by Wendi McNeill
Relationships and Meeting Planners … What does it mean for you?
A full schedule!
Relationships rule: Although there are many ways to get a planner to take notice of you, I want to focus on only one and the most important which are relationships.
We all know that building relationships is important to any successful business so this should come as no surprise to you. I am a firm believer in building healthy and strong relationships and it has been the backbone to my own business.
Where does it all start? It’s like planting the seed that needs to be nurtured and taken care of so it can flourish into a beautiful and blossoming plant, such is the same with relationships. If you can honestly build and nurture your relationships with planners then your way ahead of the pack and I mean nurture in a good way, there is no such thing as phony relationship building (not that I know of anyway). Meeting planners are very keen on when they’re being played and yes it does happen.
Anymore it’s not about having a celebrity status or being a sought after speaker…it’s relationship building! Simply put, if you’re a sought after speaker or even a novice speaker and you’re going to be unbearable to work with…you’re not going to get many bookings and if you do get booked and you continue to be a nuisance you’re not going to get those important re bookings!
Go the extra mile: Have you ever thought to go that extra mile for the planner? Think about this for a minute: Do you ever see speakers getting booked month after month and wonder how they do it? What do they have that you don’t? Let me tell you it’s all about attitude and taking the time to go above and beyond the call of duty. These speakers are not getting in front of the pack only because they are experts but because they have learned how to work with planners and organizers, they have learned how to build those crucial relationships and how to go the extra mile for them. I’m not saying you have to bend over backwards but just use common courtesy and a little business sense and you’ll go a long way.
One last tip: Just be nice, easy to work with and keep in constant contact! Remember there are thousands of speakers all going after the same thing you are so it is important to make yourself stand out and I feel the best way to do this is build relationships and nurture them on a regular basis…you will be amazed at the results!