The Wheels on the Bus

Ground transfers are part of most meeting and events. Whether you are transporting to/from airport and hotel, team building activities, or dinners—there are many opportunities to not only brand and communicate your message—but also to engage your attendees. It’s always great to have a cooler of bottled water on hand and a basket of snacks. If my client has the budget, I’ll brand the bottled water—or even suggest they go green and provide everyone a branded re-usable water bottle for later use. Snacks are good too! A variety of sweet, salty, and healthy is important. I try to source from local vendors and introduce my groups to unique and tasty snacks that are made in the area they are visiting.

You have your attendees’ full attention. They aren’t going anywhere while the bus is moving. How do you take advantage of that? How do you make it a memorable experience? These three interactive games work best for smaller groups (under 50 people) and really well for company retreats.

Who Bowled in a League with OutKast in Atlanta?

Ahead of your program, ask each attendee to provide three “secret” facts about themselves. On the bus drive, read the fun facts and have attendees guess who it is.  Attendees will not only get to know each other better, they may connect over similar interests.

I Got the 1981 Motley Crue Album. 
Ask attendees to bring an old CD or DVD that they no longer want/need. Collect all the items and redistribute on the bus ride.  It’s really fun to see peoples’ different music and movie preferences. You can even try to guess who “donated” your new gift.

I Love Your Purple Squirrel Hat!

Ask each attendee to bring a crazy hat. Do not define “crazy”—let them decide how they define “crazy.” Attendees can wear their crazy hats on the bus—it’s a great ice breaker and even better for photos once you get to where you are going!

How do you use ground transfers as a marketing opportunity?

Nobody is Too Busy; It's a Matter of Priority

We all have the time we need. We always have. We simply have to decide how we want to use it. I decided last fall that I wanted a new challenge for 2018. I wanted to transform my 43 year old post baby body. My daugher would be turning three in April, and I would be turning 44 in August. No time like the present!  As someone who already worked out four-five days a week, stayed active playing sports, ate relatively healthy, and meal prepped, I knew that I'd have to make drastic changes. I hired a coach. Not just a coach. I hired a seasoned figure competitor who has competed in over 13 competitions starting when she was 40.

On January 8, 2018 with 14 weeks out, I started an intense training program that put me in the gym twice a day: one session of cardio for 30-60 minutes a day, plus one 60+ minute weight lifting session a day. I also followed a very strict meal plan --weighing to the ounce my foods. I get bored fast with food, so this was a challenge. (There are only so many different spices for chicken, fish, and eggs.) I continued to meal plan and prep, cooking everything from scratch for myself and my two year old daughter. We only ate whole foods: fresh veggies and berries, bananas, egg white omelettes, chicken, fish, quinoa, brown rice, and once a week early on, I was allowed one RX Bar... the only pre-packaged food I ate (although they are 100% whole food protein). Towards the end, however, the carbs were cut, the fruit was cut. I was left with canned tuna fish--which actually excited me. 

What did I need to give up for this to happen?
Alcohol.
Chocolate.
Work/Personal Travel. (except for one short biz trip to NYC)
Eating out. (except on a few rare occasions, see above)

I continued to go out with friends, but I didn't eat or drink. It's a challenge to eat out when on a strict meal plan. All the money that I normally spent on eating out went towards protein shakes, supplements, vitamins, and grocery shopping. I was at the grocery store and fish market almost daily.

The result? After 14* weeks of training, I competed in my first National Figure Committee competition, dropping over 20 pounds, and losing 8% body fat -- without compromising other aspects of my life.

Oh, did I mention that during this time I was a single Mom, and an entrepreneur running a successful business?  Since all my family lives back on the East Coast, I had no help. *And for nearly two of those 14 weeks I was in bed (yes, actually in bed for 20 hours a day) with the flu--only up to take my daughter to/from school. 

So next time you say you're "too busy to make your own chocolate cake," remember this: We all have the same number of hours in the day. How do you choose to use yours?

"Every once in awhile we need to challenge ourselves; set crazy goals, and fulfill them. When you say you don’t have time to make a cake— I say we all have the same amount of time. What you chose to do in that time, is up to YOU". -- A.Cannistraci

Why Hire a Meeting Planner?

Planning a meeting or event is a full time job. When you hire a professional meeting planner, you not only recoup valuable staff productivity and money, you gain a team member whose core competency is meeting planning.

How I Stay Organized

Who doesn’t like to feel in control of their life, their day, their week, their year? Meeting planners especially feel the need to be organized and streamlined—it’s in our DNA; it’s essential for our jobs.

As an entrepreneur with a thriving business and a busy two year old, I’m committed to one tool that has helped me tremendously to be more efficient, ensuring I never miss a meeting or appointment--business or personal.

I live by my calendar—if an event is not on my calendar, it well not even exist. I start by planning out the year and block off:

1.  National holidays

2.  Religious holidays

3.  Family birthdays

4.  Big events within my clients’ industries

5.  Meeting planner conferences I want to attend

6.  Personal holidays and trips

7.  Montessori school breaks

For example, I knew that I needed to severely limit my travel the first four months of this year due to a personal project. I was able to conduct all my site inspections for Q1/Q2 2018 in Q3/Q4 of 2017. I declined nearly all FAM, and conference invitations through April 2018. I limited nearly all client projects that required me to travel in Q1.

As for day-to-day organization—I have everything on my calendar. And I do mean everything from 8am Body Combat Class, to reoccurring client meetings, to Giovanna’s ballet class at 4pm. I block my calendar if I need a massage, or have a doctor’s appointment. I make time for me—and because it’s all on my calendar—it’s easy to see where I can fit in these personal errands and make sure they are achieved.

It’s difficult when you work from home to actually take breaks and take care of “life maintenance”. That’s why it’s key to put everything on your calendar. Sure, clients may need to move a meeting, a project may take longer than you thought, and some days you just won’t feel well. Life happens. But a surer way to meet your deadlines—all of them—is to start putting everything on your calendar.

If you’re struggling to stay organized, give calendaring a shot. It just may change your life. 

Are you meeting the experiential needs of your attendees?

Ensuring terrific attendee experiences is an increased focus for meeting planners. It’s imperative to design an engaging experience for your attendees that aligns with their style of learning (during corporate retreats, for example, many companies implement a DISC assessments or similar personality test to assess employee personalities to facilitate a better working/learning environment.) The experience starts well before and extends until after the meeting, in addition to the on-site experience itself.

Traditional meeting formats --like a jammed packed agenda with a 10 min break and six one hour long Power point presentations—are super out-dated. Who can sit through that?  Attendees need the correct environment and space to digest and discuss the new ideas being presented.

A few strategies that I find successful include:
1. Distribute agenda and content ahead of the event. This allows attendees to have an idea on what will be discussed, and gives them some time to think about the topics prior to the meeting.  This allows the valuable face-to-face time to be used to discuss, debate, and evaluate what was presented.

2. Small breakout sessions help facilitate more meaningful, honest dialogue.  Attendees can choose the breakoutout topic that best resonates with them.

3. Group dinners in the evenings are a perfect venue for continuing the days conversations in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. The real team bonding and relationships are forged over food and drinks with 5-6 people.

4. Interesting snack breaks. Don’t just throw sodas and granola bars at your attendees. Customize the breaks to be memorable, and unique. Cool (or warm) lavendar scented towels coupled with a build your own old fashioned rootbeer float station.

5. Purpose-built networking activities. Trust falls and rope courses, move aside. Any activity—whether it be a wine blending, ziplining, or historical tour – can have great ROI. Providing a platform for attendees to continue the discussions, network, and forge relationships is priceless.  Giving attendees the opportunity to meet and talk with colleagues from other departments that they usually don’t have a chance to interact, helps promote cross functional learning and awareness.

How are you meeting the experiential needs of your attendees? I’d love to hear!