abide by the “Meeting Planner’s Golden Rule” – never select a venue without having seen it in person!

Tip #4: Set The Stage

The program plan you choose stems from the purpose and participants. Your four main considerations include:

1. What is the main emphasis of the program – educational, business or social?
2. What are your financial criteria – generate revenue, break even, or be a company expense?
3. What are your participants’ expectations?
4. What is the optimum ration of educational, business, and social programming?

Tip #5: Create The Right Atmosphere

One key to a successful special event is to seek out entertainment or decorations that are unique and fun to spark excitement and add the right ambiance. Think outside the box and consider all sorts of amusements – strolling musicians, magicians, chefs’ demonstrations, palm readers…anything out of the ordinary. Novelty is the key to your success. Keep in mind that entertainment that rave about can also come in the form of an elaborate coffee bar or startlingly beautiful champagne fountain. Remember to check all decorating plans with the venue in advance because many have restrictions on what they allow. For example, many establishments forbid helium balloons.

Tip #6: Create A Memorable Theme

Creating a theme for your event helps make it easier to organize food, décor, and other accessories, such as giveaway items. Select a theme that fits your participants. Consider choosing from the following categories:

• Fashion: The Roaring Twenties or An Evening at Ascot
• History: The Garden of Eden or A Renaissance Fair
• Politics: Fourth of July Celebrations or Women’s Lib (political and historical)
• Popular culture: Wizard of Ox or An Evening with Dr. Seuss
• The arts: An Italian Affair or A Night at the Oscars

Tip #7: Integrate The Theme

Don’t consider a theme unless you are prepared to follow it through your entire event. Don’t limit it to a few posters on the walls, which just add lip service rather than real ambiance. For the most impact, integrate it before, during and after the event. Reflect your theme in your invitations and in any party favors that guests take home. Your theme should complement the tone and content of your event. Advise speakers and discuss with them how they can incorporate, but not overuse it in their remarks. A few extras to consider when integrating your theme:

• Make sure the theme is general enough that it is unlikely to offend anyone, and that it is meaningful to your group.
• Develop a meaningful slogan or message to go along with the theme to add a little extra when you promote the event.
• Consider having a special logo designed to enhance the theme and its possible message.

Tip #8: Hire A Professional Photographer

A photographer is a great addition to almost any event. Guests appreciate a visual reminder of the fun time they had at your affair. Arranging to have family portraits taken at an employee appreciation event shows your employees that you care about them as individuals. Guests at more formal affairs enjoy having their pictures taken while they’re dressed up for a night out. Decide whether you want a photographer to roam among your guests taking candid shots, to set up in a central location to take posed shots, or both.

Tip #9: Entertain The Group

Participants look forward to the entertainment segment of a program. They want to have fun, enjoy themselves, and let their hair down, particularly after stressful and demanding sessions. So guess what? Your participants’ stress reliever now becomes your stress maker. You have a true responsibility to choose the right entertainment for your group. Some options include the following:

• Music: Your choices include a band with or without singers, a soloist (instrumental or vocal), a disc jockey, or even karaoke.
• Spectacle: Consider hiring a magician, juggler, comedian, mime or hypnotist.
• Theater: Arrange a dinner theater performance, a one-person act, a murder-mystery experience, or corporate theater (which involves using professional or amateur actors to dramatize a company’s image, a new product, or the history of an organization).
• Games: Involve your participants by planning individual games, such as a treasure hunt, or an event with a game show format, such as “Jeopardy” or “Hollywood Squares.”
• Video or slide show: A picture is worth a thousand words. For a retirement dinner, consider creating a slide show featuring the guest of honor’s accomplishments. For a sales meeting, provide a video demonstration of a new product.

Tip #10: Hire The Right Talent

As you think about hiring your entertainment talent, find out where and for whom they’ve previously performed. Make certain that you view a demo video. Watch for the quality of their performance and the audience reaction. Check out their references and ask some pertinent questions:

• Would you hire them again?
• How flexible, reliable, and easy to work with were they?
• How would you rate their act?
• What do they do well?
• What part of their act could use improvement?
• What were the demographics of your audience? (You want to make sure that this act would be a good fit for your participants.)

Everyone enjoys receiving a gift, even if it is “just a little something.” Gift giving creates a favorable impression. It can build goodwill, be an incentive, communicate a message and create awareness.

When thinking about advertising specialties for your next show, consider the following ten questions:

1. What do you want to achieve by giving away a premium item?

Your giveaway items should be designed to increase your memorability, communicate, motivate, promote or increase recognition. It is important not only that the message have an impact, but also the premium itself.

2. How will you select your premium item?

There is a multitude of different items you could consider as a premium. However, which one will best suit your purpose? To select the right item, you need to decide your objective. Do you want it to enhance a theme; convey a specific message or educate your target audience? A clear purpose should help make your selection process easier. A promotional specialist can also help you make an effective selection. Remember that your company image is reflected in whatever you choose to give away.

3. Whom do you want to receive your premium?

Having a clear objective for your premium item will also help you decide who should receive it. You may consider having different gifts for different types of visitors. You might have different quality gifts for your key customers, prospects and general passers by.

4. How does your giveaway tie into your marketing theme?

Is there an item that naturally complements your marketing message? Have the message imprinted on the item and make sure that your company name, logo and phone number appear clearly. An important aspect of any gift is to remember who it was from long after the fact.

5. What is your budget?

The price range for premium items is enormous. Quality, quantity and special orders, all impact the price. Establish a budget as part of your exhibit marketing plan. Consider ordering the same item for several different shows. The greater the quantity of your order, the lower the individual unit price.

6. What must visitors do to qualify for a gift item?

There are several ways to use your premium effectively. For example, as a reward for visitors participating in a demonstration, presentation or contest; as a token of your appreciation when visitors have given you qualifying information about their specific needs; as a thank you for stopping at the booth. Avoid leaving items out for anyone to take. This diminishes value and has little or no memorability factor.

7. Will your giveaway directly help your future sales?

Consider handing out a discount coupon or a gift certificate that requires future contact with your company for redemption. Consider premiums that will help generate frequent visits to customers and prospects, such as calling you for free refills.

8. How does your premium item complement your exhibiting goals?

Premiums can be used to prequalify your prospects. One company uses playing cards. Prior to the show, they send “kings” to their key customers, “queens” to suppliers, “jacks” to new or hot prospects. They request that the cards are brought to the booth in exchange for a special gift. When the cards are presented, the booth staff already know certain information about the visitor. They can then act on their previous knowledge and use time with the visitor more productively.

9. How will you inform your target audience about you giveaway item?

A sufficiently novel or useful giveaway can actively help to draw prospects to your booth. So make sure your prospects know about it. Send a “tickler” invitation with details of the giveaway, or create a two-piece premium, sending one part out to key prospects prior to the show and telling them to collect the other half at your booth.

10. How will you measure the effectiveness of your premium?

Establish a tracking mechanism to measure the success of your giveaway. If it is a redemption item, code it so that you know it resulted from the show. Post-show follow-up could include a question about the premium – did visitors remember receiving it and how useful was the item. After the show, critique your giveaway with your exhibit team: Did it draw specific prospects to the booth? Was it eye-catching enough to persuade passers by to stop? Did your customers find it useful? Did it project the right corporate image?

There are plenty of exciting premiums for you to choose from so that you can avoid the usual pens, pencils and keychains. Make your premium work for you and it will be money well invested.

This is a very myopic way of thinking, especially for companies who want to remain globally competitive. Instead, at times like these when resources are under severe scrutiny, look at this as a golden opportunity to analyze your strategies. Put your activities under a microscope and closely examine what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Often during times of plenty, the finance reins loosen up and some highly creative juggling takes place when budgets exceed their estimations. Obviously, we enjoy the abundant mentality and wish that it could last forever. But just as with all things in the universe there has to be a balance, and shortages add stability to plenty. Whenever highs exist, lows are inevitable.

So, instead of reacting to the highs and lows of the marketplace, what can you do to maintain a steady balance? Marketing and training are definitely keys to your success, so let’s examine five benefits and how they relate to your tradeshow participation.

1. Analyze your weakest links

When you take time to look examine your operation in more detail, you often discover that many of your actions are done out of habit rather than being productive and profitable. Think about some of the shows that you attend. How do they really fit into your marketing strategy? Are you attending them just because you’ve always done so, or because your competition is there? These are often your weak links, the shows that utilize unnecessary time and energy. Think about doing away with the “nice to be at shows” and rather opt at putting all your energy into the more profitable events that attract larger quantities of your target market.

Another weak budgetary link is associated with excessive employee spending at shows, such as dining at the finest restaurants and ordering the highest priced items just because the boss is paying. Consider setting up a per diem allowance and make employees accountable for expenses. You might even reward them with the difference if they under spend their stipend.

2. Exhibit a global competitiveness mindset

To be a contender in the global marketplace and establish a vanguard positioning, you have to be out there come rain or shine. And, tradeshows signify an essential marketing strategy when it comes to visibility. Exhibiting demonstrates that you’re a serious player in the industry. However tough, it’s important to keep tradeshows as one of your major promotional strategies. Rather consider reducing space than totally pulling out a show, provided of course, that it’s the right show for you. Unfortunately, if you stop exhibiting completely, the “buzz” on the show floor says publicly that you must be in financial trouble. This may be completely false, but it’s people’s perceptions that count. They’re the reality they believe. As the old adage states, “out of sight, out of mind.” And, since memorability is a key factor associated with exhibiting, if you’re not seen, how can you possibly be remembered!

3. Focus on long-term results

Investing in both marketing and training means that you’re interested and willing to focus on long-term results. Neither is designed to give a “quick fix,” rather using them continuously in an organized and planned manner, will produce results. They’re like a dripping faucet, so long as the drops constantly fall into the tub, it will fill up. However, if you maintain a “turn on, turn off” approach, that is train and market in times of plenty and discontinue when there’s a shortage, then your results are likely to mirror your actions. Look at how you can keep an operational equilibrium to avoid the highs and the lows. Develop a consistent marketing and training strategy.

4. Inspire loyal workers

Often companies are reluctant to invest too much in training staff for fear that once trained, they’ll leave for “greener pastures.” Since there are no guarantees in life, that’s always going to be a risk, but does that mean you shouldn’t develop your people to be the best they can be? Absolutely not! The reasons employees leave may be many. Employees may leave because of frustration or stress. They might feel unappreciated or undervalued. It could be that they believe your company is heading for an iceberg and want to “jump ship” before it sinks. Maybe they feel that their salaries are not in line with the jobs they are performing. Or they could feel that they don’t have enough authority, growth opportunities, or direction in their careers. Training is often the key to help inspire loyalty.

5. Improve performance

Employees are the backbone of your company. Without them, your company cannot stay afloat. The relationship between employees and employers has to be a partnership; if they feel their needs are being ignored, they will leave you. But when both sides work on the same wavelength, share the same goals and ideas, the company will be on the right track for success. What better place than the tradeshow floor to exhibit this mentality. Your exhibit staff represents your internal customer-service team and your company ambassadors. They stand for your entire organization. These people have the awesome responsibility of making or breaking future relationships with attendees, prospects and customers. Their attitude, body language, appearance, and knowledge help to create positive or negative perceptions in the minds of visitors. Make sure that they’re well trained and can do what you expect of them. Training shows that you recognize your team’s importance in the company and look to develop their skills to improve performance.

Exhibiting is a powerful extension of your company’s marketing strategy and your people are the backbone of your company. Eliminating your marketing and training budgets during times of recession is tantamount to profitability suicide. So consider looking at other places to make those cuts!