Hospitality Sales Tips | Generating More Qualified Leads at Trade Shows

We are often asked about maximizing the trade show experience and gathering good qualified leads.  Here are are top recommendations for getting the most out of your sales strategy at trade shows both pre-trade show, during the show and after the show:

Pre-Trade Show

• Set attainable goals.
• Put your goal and plan in writing.
• Create a primary message for your display/exhibit.
• Create an inviting and open booth/exhibit.
• Identify key prospects and invite them.
• Market your trade show participation on all marketing materials and social media ("come see us at booth # ____").
• Train the team working the booth on new products, special rates, etc. way in advance of the show date.
• Create a lead form that includes pre-qualifying questions for inquiries which will determine the urgency of their needs, if they are the key decision -maker, etc.

Day of the Trade Show

• Develop a unique and consistent look for booth staff's attire.  Matching shirts, blazers or even something more catchy and casual- but make sure everyone is similar and tied together.
• Offer samples of your work or trials.
• Always include a live or digital presentation to showcase your product.
• Be consistent about everyone working the booth logging in any and all prospects on the lead form created.

After the Trade Show

• Contact all prospects immediately - send out requested information.
• If you didn't offer them a trial or sample of your product at the trade show, offer to do so now.
• Use phone and email for follow up.  Everyone has different schedules and work styles. Using both means of communication will help you determine which communication style works best for the prospect.
• Track all your prospects all the way to the sale to show management your work but also to determine what the conversion rate is and the overall success of that particular trade show.
• Meet with your entire team and evaluate the trade show to determine what worked, what didn't , and what opportunities you have to do things differently next time.

By Kerry Lee Dickey

Special Event Sales Strategy | Is Your Influence Working For You?

Do you think that you are an influential person? Regardless of how you answer that question, one thing is absolutely true - you are or you have the potential to be a highly influential person and this in turn can affect your success in sales.

Influence comes into play during many stages of event booking and planning. If you have ever asked for and received a referral from a current client, then you know that you have had a positive influence on that person - enough so that they feel willing to share a referral with you. And as we know, booking referral business is infinitely easier than booking a "cold" lead.


Influence also comes into play when interacting with clientele during the initial phases of booking. You inevitably come to the part of the sale where decisions have to be made. You have to close the sale. Depending on the relationship you have build throughout the sales process, your positive influence can be the difference between closing the sale and watching it walk out the door.


So, what are the best ways to build and use your positive influence in order to move your sales forward? First, remember that influence works best with people you know and who know you. Constantly try to build your "circle of influence" or client base. This does not just mean loading names and emails into a database, but actually creating a connection which leads to building a relationship with a client. Go to your best clients and vendors you work with. Ask each one for just one more lead to another client or referral to another great vendor. You have just doubled your connections. Second, it is all in the way you ask or try to influence. Asking a client who already likes you for some help in building your client base is possible when a relationship exists. People like to help other people and usually have a hard time saying "no" to this type of request. Relationships first. . . business will follow!



By: Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President

Focus on Special Events Business | Returning to Basics

The special events business and hospitality industry is constantly changing - blink, and you may miss a hairpin turn and continue straight, right off the cliff, so to speak.  However, with technology and strategies all changing at lightning speed , there are still some basics that stay the same and will never change.  In all our years of consulting and ever more so in the recent years of economic challenge, we encourage businesses to return to basics.  What does this mean and how do you do it?

Returning to Basics
1.  Know your market and strengths and focus on this exclusively.
2.  Stop doing what is not bringing in revenue.
3.  Invest in areas where customers want it.  Hint: Use your social media to help get a feel for who your customers are and what they want.
4.  Whatever you decide 1-3  above is for you, stick to it and become known as being reliable for it and giving a consistent experience.

To Discount or Not to Discount?
One of the most common questions in a hard or recovering economy is  whether or not to discount your product or service.  The second most-common question is how much to discount, how long the discounting should take place or should be used. 

Discounts are no longer a point of reference for .  If all you do is compete on price alone, you will never be able to win.  While low rates may initially attract consumers to a product, indiscriminate discounting can isolate current clients as it decreases perceived quality.  But further, it does not guarantee that new customers will become long-term , loyal customers.  To help ensure this does not happen, the following are recommendations:

1.  Have a knowledge of who you want to target.  This is focused discounting to a specific market for a specific service or product and time. 

2.  Carefully watch your competitor's actions.  In the Beverly Clark OnLine Wedding Hospitalty Training Program, there is a dedicated exercise in the Final Exam to help you do just that.

3.  Find your USP - your Unique Selling Proposition - to see how you are different from the competition other than monetarily.  Go beyond to find out where there needs that are not being fulfilled and then fill those niches and make that your differential. The Beverly Clark OnLine Wedding Hospitality Training Program walks you through other ways to help determine your USP as well.

Tying all of this together is a matter of drawing from your history - the strengths, failures, opportunities - and involving your team as well as balancing the feedback of your customers.  Social media has proven an invaluable tool for this in helping to create custom products and packages based on the demand. 

One major airline "returned to basics" with three simple things they decided to focus on:  1.  Baggage that arrives with the plane   2.  A clean plane    and   3.  Friendly customer service.  They forgot all the other "bells and whistles" because they were not bringing in revenue and decided to focus exclusively on those three areas. 

If you focus on the basics - whatever those are for you - and provide service and a product without confusion or irregularities for the customer, you have the potential to increase your revenue the best way possible:  simply.

By Kerry Lee Dickey

Hospitality Sales Strategies | Using Internet Prospecting to Drive Revenue

The hospitality industry has evolved and so have sales strategies.  The Internet has become a staple in the business world today - advertising, research, competitive analysis and prospecting. Locating appropriate prospecting groups via the Internet (and having prospects find you) can be challenging, to say the least. As with most marketing tactics, there are numerous ways to approach internet prospecting, and the right way is the one that works for you and your business or service. Experimentation is key – don't get "stuck" doing the same thing over and over if you are not getting the results you want – change it up and track your success!

Here are a few things you can do to start the process in determining how Internet prospecting will work

best for you:

Search key words on Google, Yahoo, etc. for leads you are looking for (local charities, financial companies, schools, businesses, whoever your target market is). This becomes your "call list" for daily prospecting. How you are communicating with these leads is critical! Read on for more on communication. . .

Search key words that prospects use to find you (weddings, catered events, business meetings, golf tournaments, reception, auctions, charity events, etc., and include the city in which you are located). This is what your prospects are seeing when they are searching for you – are you well represented? Can you find yourself? If you can't, the prospects can't either.

Lead Lists – many companies offer (sell) lead lists based on demographics, industry type, size of company, buying patterns, even if they host events throughout the year. Do your homework to ensure the company you choose specializes in the types of leads you are looking for, and that their databases are updated frequently otherwise the information will be outdated. Also, it is helpful when the leads come with phone numbers, not just email addresses, so that follow-up can be accomplished more effectively. Companies like WeddingLocation.com offer support of pre-qualified leads and lists of those who register trying to make contact with wedding locations world-wide.

The How, What and Why of Communication

Once you have identified a lead list and are ready to prospect, how are you communicating with your prospects? More often than not, the first communication is an e-blast to an entire prospecting group. Why do we love email so much? It's cheap, it's easy, it's fast and it reaches many people at once. Recipients are accustomed to getting information via email, so many people scan their emails quickly and delete more than they read. So, the rule of thumb for sending an email is this - be brief, be brilliant, be gone!
Proper follow-up consists of a phone call if you have the phone number, and 3-4 more emails about the same subject. You do not want to be a pest, but you cannot give up too easy, either. It sometimes takes a prospect 4-5 times of seeing something in order for it to sink in.

To increase your chance of getting more "opens":

1. Avoid "spammy" subject lines containing ALL CAPS, exclamation points, words like "special", "price", "deal" and "save".

2. Send on Tuesday or Wednesday. Avoid weekends.

3.  DON'T OVERSEND. 3-4 times for the same subject max!

4.  Stick to once per week at the most and preferably on the same day each week.

5.  Make the email "from" your business name, not your own name

6.  Think about your subject line – make it count!

7.  Provide VALUABLE CONTENT EVERY TIME

8.  Content – Keep it Professional!

You are not typing an email to a friend, so keep your content professional, short and to the point. Include a table of contents when necessary, and organize information logically. It's ok, and preferable, to link to a website for more information. And please - don't forget the UNSUBSCRIBE language!!

Track Your Success!

The calls and emails are now pouring in. . . how are you tracking the results? Don't drop the ball by not tracking which of your advertising/marketing ventures is yielding you the most success. You want to know what to repeat. And, what to NOT do again! Evaluate your results on a regular basis and compare print media versus internet marketing.

By: Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President, Beverly Clark Hospitality Training Program

Sales & Marketing Inspiration | Team Marketing for Event Professionals

Creating an effective sales and marketing plan appropriate to your marketplace and your specific property is somewhat of an art and requires some inspiration. If you are a seasoned catering and event professional who has been in your marketplace for a substantial period of time, you probably have a very good "temperature read" of what programming you should be doing and when. Old ideas can always need a fresh twist, though, or maybe a slight adjustment in order to gain more prospects from the same program. Utilizing your other department heads for a brainstorming session is a great way to gain a new perspective on how you can increase the revenues in your department. Some of the benefits to implementing weekly (or monthly, whatever is appropriate for your property) brainstorming sessions with your other departments include:

• Creating specific action plans geared at revenue enhancements
• A proactive, energetic approach to achieving goals vs. crisis management

• A system to monitor performance versus goals which will allow for better accountability and increased revenues

• Enable each team member to increase their personal effectiveness

By using your team in the brainstorming process, you are increasing your "brain power" to include all the members of your team, and any other group you wish to include. Marketing ideas get easier and easier with a group approach.

Once appropriate ideas have been turned into marketing programs, stay on top of your activities that are necessary in order to carry out a successful marketing plan. FOLLOW THROUGH on all steps of your marketing program, including tracking your results. That way, when you go to implement the same idea again next year, you will have a mechanism for remembering what about the program was successful and what you need to change. Soon, you will find the marketing plan process a creative outlet that guarantees financial success rather than a necessary evil!

By Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President, Beverly Clark Hospitality Training

Closing and Losing Sales | A Closer Look As We Prepare for 2013

As we delve into Summer with Fall right around the corner, it is a good time to take a look back  in order to look forward, plan appropriately and make good decisions regarding our sales efforts. Although we are seeing some positive movement in special event sales, we have to remain sharp with a clear sales strategy and be smart about our position moving forward.

A great start to this type of thinking is to take a two-pronged approach. First, look at all of the sales you closed (or booked) in 2012 (so far). See where they came from, the length of time it took to close, if it was a result of a current relationship or as a result of some type of advertising or pro-active promotion you generated. Keep great records of all sources of business and associated costs. Focus on the advertising and activities that produced the greatest results (magnify these efforts for best results) and improve upon or eliminate the ones that did not produce. Ensure that your advertising is targeting the correct market that you are looking to attract.

Next, take a look at all the business you did not close in 2012 - the ones that got away. Do you know exactly why someone chose a competitor over you? Keeping good, meticulous "lost business" records can teach you a lot going forward about how to close more business. Reasons varying from "better product", "product or service did not suit our needs", "felt more comfortable with the competitor's sales person", "better customer service", "better pricing" or "more professional sales person" can help you to spot trends, make adjustments to products, services and presentation styles. Knowing what your competition offers and does not offer affords you the opportunity to market yourself on how you stand out from the rest. Keep current tabs on your competition and your lost business and you will start to unlock the key to keeping and closing more business.

Most importantly, take the time to analyze all of the information you have collected. Use it to create future marketing programming, decisions on where to spend advertising dollars and decisions on how to invest your capital dollars (what should you be spending money on that will produce the best return on investment). Being proactive in this approach will ensure that you are actively managing your business, not just reacting to a changing market.


Article by: Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President Beverly Clark Hospitality Training Program

Destination-Wedding Worthy | Are You a "Destination"

With the special events industry continuing to take some financial "knocks", we have heard (and rightly so) a lot of buzz about destination weddings being the "recession resistant" market to target. Absolutely correct!

We have been saying that brides today may be trying a skimp a little on their budgets (cutting the guest list being the first place they try to save). Where is the good news here? The fact is that they are all still hosting the event, and multiple wedding related events at that. That in itself is good news.

When talking about destination weddings, most people automatically think tropical or exotic locales – Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, etc. Destination weddings are defined as a wedding taking place outside of a 100 mile radius from the bride & groom's home town. The "destination" does not have to be a beach or island location – just "away". In a  Beverly Clark survey of our brides, for those stating that they were having a destination wedding (56%!), Florida, California, Arizona, New York and Georgia all made it into the top ten as to where the event would be held!

So, have you ever considered yourself a destination wedding venue? Here are a few things to think about when trying to break into this booming market:

Do the work. Take time to speak to industry destination wedding experts to determine if your location is destination wedding friendly, and what you could do to attract and book more events

Becoming known as a destination wedding hot spot is all in the knowledge of your sales team and the marketing of your property. Become keenly aware of all the local area cultural points of interest and things that would be attractive to out of town guests. Market your property as a destination by showcasing all that you have to offer as well as the surrounding area

Build relationships with event planners and travel agents who specialize in destination weddings and events – they will bring you the best events!

If brides contact you directly, also refer them to a great event planner (one that you have built a relationship with in #3, above) who can handle all aspects of the destination event that you cannot handle – guest travel, invitations, welcome amenities, event design and décor, activities, etc.

Market (advertise) your business on a wider scale – not just to local markets. Research to determine where your "pull" market is from and advertise to specific, targeted areas.

For wedding industry vendors outside of hotels, resorts, event venues, country clubs, wineries, etc., the same theory applies. Determine if your business or service "can travel" and if you actually want to! Then, do # 1 – 5 above as well as researching what the local vendors have to offer so you see what you are competing against and why you are better. Why would a bride pay to transport you to her event when she could book local? You MUST have a great answer to this question. Trust me, the brides will be asking the same thing.

Never thought of yourself as being in the destination wedding market before? Well, maybe it's time to re-think it!

Article By:  Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President, Beverly Clark Hospitality Training

Blogs and Websites and Twitter, Oh My!

One of the great questions I receive was about using all the great blogs, websites as well as social media in our special event business. I was asked - “What are your favorites?” Well, here they are - I must say, there are SO many really amazing ones, but here’s just a few that I use for inspiration, just plain fun, and great business advice...


For wedding inspiration (brides are looking at these too):

www.stylemepretty.com

www.junebugweddings.com/blogs/what_junebug_loves/

www.greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/

www.juliannesmith.wordpress.com

www.kissthegroom.com

www.ilovelolliblog.com



For Industry News/Information:

www.pinkinitiative.org

www.thinksplendid.com

www.pinkinitiative.org

www.thebusinessofbeingcreative.com


And, one important tidbit to remember about using social media (Twitter, FaceBook, etc.) Do not just self promote! Really use it as a way to build relationships, stay social, get inspired, share useful and interesting information and educate yourself! Tweet tweet...

By Lynne Lafond DeLuca

Making Your Service/Product About Value, Not the Price Tag

Price Wars – Making Your Sales Approach NOT About the Price!

In the hospitality/special events industry, we are not immune to price wars. As in any industry, they can kill your margins, not to mention making the "closing" process of your sale more difficult.

Focusing on a "value-based" selling strategy seems to be a good alternative, but before we talk about that, let's explore and evaluate the problem a little more closely. When costs increase, they do so across the board for you and all your competitors. Unless your cost structure is wildly inefficient (compared to your competition), one of the major problems is that competitors wait to raise prices until they see if everyone else is as well. They do not want to be the first one to raise prices, and then run the risk of losing business due to what appears to be price gouging. What happens, though, is that if you do not raise prices when all of your costs have increased, you are not being financially responsible with the profits of your business, and run the risk of putting yourself in an unhealthy financial position that can lead to reductions in staffing levels, services and experiences provided, and eventually bankruptcy. When necessary, taking reasonable increases at appropriate times of year is a step to ensuring the financial health of your business.

Clients understand this as well – everywhere they turn, costs are increasing around them, and you are no exception to that rule. While no one wants to "over pay", customers are always looking for the best value and cost without sacrificing everything that they want. In this type of economy, service standards and experiential touches can be the differential between closing the sale and losing the sale to your competition that is still operating under last year's prices.

In the sales process, the ideal goal would be to present your product and service in such a way that your customer realizes how much they want it without even knowing the price. If a customer has already made up their mind about you, your product, the reliability, and the overall experience, price almost becomes incidental. Especially in our industry, we have one chance and one chance only to get it right. You cannot have a "do-over" of an event if you make a mistake. You cannot just return the product for a new one as is the case with a tangible product. If your clients know that you realize this, and the importance of getting it right the first time, you have just elevated the trust factor in your relationship and made big points in getting to the final "close".

Price wars are only possible when the product, service and experiences from different competitors/vendors are so identical that the client doesn't care who provides them. So make yourself different. Make it all about service, host and guest experience and relationships. And, make sure that in your sales approach, you highlight the DIFFERENCES rather than how you are similar to your competition. This will allow you to stand out from the rest, and when comparing you with your competition, your client will remember YOU and how you made them feel. Price factor shrinks as clients decide that what they want is the differences that you provide. We all have something unique to offer. By taking the time to determine what that is, what your sales approach will be and how you will not focus on price but on quality of service and experience, you shield yourself and your business from the "price wars" that we all want to avoid.

By Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President Beverly Clark Online Hospitality Training Program

Hospitality and Event Professional Development and Education | Top 10 Factors To Consider

What does professional education mean to you? For so many of us in our industry, we are just trying to make it through an incredibly busy day and working too hard “in” the business to work “on” the business. Continuing one’s professional education not only makes you more valuable in the workplace because of increased knowledge, but also adds value to your company and revenue possibilities (and let’s face it, it also looks great on a resume if/when the time comes to present your skill set to a future employer or even for a promotion with your current employer).


While conferences and in-person trainings are a great way to learn, our particular business culture in modern times sometimes prohibits engagements that are requiring our physical presence at a restricted day, time and location. The advent of online training programs and Webinars have become an events and hospitality professional’s best friend in furthering their education. While in-person trainings allow customization and a personal touch to reach a core that online training programs sometimes cannot, the online training programs and Webinars allow one to further their skill set on their own time, which can be invaluable.

What do you look for when looking for a professional hospitality education program? Here are some of the recommendations I give professionals who ask:

1. Determine what it is you want to learn more of.

2. Find a reliable, reputable company who specializes in this knowledge.

3. Ask colleagues which companies they have used for their further education and certificates.

4. The best hospitalty and events organizations/academies from which to learn are those that have been around for years, have numerous endorsements from name brand entities, show an array of national and international clientele and offer you take-home value of content you can actually apply to your department and business upon completion.

5. Find out if the organization/academy offers an online training program that you can complete in your own time and not be restricted to complete it in a tight timeline.

6. If they do have an on-line training program, find out if they also offer a live trainer to support your efforts and provide personalized follow up to each student, depending on their needs.

7. What other resources do they offer? After you complete the program, do they offer certification in a certain subject along with logos you can display on marketing materials to make yourself and your business more marketable?

8. After successful completion, do they offer follow up services for you to continue your education?

9. Besides a dedicated on-line program, can they provide a customized and dedicated in-person evaluation of your business, help it develop a stellar marketing plan and provide in-person training to help your department achieve these goals?

10. Are they up to date with trends and technology and keep their program current addressing ever- evolving niche markets ?

Proper Business Manners | eEtiquette More Important Than Ever in Business

It's late Spring and the gateway to summer- Memorial Day - is almost upon us.  How are things going with regard to sales goals and revenue so far?  We are almost half - way through the year and many of us are taking a look at our departmental and company budget goals and even if we are right on track, probably looking for a way to increase them even more.  Next month's newsletter has some great tips on how to do just that and be pro-active about bringing numbers up if they are in a slight slump or improving them even more if they are doing great.   It's mid-year and time for a review of how things are going all the way around.
While you're reviewing numbers, why not also take a look at the service standards of your whole team, and not just how they are serving the customer on the day of their event, but about the type and quality of service they are providing your customers in their every-day communication and responses.  What kind of image are they putting out there and is it consistent with your reputation and brand? 

After years of training international multi-billion dollar corporations  or the smaller family-owned businesses, I am continually asked if I could write something about e-Etiquette.  It seems all too common sense to most of us at times, but there are still those out there who apparently do not know that the written word - and its power- can make or break relationships.  I have had clients who are concerned about their employees interacting with their customers, but also internally, department to department, a lack of e-Etiquette can create tension and problems within as well.  

Here are my top 10 Rules for e-Etiquette when working with clients or employees and colleagues:

1.    Anything emotional or controversial - or that you feel may elicit some kind of emotional reaction is best saved for an in-person conversation.  Face to face is best, but if distance is a factor, Skype or telephone is next best.  Since written word can be read many different ways, if you are in doubt how you may be taken, always err on the side of in-person communication.  Body language and voice inflection convey so much more and can soften things in ways written communication cannot.

2.  Emails or texts typed in ALL CAPITALS implies shouting and is rude.

3.  The debate for using emoticons when communicating still is in full swing, but my recommendation is never to use emoticons when using professional communication with clients. 

4.  When sending email, only use a "read receipt" when it's absolutely necessary.

5.  The subject line for emails should be the "hook" to draw the reader in:  short and a brief description of the body of the email.

6.  Do not use the term "Urgent" or "Important" unless it really is.  Remember the boy who cried wolf?

7.  Take off the "fwd" for forwards in the subject line when forwarding.

8.  Change the subject line to suit the actual email if the subject has changed in the thread of e-conversation.

9.  Always return emails the same day they came in;  if you cannot, have your auto-response on to indicate you are out of the office, or if you are absolutely buried and cannot get back to someone, please send a courtesy response to the sender within 24 hours (business days) acknowledging their email with a brief, polite phrase "Thank you for your email . I wanted to acknowledge receipt of it and will be back with you as soon as possible."

10. Lastly - but perhaps most importantly - when someone sends you an email, do not create other recipients in the "to" field in your response, thereby exposing the original email below to individuals for whom the original email was not intended.  Your response may be suitable for the sender and the other recipients, but below your response is the original sender's email to you and they may wish to have that kept confidential between the two of you only.  If in doubt, simply remove the original email and its thread or ask the sender if you can copy others on your response and include their original content.  This last point has caused more harm , awkwardness and issues with clients or employees than any of the top 9 combined. 

In a world where technology is changing constantly and at lightning pace, college graduates are entering the work force in their world of texting and Facebooking, it is easy to adapt a philosophy of quick responses with typos, quick , unthinking forwards or responses just to make it through a crazy workday and get things off your plate.  However, once a response or the written word is "out there" , it is hard to take back. 

Professional courtesy goes a long way with just a few moments of thought in advance.  Further, it also welcomes success and is a recipe for repeat business and revenue.

Special Event Creative “Soreness”

You know that great feeling you get when you work out and you are sore afterward? It makes you feel like you really did something! That soreness comes from working a muscle group past the point of it’s’ comfort zone. It’s where the real change in your body starts to happen.

In a recent moment when I felt like everything in my body hurt (great workout!), I started thinking about how often we push our minds and our creative energy to the point of exhaustion where we can actually change or grow. For industry veterans, keeping it fresh is just as important for your clients as it is for your mental happiness. No one likes being in a rut and feeling uninspired. Operating the exact same way year after year is the biggest contributor to lead you down that dangerous path.

Open your attitude and your mind to new things and magic starts to happen! Here are a few ideas to stretch you outside of your comfort zone and create a little creative “soreness”:

• Start a new networking group with new rules for engagement – make it fun, keep it lively! Invite influential people within and outside of our industry.
• Attend meetings and industry events you wouldn’t normally attend – interact with people you do not know.
• Discover an industry alliance with whom you can create a strategic partnership – take advantage of each other’s strengths to satisfy a specific niche in the industry.
• Create an actual social media strategy! Yes, it can be fun, but is it really helping your business? Consult with a social media expert to help you strategize the perfect communication platform for you. Social media is a great vehicle for dropping hints of wonderful holiday ideas/menus or products that you are excited about, new décor packages that are perfect for the holidays, party theme ideas for social and corporate events, inspirational wedding ideas, etc. Just remember to keep it social! Nothing is more irritating than constant promotion on Twitter or Face Book when it is supposed to be about fun, idea sharing, education, relationship building and getting to know the person behind the business.
• Target a brand new market (or a niche within an existing market) – new markets mean new revenue streams!
• Do what makes you happy! Keeping your passion and your zeal for the special events industry benefits both you and your client, so indulge in what makes you happy – trade shows, wine tastings, reading thank you notes from happy clients, attending a design class. . . Personal development keeps you moving forward in more ways than one!

So what do you have to lose? Nothing! Try something new today and tomorrow you can revel in the “soreness” of that great “creativity workout”. Ah, it will feel like you really did something!

NACE EXPERIENCE! 2010 and MUCH more!

What an exciting week it has been! Today I hosted another webinar, this one on "Maximizing the 2010 Holiday Season" Despite a VERY raspy voice today (of all days!), the webinar was great and lots of wonderful comments started pouring in afterward - thanks, everyone! I conducted an interesting "poll" during the webinar to see how everyone felt about their holiday season bookings this year. Every survey I seem to read has conflicting reports - business is looking up, slowing down, the same as last year. .. what?? So, I wanted to see what my audience had to say so I could address their specific needs. Results? 22% said bookings are about the same right now compared to last year at this same time; 27% said they are slightly higher; 5% said they are significantly higher; 30% said they are slightly lower and 16% said they are significantly lower. The good news? 54% are either the same or ahead of their booking pace. More good news is that booking timelines have been noticeably shorter, so people are still booking lots of events into 2010. So, the rest is up to us to create fresh new marketing strategies, prospecting techniques, strategic partnerships and delicious offerings and upsells to impact our own destiny (sales!) in a positive way. Want to explore those holiday ideas and strategies? I recorded the webinar, so you can watch it anytime - you will find it on the website at www.beverlyclarktraining.com.

What else is going on this week? NACE Experience! 2010, of course! I leave Sunday for Austin, Texas. Yeehaw! My segment is on Monday at 2:45pm and I will be speaking on "Re-creating your Sales Presence in the Special Events Industry". It's an advance level topic for industry veterans who need a fresh approach! We all need a way to keep the passion and fuel the flames every now and then, and I am hoping to provide it. Can't wait to see everyone! Please come and find me to say hello. . .

Taking Event Planning to New Heights

Recently, I started working with a wonderful private club, City Club River Ranch in Lafayette, Louisiana. Most of you know that private clubs are a niche that I love, love love. Having worked in private clubs for 18 years, I start to salivate every time I can get my hands on a new property! What an awesome surprise when I was picked up at the airport by the Club's Event Coordinator, the amazing Hannah Trahan and given a tour of the incredibly beautiful area surrounding the club - small upscale town, overflowing with local southern charm. What a perfect combo!

Arriving at the club, I was immediately impressed with the abundance of activity - great energy, active members, happy faces. In the private club industry today, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Club Manager, Mary Beth Langlinais knows how to keep it fresh, inspire her staff and provide members with a healthy, upbeat "lifestyle". Members do not "buy a membership"- they join their friends and neighbors and celebrate good healthy living together. The theme of the club is "Believe. Become. Belong." They boast not only tennis, a fitness center, mind & body center, grill & bar, but also have a small boutique hotel and a beautiful spa. You never have to leave the property! (Awesome for destination weddings and corporate retreats)

When I sat down and met with the catering team - Hannah, joined by event coordinator Colleen Mickal, that's when the fun really began (see our photo - left to right, Hannah, Lynne (me!) and Colleen). These smart, beautiful women are "locals", with a true sense of style. The events they plan reflect that. Again, positive, uplifting energy and a sense of hospitality and service that any bride or client would drool over. I love it that they are looking for ways to do what they do even better and provide the ultimate in service and amenities to their event hosts. Lesson - No matter how long you have been in the industry, you can always continue to learn. Keep it fun and challenging and you will keep your passion! Trust me, brides and event hosts can spot it a mile away. . .

I guess that the feeling I came away with was that the club has made themselves so relevant to their specific demographic, and have done so in a fun, hip, energetic way. What a great lesson for the private club industry. Oh, and if you are ever in the area, you must try their signature dessert - the white chocolate bread pudding. Even if you're not in the area, it's worth the trip!

Wedding Planner "Fam Trips"

Ok, wedding and event planners, I would LOVE to hear from you on this one! Many of our destination location clients at Beverly Clark Enterprises ask our opinion on planning "fam" trips for wedding and event planners. I know that on most trips, you are kept so busy that you can hardly breathe! So now is the time to offer your opinions! In your mind, what is the perfect fam trip? Optional excursions, educational aspects (speakers) as well as property tours, spa time. . . you name it! How many days are ideal? 2-3? 3-4? a week?

Let's hear your opinion!