Many meeting planners attend conferences for continuing education, but it can be difficult to leave behind the role of planner and assume the role of attendee. Approaching new people can be difficult because of obstacles we put in front of ourselves as well as those innate to a conference setting. As a result, many people leave events without making meaningful contacts.

It’s also a planner’s responsibility to provide opportunities for people to network. Until people are given permission to meet others, most feel self-conscious and remain within their comfort zones. Ideally, every conference should begin with intentional networking events in the beginning that encourage attendees to meet new people. Until icebreakers become a standard, however, attendees must take initiative.

Overcoming Obstacles

Whether you’re shy or outgoing, figuring out how to meet people on your own is difficult. Many conferences provide registrants with a list of names of other attendees. Peruse companies and people, connect over social media prior to arriving and make arrangements to meet up before you get there or during the event. Research if the conference has a program for first-timers. Some places give a badge for newbies, prompting others to approach and welcome them. Connect with speakers ahead of time. Research them and meet up at the conference. Challenge yourself to walk up to someone standing solo and introduce yourself. Remember, singles like to mingle.

Being unprepared is easily overcome with strategy. Ask yourself a few questions to determine your goals. Why are you going? What kind of people do you want to meet? Are you looking for sales, business referrals, a mentor?  Stating your objective will make it easier to find the right people.

Being in a group provides security, but it also can be a hindrance. If you do go with a group, plan goals and create a supportive outreach team beforehand. Get together for breakfast, but disperse during lunch, and meet up again for drinks later. There’s no need to be split the entire time, but utilize the conference time to meet new people. Introduce each other to one another’s acquaintances.

Becoming a Natural

How do you become someone who effortlessly connects with others? A trick is to not just approach people, but to make yourself approachable as well. There is nothing more beneficial than a smile and eye contact. A positive disposition is simple, and it makes people want to meet you. Many conferences supply badges, which unfortunately hang around the neck and land on the stomach—not prime placement for people to figure out who someone is. Bring your own badge and place it in an easy-to-see location, which makes you more accessible.

Once you are in a conversation, relate to the person you are talking with. Listening is crucial. Look him in the eye, smile, and make a connection. Ask genuine questions and find common ground. If you are really interested in people, they will want to continue to talk to you and eventually you will be the focus of the conversation.

Do not try to sell the starting point in a relationship. If a business interaction sounds promising, arrange a future time for that, but do not do it at the conference.

Following Up

What you do after the conference is just as important as what you do prior. Schedule a time for follow-up. Whether by phone, email, lunch or social media—make it happen. Find a way to help your connection before you ask for a sale or a favor. Learn about them and give them the opportunity to know you and develop a relationship of trust. It can be as simple as sharing a resource or recommending a book.

Alice Heiman is a sales process consultant focusing on redesign, implementation and reinforcement for a diverse list of corporations, start-ups and growing companies. She is the inventor of The BizTalk Blender, The Ultimate Networking Event. Find more information at aliceheiman.com

1. The future started yesterday.

When I speak on social media issues at corporate conferences, I always tell my audiences, “This whole Internet thing is going to catch on…it’s going to be huge.” If your company hasn’t fully embraced new online technologies, you’re already out of business; you just don’t know it yet.

2. Good enough is good enough.

Trained as an art director, I always considered part of my position to be the protector of quality. In the name of fine resolution, we’d fight with our clients to spend enormous sums for 16 or 35mm film when today you can buy a higher resolution Canon HDSLR for less than two grand. But regardless of what equipment you use, when was the last time you heard someone complain about the resolution on YouTube? As Seth Godin wrote, “Get it out the door” already.

3. Faster, cheaper, better. Pick all three.

The old line used to be, “Faster. Cheaper. Better. Pick any two.” If you wanted it fast and good it was going to be expensive. Good and cheap would take time. And if you wanted it fast and cheap, it would suck. But that was back in the day when our clients used to ask, “What have you done for me lately?” With the advent of online technologies, today’s question is, “What have you done for me next?”

4. Be different. Or be dead.

In his best-selling book “A Whole New Mind,” Daniel Pink writes about the dangers of the “Three As”: Abundance, Asia and Automation. Pink explains that anything that can be created in abundance will be; anything that can be made in Asia will; and anything that can be automated will be as well. Pink’s solution? Develop and cultivate six senses: design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. His example of a successful business that can’t be copied: Madonna. In other words, just standing up isn’t enough anymore. To be successful you have to stand out and stand for something. Otherwise, no one will care.

5. They don’t buy what you do. They buy who you are.

Consumers no longer need to buy products or services for their functions. Not because the functions no longer matter but because the functions have become ubiquitous. Instead, the best sellers are purchased because of the relationships they create with their buyers. If Madonna is the perfect product, then what steps can you take to build your brand and its value (both real and perceived) to your customer? After all, if you’re not providing it then someone else will. And as we’ve already seen, they’ll do it faster, cheaper and maybe even better.

Taken together, these five observations might appear discouraging, suggesting that technology has superseded the need for quality and craftsmanship. Instead, I think they provide benchmarks for building a successful and creative business in this new technological age.

As I see it, the future for everyone in my business and all creative businesses is in their ability to create powerful, compelling ideas. Whether it’s a new way to get attention, a new way to deliver customer service or a new way to build a better mousetrap, 2011 will be the year of the idea. After all, despite how powerful computers have become, they haven’t started to think…yet.

Bruce Turkel, branding guru and author, is a regular speaker at Connect Marketplace. This article is an excerpt from his blog. You can read the complete version and more from Turkel at turkeltalks.com.

If your meeting takes place on an annual basis, you have the luxury of being able to market to your current attendee base for the next year’s event. Taking advantage of this captured audience takes planning prior to the meeting and follow-up afterward. It should be an objective of your marketing plan and a task on your timeline from year to year.

1. One of the biggest draws for attendees is the destination. If yours changes yearly, then you have a prime marketing message to promote to the current year’s attendees. One technique is to keep the destination a secret and reveal it at the final night’s function. Consider using a destination theme for your decor or dessert and having the group guess its location.

Mike Chandler, managing director of events for USA Volleyball, has the host for the next year promote their city to attendees at the current event. Inviting a representative from the convention and visitors bureau or a city leader is a great way to elevate hype for the destination. CVBs have slick videos promoting the highlights of their destination, and sometimes will provide attendee gifts or city-themed decor for your tables.

2. If you meet in the same location year after year, try generating excitement by announcing the keynote speaker or a new feature. And if you don’t have your keynote selected a year in advance, follow up later using social media to get the information out quickly. “I send out lots of messages (via Facebook and Twitter) with the dates and location added,” says Kent Watson, executive director of PubWest. “I always include the date and location in my signature line for all emails.” Chandler uses the discounts he’s negotiated with hotels and restaurants as a promotional tool as well.

3. As an additional incentive, consider offering returning attendees a discount on their registration fee, but be sure to include a deadline. It’s important to make this discount exclusive to returning attendees and separate from any early-bird discount you might offer the general public. The more important you can make returning attendees feel, the more likely they are to buy in to early registration. Set up an alumni club and offer an additional incentive for them to register such as a free guest pass for the welcome reception. Create alumni ribbons for their badges listing the number of years they’ve attended.

4. Once you’ve successfully marketed at the current conference, it’s time to put the post-event marketing plan in place. Even if your agenda is not ready, immediately change your conference website to list the new dates and location, and give an approximate date when registration will open. Send all past attendees information on the registration discount, even if they haven’t attended in the past few years. Also, consider setting up a separate referral discount whereby a returning attendee can refer a new participant and receive a further discount if that person signs up.

5. Let your destination’s CVB do some of the work for you. They can list your show on their calendar of events and promote your conference to members. Their promotional video can also be embedded on your website to further generate excitement for the destination.

Monica Compton, CMP, has 18 years experience as an international meeting planner. A writer and event-marketing consultant for U.S.-based Pinnacle Productions, she splits her time between Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Many planners do not fully realize, nor adequately utilize, the services a CVB offers, many of which are free of charge. For planners who do not have adequate internal staff to assist with their meeting, or for non-profit or volunteer events that do not have full-time planning support, CVBs can become an extension of your team, saving you time and money. Their message is clear and you’ll hear it repeated over and over: “Tell us what success means from your perspective and your bosses and we’ll help you meet it.”

Request for Proposals

A CVB’s membership includes local businesses that generally supply services to the hospitality industry such as hotels, convention centers, restaurants, attractions and transportation companies. If your event has a need for a large number of suppliers or you are not familiar enough with the city to select providers, CVBs can create a request for proposal (RFP) for you and submit it to prospective companies. They will also take your own RFP document and disseminate it to a pre-approved list. It is important to qualify the companies you want to receive the RFP, especially if you or your client has a preferred brand for hotels. By being as specific as possible in the RFP document, you reduce an influx of e-mails and telephone calls from companies you have no interest in buying from.

Promoting Your Event

CVBs can assist in bolstering your meeting’s attendance through several promotional tools. When building your event’s Web site, you may need high-resolution photos of the location. CVBs can provide targeted images as well as video of accommodations and attractions.

Since destination information can be overwhelming and highlight attractions your attendees may not be visiting, simply listing the destination’s Web site link on your event information page can lead to confusion. Some CVBs will create a specific URL for your event which links to a welcome splash page with your group’s name. The custom page allows you to pick the information you want highlighted for your group. By listing only the attractions that appear on your event agenda, you reduce miscommunication with your delegates.

Media Contacts

If you are organizing an event that is open to the public, CVBs can assist in providing local media contacts and information for press releases. Most CVBs have a section of their Web site dedicated to public relations and media inquiries. Here you can find information to incorporate into your press materials, including stock story copy and quotes highlighting the destination’s offerings. CVBs will provide a list of e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for local and regional newspapers, television and radio stations.

Housing and Travel Assistance

If your meeting or event is large enough to require three or more hotels, CVBs can provide an online housing reservations system which can also include airline and ground transportation bookings. Many events have one online system to register attendees and gather housing and travel information. However, not all registration sites have the capacity to pass these reservations directly to the hotel or airline’s system. Similar to a third-party registration company, the CVB’s housing bureau can communicate with the hotel and disseminate rooming lists and travel itineraries. Note that CVBs in smaller market cities many not offer this service and there is usually a fee involved.

Tour and Attraction Booking

A CVB provides information and contacts for booking tours and attractions and can also refer their member destination management companies if your needs are more extensive. Similar to a hotel’s structure, a CVB will assign your group a convention services manager (CSM) who will work with you on all the pre-planning details. The CSM can act as your liaison in contacting their member suppliers. Since each member company is paying dues to fund the CVB, your CSM cannot suggest one company over another. They can, however, narrow your choices by telling you which companies provide the specific service you are requesting.

Additional Supplier Listings

CVBs can provide suggestions for services well beyond hotels and attractions. These include: program speakers and entertainers; exhibit freight services; equipment rental for your onsite planner office; floral designers; car rental companies; foreign language translation services; and even babysitting services.

On-site Staffing

Many planners have the capacity to organize a large event with a small staff, but then require supplemental support once onsite. CVBs can provide different levels of temporary staffing from attendee material collation to registration services. It’s important to qualify your needs and give the CVB a detailed job description of what is required. Do you have a registration desk that requires no more than a greeter to hand out delegate badges? Or is your registration more complex, requiring computer skills and knowledge of online software systems? Communicating your specific needs to the CVB will ensure the right match for each task.

By partnering with a CVB, you can reduce time in researching what a destination has to offer and quickly define which local suppliers meet your requirements. Rather than having to become an expert in a destination, you can save time and costs by utilizing the CVB’s expertise. With streamlined destination knowledge and preferred supplier information, you can now spend your time on more strategic planning elements. All it takes is delegation to your newly extended team — the CVB.

Defining Destinations

A convention and visitors bureau (CVB) is the dominant form of a destination marketing organization (DMO) in the U.S. While each state has a department of travel and tourism, most counties and/or cities also have their own CVB to promote a more geographically narrow area.

Although there are many government and chamber of commerce bodies with responsibility for marketing a destination to visitors, most convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) are non-profit organizations, working independently under the direction of a board of elected directors. They are usually membership organizations bringing together businesses that rely on tourism and meetings for revenue and are funded primarily through the collection of “bed taxes” on visitors.

Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is the world’s largest resource for official destination marketing organizations. The organization provides members with educational resources, networking opportunities and marketing benefits worldwide. It also maintains an online bookstore and resource center, an e-mail discussion list for members, professional certificates and designations (PDM, CDME), an accreditation program and an official online travel portal: OfficialTravelGuide.com.

DMAI was founded in 1914 as the International Association of Convention Bureaus to promote sound professional practices in the solicitation and servicing of meetings, conventions and tourism. In 1957, the association changed its name to the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau (IACVB), to reflect the growing importance of consumer travel. In 2005, it changed its name again to become Destination Marketing Association International.

Sources: destinationmarketing.org, Wikipedia.com