Feature - September 2008

By Diana Rowe

In today’s hectic world of tight corporate budgets and increased workload, one person is often required to wear several hats. So many hats, in fact, that Paul Valenta, sales manager for Calmac Manufacturing Corporation, recently lamented, “There just isn’t another hook to hang a meeting planner’s hat, too. We plan meetings infrequently enough that we knew it was a good business decision to hire a third-party planning company.”

Valenta is just one of many managers with an already tremendous workload (read: overload). Overload is often a primary reason why managers initially seek out independent meeting planners for help. Later, once they have had the opportunity to prove their worth, they often become an integral part of a company’s meeting planning team.

Valenta had a big event coming up and needed help. He was charged with hosting 40 international customers who were in town for a trade show in New York City. He had a full itinerary: showcase the Calmac plant — Calmac is a world leader in the product design and manufacturing of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems — at the company’s headquarters in nearby Fairlawn, NJ, and arrange an awards dinner and informational meeting.

Valenta compiled a short list of requirements before hiring an independent planner. “We needed a local expert who knew the terrain well enough to navigate the transportation and restaurant logistics while impressing and catering to our ethnically diverse group.”

Ask The Right Questions
Valenta said he got more than he bargained for when he found Hakins Meetings and Incentives, a Wyckoff, NJ-based full-service meetings and incentives planning company. “During the interview process, instead of my asking all the questions, Hakins asked all the right questions. Many of these questions about meeting logistics may seem second nature to an independent planner, but I wouldn’t have thought of them because my specialty is the business of air conditioning, not planning meetings.”

Questions such as: Have you thought about greeting people at the hotel? How do you plan to coordinate registration? What type of restaurant — elegant or distinctive, offsite or onsite? How about food allergies or preferences? “David Starace and his Hakins team seemed to anticipate what we didn’t know, and they were flexible and creative. Everything just came together after that,” said Valenta.

Valenta continued, “Someone was always there representing my company and organizing the event. From double-checking the attendance roster and accounting for everyone to tracking liquor bottles at the hotel making sure we weren’t overcharged, Hakins proved their worth and saved us money. I could concentrate on the business objectives of our meeting while Hakins focused on the meeting.”

Independent planners may not be the new “big thing” in the corporate meeting world, but they continue to play a progressively key role in many organization’s meetings.

David Starace, the director of client relations and culinary services for Hakins Meetings and Incentives and a graduate of the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America, explained, “Shrinking planner budgets, shorter lead time for preparation and tighter budgets are issues under the corporate heat lamp. To combat these pressures, you’ve got to wear many hats and learn more savvy negotiation techniques, but when you don’t have time, an independent planner is worth the investment. Having expert product and service knowledge on both sides of the kitchen door is how Hakins drives client success in planning and operations.”

In short, companies are realizing that it’s more cost effective to have an outside meetings expert who can also contribute creativity. Starace fills the bill because he has served as an executive chef, and a food and beverage director in restaurants, hotels, catering houses and country clubs.

“When companies must trim the fat, it often comes from the top of the F&B budgets,” explained Starace. “My extensive experience with food costs allows me to recognize, for example, seasonal product price-spikes and offer suggestions for more cost-efficient substitutions. As a former chef, I can often negotiate and tweak the banquet menus to fit the meeting’s profile and budget.

“Attendees demand more and better food choices at corporate events,” said Starace, “and I’m in tune with what works creatively and logistically. There’s an increasing level of sophistication in the American palate. With my 25 years experience both in the kitchen and the front office, I am able to speak the language of food with the executive chef and catering manager at the hotel or venue.”

For example, Starace ensures that his client receives what he ordered: If the order states “chilled sliced tenderloin beef,” he doesn’t want to see “roast top round of beef.” The difference is more than just the name — it’s about $5.00 per pound.

All About Balance
Starace noted that an independent planner or third-party planning company should be able to help the client accomplish the following, each one an important ingredient in the recipe for a successful meeting:

• The working budget should act as a guide when investigating unique venue purchasing methods, such as using local wines and regionally grown products or planning menus based on the latest creations of the chef.
• Work toward more accurate F&B guarantees with the help of technological tools, which give Starace up-to-date attendee tracking reports.
• Track F&B on banquet event orders (BEOs) from start to finish.
• Lock in costs in writing as soon as possible. For example, when planning in 2008 for a 2009 event, request 2006 prices.
• Keep an eye on venue “extras” such as carver fees and fuel cost supplements for supplier deliveries.
• Know the size of the venue and how the room can be most efficiently staffed.
• Understand and negotiate F&B contract clauses.

“It’s all about balance,” said Starace. “As an independent planner and my client’s partner, I consider myself an extension of their company. I help clients understand the importance of working with a venue to make every meal work. I balance the realities of both sides of the discussion so everyone wins.”

Site Selection Services
Some aspects of an independent planner’s services may involve fees, but hotel site selection by an independent planner doesn’t usually cost the corporate planner a dollar.

Carlos Sandoval, CMP, is the senior meetings manager for the Stamford, CT-based Scienomics Group, a full-service medical communications partner. He considers Kim Paine, director of meetings at Site Selection Services a partner. “We do over 70 meetings per year, and I simply don’t have time to send out hundreds of RFPs, track them down, do site visits, negotiate, and then compile the mass of notes and numbers to narrow my decision to one property,” Sandoval explained.

Initially, Sandoval said Paine was an occasional supplier, but with her proven track record, she’s become their preferred provider. “It made more sense to have one centralized person for site search. Instead of hiring a full-time, on-staff person, we rely on Paine to use her leveraging power and resources to select the perfect venue each time, and she’s never let us down.”

With the continuous demands to do more with less, corporate planners such as Sandoval are finding solutions by shifting the occasional independent planner suppliers into a more integral part of a company’s meeting planning team.

Once you have established how important third-party planners can be to your bottom line, how do you find them? Sandoval recommends networking and word of mouth referrals. “The meeting planning industry is very small. A hotel contact that you worked with in New York City might have moved to Orlando. Network at MPI chapter and national events and ask for recommendations. Ask your peers and other planners in the industry, and you can’t go wrong.”

When searching for an independent planner, Tipton Shonkwiler, brand director of Plan Ahead Events, emphasized the importance of hiring a third-party planner who has differentiated himself from the others. A subsidiary of the West Palm Beach, FL-based United Franchise Group, Plan Ahead Events is a home-based franchise for full-service meetings.

“I tell all our franchise owners to find their niche and capitalize on it,” said Shonkwiler. “For example, if the franchisee’s background is 20 years in telecommunications, then we’ll encourage them to start with their natural strengths, market and focus on that industry first. Why? Because they already have an innate expertise of the ins and outs of the telecommunications industry.”

Shonkwiler agreed that it might seem logical to plan meetings that are in familiar industries, but sometimes independent planners cast too wide of a net.

From a corporate standpoint, Shonkwiler added, “That strength not only gives the independent planner a leg up, but it also brings value and knowledge of the industry to the table for the company partnering with the independent.”

Bigger Bargaining Chip
One of the main benefits of hiring a third-party company such as Site Selection Services, according to Kim Paine, is the bottom line. “You don’t pay us. The hotel pays us a placement fee that does not affect your contracted rate. In addition, we can leverage our knowledge to obtain perks for you, such as complimentary rooms, upgrades, VIP amenities, and/or reduced or free meeting room rental and set-up fees.

“For example, John Smith, corporate planner, might only coordinate three meetings a year,” explained Paine. “His three meetings and 1,000 room nights won’t get the attention of the hotels like my 70 programs and 70,000 room nights. Since every one of my planner clients is under my umbrella, each one becomes the hotel’s prospective customer, and bundled together I have a much bigger bargaining chip.”

Contract negotiation and leverage translates into huge dollar savings, which, according to Paine, may range from 10 to 20 percent.

“We do the leg work for our clients. The meeting expectations are already set,” said Paine, “but the planner’s duties have increased from executing meetings to include other duties like marketing, sales, administration, and of course, financial meetings management. That’s where independent planners become a key player in corporate meetings. We are dedicated full time to the business, and we have an inside track to the hotels and venues for your meetings. We have the time and resources to fit your exact meeting needs to a hotel or destination.”

Meetings Management Measurements
An increasingly important component of the meeting professional’s work often includes applying procurement and strategic meetings management procedures to meeting planning. Corporate planners begin this measurement as they outline the meeting’s goals, selecting objectives for which success is measurable and defining what will constitute achievement of each goal, and applying those measurements to the return on investment (ROI).

The good news for meeting professionals is that most third-party planning companies also can implement measurement tools.

When it comes to incentive travel, measurement of meeting effectiveness is paramount, and Teri Knebel, director of sales and marketing for the Wichita, KS-based boutique firm Incentive Management Inc., is there to help.“With our diverse group of clients and industries, we know how a travel incentive is an effective business tool, and how it drives revenue for a company. By sharing successful cross-industry incentive events, we can give examples from other industries and suggest new ways to craft your events so that you can reap the highest benefits.”

Knebel brings a fresh perspective and creative ideas for incentive planning to the brainstorming table: “Rather than the standard monetary goals, we might suggest a combination of different goals. We are able to sit back, evaluate your program, and incorporate a more effective bottom line for your incentives.”

Knebel said that when the top 20 percent of the company’s sales force  brings in more than 60 percent of the revenue, she has some innovative ideas for incentive programs. In order to include 100 percent of the sales force, she would create a program that encourages top performers to continue to reach their monetary goals and incentivize them to mentor the less experienced sales associates.

“By fostering this positive flow environment,” said Knebel, “the most successful and experienced can mentor those new and more challenged sales associates. This will result in an increased ROI and an effective incentive program for everyone, not just your top tier.”

Another positive aspect of partnering with a third-party incentive house, according to Knebel, is networking with other meeting professionals. “In today’s corporate atmosphere, an incentive meeting planner might be viewed as superfluous. Not only do we understand your value, but we can help you prove your importance to the company by compiling facts and figures and presenting them in a neat, bottom-line bundle.”

A Give-And-Take Partnership
Another way an independent planner can help a corporate planner  charged with strategic planning is to quite simply save time by handling the logistical end of the planning function.

“However,” according to Knebel, “we can’t do the job without the planner’s guidance. We consider ourselves partners relying on the corporate planner’s intimate knowledge of the workings of their organization. From there, we combine our experience and connections in the meetings world, and together we’ll pull off a successful meeting.”

Corporate incentives have become a niche market for Voila! Meeting & Event Management, a Herndon, VA-based company. Eden Capuano, co-owner of Voila!, credits the old adage of “who you know” and “how you treat them” with her company’s success.

“We’ve been fortunate to have our name passed among Fortune 500 companies,” said Capuano. “My partner Olivia Immerman and I understand the needs of our clients. Prior to starting our own business, we worked for other meeting planning companies, where it was more about production and profit. We felt that we weren’t allowed to spend enough time on the client relationship and attention to detail that’s required to provide outstanding meeting planning services.”

Since starting their own planning company in 2001, Capuano feels more in control of her role as a planner and her clients’ meetings. She is able to devote as much time as she wants to her clients and build on those personal relationships. The result is that her company’s reputation is based on consistent, excellent customer service.

“In our experience, the corporate client has quick turnarounds, requires impeccable service and amazing creativity,” explained Capuano. “As a small independent third-party planning company, we provide personalized service and a strong ROI. There’s no room for mistakes. Our clients know that we are a part of their team and that there are no boundaries as to what we can assist them with.”

Capuano added, “When the meeting dust settles on a successful event, the client is a winner, and we feel equally as successful!”    C&IT