Venue Procurement How to get your venues to buy-in! Presented by Susan Prue 07/31/15

Who am I? + + =

Director of Sponsorship Morphed into Director of Operations VP of Finance / President-Elect Now! President of MPI/NE

Proof our methods are working! Solidifying venues with 6 months lead-time Sponsors have clear delineation of their benefits Being this far out allows us to be “choosy”

Who are you?

What we’re going to talk about today: Calendar Venue RFP Sponsorship Contracts / Fulfillment Management Round Table Best Practices TIPS! Interjections from me throughout!!

Calendar Start somewhere (if not done already)! –Begin by putting your events in a spreadsheet Assign committees to each event –Who’s responsible and accountable for information? Is there a theme? –Sponsors like to know what theme / content is what month

Calendar Should be a living / breathing document –Encourage review and potential changes of this at every board meeting One person should be responsible for changes –Send it out to your board on a bi-weekly basis to show how close they are to finalizing a venue

Calendar

Your Venue Approach Ask at meetings!! Look at your member list – who are your venues? New venues in town? Or know of one that’s newly renovated??? Think outside the box. Referrals from members, board members, and committee members

TIPS! #1 - Never let a sponsor go who has interest! #2 - Approach a specific person #3 - Generate competition (gently!)

Converse with your venue liaison Regularly discuss your expectations of venues with your meeting liaison (if not you). Do some of your own research – if you have a venue in mind with a contract, foster a conversation Respect the locale – think outside the city

Venue RFP – what to include? Program outline –What type of meeting are you hosting? Theme / Content / Speaker Info –Targeted Demographic Is it an education-heavy event? Planners Social Event? Suppliers

Venue RFP – what to include? –Historical Data Past Number of attendees (if executed before) Number of Planners Previous Locations –Share your Calendar! It’s your best friend! Make them feel like they’re part of your strategic plan!

Jpegs of MPI/NE Venue RFP

“The same venues ALWAYS sponsor…” TIPS! Set-up a sponsorship program for them that is win/win! - Offer more benefits for committed dates to specific meetings…(we’ll talk more about incentives soon).

Sponsorship Define Reasonable Expectations and Be Realistic Should be conversation – what are they looking for? How can YOU help them market their space? Customize your contract to suit their needs

Sponsorship “Do”s! Highlight Attendee Buying Power (if known) Attendee Exposure to their Brand Opportunity to showcase their expertise, new food & beverage ideas, innovative venue space, etc.

Get them involved in the Meeting! Part of your speaking panel? Offering on-site tours of the space? Tie-in their food & beverage with themed event Sponsors that are woven into the fabric of the event will more likely feel the value of their contribution

Sponsorship “Don’ts” Never Guarantee Business or Clients Never Guarantee Planner-specific exposure Never create a $500,000 sponsor package of benefits when you can’t secure a $5,000 sponsor package

TIPS! #1 - Underpromise. Overdeliver. #2 - If an event is deemed successful by the end of the meeting, immediately work to get them on the hook for next year.

Starting Your Partnership Guide Make it vague enough so you’re able to re-use it year after year Use your Venue RFP and define your needs (loosely) Assign values to what you can offer Put together an “a la carte” option that allows for customization

What should be included? Outline of events (stemming from Venue RFP) Sponsor Benefits A la Carte Options Photos from your events – showcase people! Testimonials

TIPS! #1 – You can’t offer more than what they’ve given so don’t try. #2 - Create realistic values for what you’re willing to give #3 - Offer Benefits that are of NO COST to you!

FREE “Benefits” 3-minute speaking session at event Ability to conduct on-site tours Incorporating a member of their team into the program Social Media – the opportunity to plug their brand!

FREE “Benefits” Cont’d E-blast sent to the Chapter on their behalf Mailing Address labels (be careful of s…)

Other “Benefits” Free meeting attendance to the monthly meeting (and other meetings throughout the year) Advertising! Website, Newsletters, etc. Customization – let them tell you want they want!

MPI/NE Partnership Guide

Cash Sponsorships (Teaser!) Shouldn’t be your role, but if it is: –Know your budgets (figure out where expenses are) –Start small. –Think outside the Meetings world! More to come at tomorrow’s Round Table Session!

TIPS! #1 – Confirm everything with a written contract #2 – If you don’t have a written contract between venue and sponsor, see #1

MPI/NE Contract Example

Fulfillment / Management Director of Operations with help from Chapter Administrator on deliverables All contracts go through Director of Operations with Chapter Admin oversee Admin manages fulfillment of benefits pre & post- event

Best Practices Now let’s hear from you! 5 minutes of table discussion of your best practices Report out on top two (2) strategies from fellow chapters as a board

Contact me! Twitter Phone – (617) x22