Plan Your Meetings

By Lisa Kraus

This February, PYM will spend a lot of time in the great state of Texas for our PYM LIVE Dallas & Austin events. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to a veteran Austin-based planner, Paula J. Rigling, CAE, CMP. Paula is the president of Meeting Planning Professionals, and has focused her business on working with associations, educational groups and pharmaceutical companies. She earned her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation in 1994, her Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1996, and received the Professional Excellence Award from the Texas Society of Association Executives in 1998.

How long have you been a meeting planner, and how did you get started in this industry?

I actually had a long-term plan for myself. I knew while in college that I wanted to do meetings and events. (I have an undergraduate degree in public relations.) During my senior year, I was a student body representative working within a department that planned the inauguration of a new president at our university. I realized then that’s what I wanted to do. So, I went on and got my masters in organizational communications. After finishing in 1984, I went to work on the hotel side. My thinking was I would work for about five years on the hotel side and learn the business from that point of view, and then move over to the other side. I eventually became director of catering with the hotel chain I was working for. In 1990, the hotel closed for renovations, so I was laid off. My husband encouraged me to go into meeting planning. The long hours with the hotel industry were not conducive to running a family. So, I started putting out the word with my friends and networks, and my friend recommended me for a job at the Texas Medical Association (TMA) as the executive director for five different professional medical state associations. After five years, I was offered the position of Director of Meetings for TMA. I did that for four years, planning events that consisted of 5,000 attendees in a 200-booth trade show, with 330 speakers and 33 concurrent sessions. It was very complicated planning. I was with TMA for a total of 10 years. Then in 2000, I went to work for an event management software company. We did pre-event Web sites, onsite cyber cafes and all event technology for large corporate meetings, such as Intel, Texas Instruments and IBM. Then, after 9/11, they went out of business. So, in 2002, I went into business for myself.

I have spoken to several meeting planners who made a big career change after 9/11. How did that affect the meeting planning industry?

So many companies were downsizing after 9/11, so a lot of people lost their jobs. It really forced people to take a look at what they were doing and think, “Why can’t I do this for myself?” Again, my husband encouraged me by saying, “You always wanted to be in business for yourself.” At that time, my twins were in third grade, and he said, “See if this could work for you.” I immediately started networking. My friend connected me with an association that needed help with a meeting coming up in two months. So, I just sort of fell into having my own business. In the eight years I’ve been in business, I’ve never advertised or promoted myself. Every piece of business I’ve received has come from networking and referrals. One client leads to another client; so that’s how I maintain my business.

What do you recommend for planners who want to make it as an independent?

I think that has really come around again this past year with the economy. It has been a real struggle for a lot of independent planners and planners who have been laid off. They’re having difficulty finding work. There is a great online forum, MiForum (Meeting Industry Forum). It’s a Google group listserve. Absolutely no marketing is allowed. Several thousand meeting planners and suppliers are on the list from all walks of life, participating in information sharing. I have been watching the conversations, and a lot of it consists of conversations among people who have unfortunately gotten quite desperate with job searches. There is a lot of advice and recommendations taking place, though. It’s a wonderful resource. I have been on it since 1998. It really is quite a community. People are helping people within this forum. It’s easy to join too — just sign up.

Tell us more about your company, Meeting Planning Professionals.

I am an independent, and I do not have employees working for me. If I have the need, I will contract out for additional help. My client base is primarily associations. My largest client is an international association for professors in consumer research. Their annual conference each year is about 1,000 attendees. Then I also have some Texas-based associations, such as the Texas branch of an international association in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. I also do some things for local colleges, such as UT. I work with their English department and coordinate group tours. This year I am branching out into managing some of the smaller associations that have approached me. A benefit of being an independent planner is the dynamic work environment and diversity of the clientele. In other words, I’m not doing the same meetings each year. I get to do meetings of all sizes, group needs and locations.

What are your favorite things about being a planner?

As a meeting planner you have the ability to create and give other people experiences. I love learning my clients’ goals and objectives, and then trying to figure out the very best way to create an experience that will feed back into that goal and help accomplish that goal.  I enjoy creating an environment that is rich and dynamic and exciting for them to learn in, while looking for new ways to motivate people through the various event factors. That is the best part about meeting planning: You get to conceptualize an experience and give that experience to other people.

What are other passions of yours?

I love writing and teaching about meeting planning. I have an online bi-monthly column that I write for the American Society of Administrative Professionals. I teach meeting planning sessions for the Texas Society of Association Executives conferences. I am doing a leadership academy for them, too. I also have taught at the University of Texas continuing education center in the past. I taught sessions on meeting planning and was the course director for their advanced meeting planning courses. I am really passionate about teaching best practices to other meeting planners. I feel very strongly about giving back to the community and industry.

What advice can you give our readers?

The most important thing that I believe in very strongly is not working so much on promoting yourself, but rather on developing yourself as a meeting planner. Build your networks and relationships. It is through my development, through attending conferences, through obtaining my CMP certification and teaching that I have made networks and established relationships that have come back to me for jobs. I get three to four new referrals per year because of my networking. So, my advice is focus less on self promotion and more on self development.

How can people contact you to find out more?

I can be reached at 512-791-4701 or at pjrig@aol.com.

Thank you for all of the advice and information Paula. I look forward to seeing you at PYM LIVE Austin!

::

Lisa Kraus is the Director of Marketing & Audience Development and a contributing writer for Plan Your Meetings. She enjoys traveling, music, reading, and is an avid cat lover. She is currently working on writing her first book, a business guide for customer service and employee management.

After years of ignoring the hit TV show “Lost,” I decided to tune in for the series premiere last night. It was interesting, but I felt utterly adrift. Evidently, it was filled with all sorts of people and bits of information that I would have gotten had I been plugged into the TV show over the years. But since I just walked in, much of it was interesting, but obviously aimed towards a select group among whom I don’t belong.

Then it occurred to me: A lot of times, we have people walk into our events who are experiencing our group for the first time. Are we making a strong enough commitment to engage and welcome them into our community? Or are we making the assumption that the name or reputation of the organization/event is enough of a selling point?

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone came back from an industry luncheon and told me they felt it was “too cliquey.” When offered the choice between cliquey gatherings and ones that feel open and inviting, which would you choose? Nobody likes walking in and feeling like they’re intruding on a closed old-boys/old-girls club.

So, try this: Next time you’re at an industry function, don’t just seek out the people you know, look for the newbies to engage in conversation. When you’re planning events, make sure there’s some kind of first-timer’s orientation for attendees and exhibitors where they can meet veterans, learn the context and history of your event and get some tips on how to make the most of it.

Because, let’s face it: If you want to make your events engaging to a new generation of attendees, you can’t afford to let them get “Lost.”

Every month we’ll be posting a new educational video where we speak with your peers about questions and challenges you may be having and talk about the solutions. Last month, we discussed Social networking for meeting planners:

On Feb. 12, we’ll be filming our episode about working with CVBs. So if you have any questions you’d like me to ask our panel, post them below, and I’ll make sure they’re addressed.

For the full 2010 Knowledge Series schedule, click here.

Ever wonder how a general session is put together? After the opening general session of the 2010 PCMA Convening Leaders conference on Jan. 11, Freeman’s Design/Production Resource Manger Jim Irwin, CTS, MFA, led meeting and event planners on a behind the scenes tour and explained the process as it moved from the drawing board to the convention center.

“Planning began six months out,” Irwin said. During that first meeting, PCMA shared what their initial concept was: to have one large screen filled with all the things that are available to attendees on the Internet.

“The problem was, there was no way to get people on and off the stage,” Irwin explained. So one screen became three. Normally you do black drapes for entrance points, Irwin said, but because the clients wanted to give the audience a feeling of being in the computer, he decided it’d be more visually interesting to use stock metal set pieces he had that looked like the air cooling vents on a computer. Because the session was being held in a cavernous exhibit hall, Irwin chose to segment off the sides with 8-ft. drapes. “I did everything I could to [keep] the audience seating with the frame of the screen and make it feel a little more intimate, like we’re all in the room together.”

Perhaps the most innovative design element of the session was a touchscreen navigation system embedded in a downstage podium that allowed speakers to select any of the images on the screen to launch the corresponding Web site or presentation. “Touchscreens are not standard yet, so we built in a few safeguards,” Irwin explained. “We try not to put the client in a position where they can shoot themselves in the foot.” So, although the presenter could see many options to select, Irwin and his team only activated the one that would move the presentation forward.

Another fun element was the addition of an audience “plant,” comedienne Denny Siegal, who was hired by Freeman to represent the portion of PCMA attendees that might be uncomfortable with new media, social networks and other technological advances. “Excuse me,” she said, interrupting outgoing PCMA Chairman John Folk’s welcome speech. “Aren’t we supposed to be an association of face-to-face meeting professionals? I’ve done my business exactly the same way for 25 years.” Folks deadpanned, “So how is business?” “I need help!” she cried. During her appearance in the closing session three days later, she demonstrated newly learned techno-savvy skills, underlining what Folks said was the goal for this meeting: providing relevant information for PCMA’s members to help them succeed in a challenging environment.

In addition to talking about the design, technical and comedic elements of the session, Irwin and his team introduced planners to the behind the scenes staff. They met and learned the duties of the back of house staff (stage manager, lighting designer and audio operator) as well as behind the screen operators (video director, playback pro, PowerPoint designer and teleprompter operator).

Irwin also shared ways in which planners could reduce the cost of what they had seen PCMA do. “This set is only expensive because of the screens,” Irwin said. “They are 18-ft. by 32-ft. and cost $1,700 a day each. This is extreme because it’s for this group, and we have 18 HD projectors. But you could use smaller screens.” By using regular projectors, DV cameras and switchers instead of HD ones, planners could save a lot of money, but Irwin chose to go with HD equipment because people are used to watching HD resolution images in their homes. “Lighting and gobos make a big effect for low cost,” he added. “Gobos add color and texture. It’s a great way to get a good look from a cheap set.” For planners looking to be OSHA-compliant, Irwin said it’s much more affordable to avoid building wheelchair ramps and use a backstage lift instead. “Convention centers don’t have wheelchair ramps,” he explained. “So it has to be custom carpentry, which is expensive. We use scissor lifts and run them up and down. They’re rentable. Then, you just need to build an OSHA-approved basket.”

In closing, Irwin shared his top five tips for doing a general session:

1. Listen to the client. Talk. Then, listen again.
2. Be willing to change and listen to the opinions of other people. If you’re willing to be flexible, they’ll be more willing to be flexible if you change your mind.
3. The customer is always right … until they’re obviously wrong. You have to keep the client from making silly mistakes, so if you see something you don’t like, fix it, because chances are other people don’t like it either, but they’re being too polite to say anything.
4. Give credit to your creative team. If you respect and acknowledge contributions, they will help you achieve your goals and care about the quality of what they’re doing.
5. There really isn’t any limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t mind who gets the credit.

Here’s a short video of the session and behind the scenes tour.

During the opening session of the 2010 PCMA Convening Leaders conference, PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton asked an interesting question.

“Can your family tell us what you do?” she said. The crowd giggled nervously, but the point made was a great one. In 2009, the industry was caught flatfooted by media backlash against meetings, events and incentive programs. And the fire was fueled by misunderstanding: There was a lack of comprehension of what planners do and how essential that work is to helping businesses grow.

A year later, the industry has come a long way in terms of advocacy. Several industry organizations have joined forces to give us Meetings Mean Business, the Keep America Meeting campaign and Face Time: It Matters, a marketing campaign being launched by the Convention Industry Council. And, to conclusively prove the value of meetings and events, a full economic impact study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be released later this year.

But are you being the best advocate you could be for the work you do?

Can you explain in one sentence what you do? Can you articulate how important it is? If someone were to run into your mother or brother on the street, would they be able to explain what you do for a living?

Carrie Ferenac and her company Convention News Television have done a fabulous job covering the 2010 PCMA Convening Leaders conference in Dallas this week. Check out some of the highlights on this sizzle reel:

I’m returning to Atlanta today, bringing all my notes, some video images of the opening session and its behind the scenes tour, the closing night reception and some great ideas that I can’t wait to share with you. Yesterday, I led a roundtable session on Making Cents: Cost Saving Measures to Improve Your Meeting’s Bottom Line that generated some fabulous advice I’ll be posting on February 1.

But more than ever, attending PCMA’s annual convention reminded me of the importance for meeting professionals to be attending industry events. Whether it’s a PYM LIVE, MPI chapter luncheons, regional educational events or big annual shows, coming together with your peers is a phenomenal way to keep your skills sharp and your priorities in focus.

By Lisa Kraus

Kevin R. Johnston, CMP, is a 25-year veteran of the meetings and events industry, and a long-time friend and contributor of Plan Your Meetings content. He frequently contributes articles in our annual publication and writes an online, monthly advice column on venue contracting and procurement. Kevin also speaks at many of the PYM LIVE Events. This month, I wanted to uncover some things that our readers may not have known about Kevin.

Kevin, thank you for everything you do for PYM. You run a very successful company. Can you give us some information about the Advantage Event Group (AEG)?

I formed AEG to address the need of making meetings more profitable through better contracting and procurement. Our primary focus is the contracting and procurement of the largest and most complex expense areas that planners deal with — venues, which may include hotels and separate convention center space and audiovisual production services. As a full-service agency, we provide turnkey meeting management services based on client needs. The difference between AEG and others is that our core service  — venue procurement is not only [offered] at no charge to clients, but also, we revenue share our placement fees with clients to increase their profitability.

How does that work?

It’s pretty simple really. When we are engaged to work on behalf of clients in a procurement/agency capacity, we are compensated by the venues. Typically, 10 percent of rooms generate revenue. Based on the total number of rooms we book for our clients during the year, we share, on a graduated scale, a credit of the percentage back to the client on his hotel meeting master bill. That credit immediately reduces the expense line and increases meeting profitability.

How do you find your clients?

Well, several clients are referred to us by hotel or venue partners. It benefits them to work with us; and it benefits clients to [have] the leverage of an immense business network that has been built over nearly three decades. Clients refer us to other potential clients, and we meet others at gatherings like PYM LIVE, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) and other ongoing networking activities. It’s a people business, a relationship business. As a baby boomer, I rely on and enjoy meeting and talking with people face-to-face. People do business with those they like and those they trust.

What is your favorite thing about being a meeting planner?

The list is endless. I personally enjoy the chance to create the “wow” factor. You know, that moment where you see attendees on the edge of their seats.

How did you get started in this industry?

When I left college, I went to work on “The Donny & Marie Show” (back in the day). I had the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest and most creative production people in the business. My key takeaway was that you don’t have to throw tons of money at something to get stellar results — you just have to know how to get it done and with whom.

Are there a lot of similarities between working in television and meeting planning?

You’d be surprised! Most productions entail travel coordination, outside venues, endless schedules and schedule changes, VIP requirements, décor, budgets, late nights, low pay …  you know, the same things we deal with everyday. [Laughs.]

In which organizations are you involved, and why?

Other than being a lifetime member of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), I’ve been a long-time member of MPI since 1987. MPI creates a community for its members to learn, grow and support each other. My best friends and business associates have come to me through MPI. I am currently co-chairing Georgia MPI’s Meetings Exploration Conference,  which will be here, in Atlanta, Feb. 11 – 12.

Another upstart, but important organization that I have embraced is the GMIC. I am currently the co-chair of the communications committee. In Atlanta, until a year ago, there was no formal organization that was focused on uniting the hospitality industry behind the need to be more sustainable regarding meetings and events. GMIC – Atlanta, which started with a handful of planners getting together to “figure it all out,” has now become the first officially chartered chapter of the national GMIC organization, which is headquartered in Portland, Ore. I’m not a tree hugger, but I do believe that my kids and granddaughters shouldn’t have to deal with the remnants of our excesses. We can all do a little more to make this world a better place today and in the future. So why not start now?

I completely agree. What else do you enjoy about your job and the industry?

I enjoy sharing and mentoring. Over the years, I’ve done the MPI leadership thing from the chapter levels to the International Board. It was great and I learned so much. I also really enjoy speaking, teaching, and sharing, most of all. When I am not doing that, I am often tapped to leverage my relationships for the betterment of the organization — a little arm-twisting, you might say. I [am often] involved in raising money and cutting deals that will benefit both sides. I’m fortunate in knowing so many people in the business, that I can [easily] make a call and ask for a favor from time-to-time. Everyone wins when it’s done for the right reasons.

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. How can people get in touch with you?

Busy hands are happy hands! I can be contacted at my office at 678-229-2403 or via email at  Kjohnston@advantageeventgroup.com.