Corporate Meeting Planning Checklist

Introduction Planning a large business meeting or event can take a tremendous amount of organization and preparation. A large business event needs a plan, and a plan needs a checklist to make sure everything gets done on time and correctly. The details of a business-event checklist vary depending on the event, but there are several basic things that an event coordinator needs to take into account:

Budget Focus Guests & Speakers Participants Audience Timeline

A business event should have a detailed budget in place before any other plans are made. The budget will dictate how the rest of the event falls into place.

Always allow a cushion of at least 10% to 20% in your event budget to take care of problems and changes as they arise.

A detailed budget, unlike a general budget, will help you determine how much is to be spent on each part of the event and reduce the risk of overspending.

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Focus Determine why your company is holding the

event and then use that as the theme.

An event designed to attract new clients would be designed differently than an

event used to find new employees.

The focus of the event can also help to determine what kind of

handouts and displays will be created.

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Guests & Speakers

Special guests and keynote speakers will help increase attendance at your event. Develop a list of the kinds of guests and speakers you would like to feature and then reach out to them by phone to see if they would be interested in attending. Once you have your special guests and keynote speakers established, you can make them part of your marketing plan.

Participants

If you will be allowing other companies to set up displays at your event, develop a marketing strategy to attract them. You can charge companies to display at your event and use this income to offset the costs of putting on the event.

Audience

When you have all of your guests, speakers and displays in place, start marketing your event to your target audience. A six-month advertising campaign will get maximum coverage. You can also use the many free Internet social networking websites available to spread the word about your event.

Timeline

In order to plan your event properly and make sure things get done when they are needed, create a timeline with milestones. Your timeline should begin at least 120 days prior to the event with the creation of the budget, although more time will give you the chance to maximize advertising efforts. Set deadlines for things such as confirmation of speakers and event-display participants and make those your milestones. Once you have your timeline in place, you can begin to prioritize your resources and get your event set up correctly.

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Conclusion Event planning is an acquired skill, one that will develop as you get used to the rhythm of organizing them. The most important thing is to write everything down and to double-check data before you rely on it. If you still need guidance for planning your perfect event, click the icon to get a complete and extensive; meeting and event planning checklist:

D Corporate Meeting Planning Checklist