A Roadmap for Third Parties Following Marriott’s Commission Cut
As the meetings industry begins to climb out of the rubble of the earthquake caused by Marriott’s abrupt decision to give commissions a 30% haircut, it’s an opportunity for all sides, particularly third parties, to [...]
From Order Taker to Trusted Advisor: Making Your In-House Team More Valuable
You lead an in-house team of meeting planners and you’ve just been given staggering news: your company’s CFO has announced they are spinning off the event department in 90 days. In three months, your event [...]
Selling Your Event Business: Positioning Your Firm for Maximum Value
It seems like every other week I get a call from someone looking to either buy or sell an event business. The mergers and acquisitions market for companies in this space has steadily heated up [...]
Landing the $1 Million Event
At some point in your tenure, if you run an event planning company or agency, you’ll aspire to land the really big project, the mega event, the million dollar event. OK, it doesn’t have to [...]
Winning New Business By Playing Hard-to-Get
You’re having a night out with friends and pass by two nightclubs. The first one has a guy out in front handing out 2-for-1 drink coupons to every passer by, trying to waive you into [...]
Giving Away Your Ideas to Win New Business
A few people are going to steal your ideas. Not a lot, and certainly not as many as people might think, but a few will. Yet whatever that number is, it pales in comparison to the number of people who will hire you, recommend you, and rave about you as a result of the ideas you shared freely.
The Fallacy of Win-Win Negotiations
In the past ten years or so, any article, seminar or blog post on negotiations seems to focus on "kinder, gentler, negotiations". It's all "win-win" negotiations now, and nobody gets the better of anybody. Planner [...]
“Everyone Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth”
Reporter: “I hear your opponent has a clever plan for defensing your left hook. How do you respond?” (Heavyweight boxing champ) Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” How [...]
The Association is Dead. Long Live the Association.
“Remind me why I should renew my membership again?” This is a phrase every association is grappling with, and how they respond now will determine whether they survive or slowly die out. Twenty years ago [...]
Steve Jobs, Calligraphy & Crowd-Sourcing
You know that game where you fantasize about whom you’d invite to a dinner party? Well, Steve Jobs was always high on my list. (Along with Winston Churchill). When I heard that he died, I [...]