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Ask any elite meeting planner about what they do, and they’re likely to tell you — theirs isn’t a profession for the faint of heart. It’s high-octane. It requires constant reinvention and an ability to improvise at all times.

Whether it’s a gathering of 30 or a conference attended by thousands, planners are continually asked to transform ordinary events into unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experiences. This takes time, talent, teamwork, ambition and innovation. All too often, an event’s success comes down to a planning professional’s hard-earned experience telling them what will work and what won’t. This is where the powerhouse planner rises above the rest. Known across the industry as a go-getter who elevates their craft, this person pushes boundaries and adapts seamlessly to produce meetings and events that always leave a lasting impression.

While there is no one right way to do the job, some who have mastered the craft offer their tried-and-true strategies for planning the ultimate event.

Establishing a Trusted Network

As director of education operations and artist agency at MAC Cosmetics, Jennifer Rondinelli, CMP, oversees meetings, finance and logistics that support the global beauty brand’s education teams and artists worldwide. Over the course of two decades with the company, the New York-based professional has assembled a vast network that she has relied on during both good times and more challenging periods.

“I think one of the biggest things that helped me navigate when COVID was happening, after COVID, even right now and throughout my career, has just been the relationships that I have with hoteliers, with the suppliers, production teams and so forth,” Rondinelli says. “Those relationships I really tap into in order to help me. I’m a team of one, so I really need to have as many of the resources that I can.”

Rondinelli, who is the immediate past president of the greater New York chapter of MPI, says her vast network and strong relationships not only connect her to new contacts — they help her stay current on innovative tech-driven solutions.

“Connections can help me find … the latest trends. I can reach out to third-party production companies and [get] information from them,” Rondinelli says. “A lot of times, even working with a third party for sourcing helps me as well, and we might partner on the right destination for my brand.”

Working for an international business, for example, Rondinelli is often tasked with planning large meetings overseas, and far in advance. “It’s very hard to find meeting space [abroad],” she says. “And so, I think that we as planners just have to be as educated as we can and tap into our resources as much as possible, and I think that’s how you can navigate and produce effective … successful events.”

As senior marketing events manager at Rocket Software outside Boston, MA, Kara Bishop, CMP, DES, has also leaned into her network, which she’s built both organically and through her involvement as a member (and now board member) of MPI’s New England chapter.

“It’s really helpful to be a part of the association, go to those events and be able to network and get ideas from other like-minded professionals,” Bishop says. “I’ve met so many great suppliers and event professionals, even if they’re not in this area. If I know I’m doing an event in, say, Florida, I’ll look at our MPI database and just say: ‘Okay, who do we have for potential suppliers in the Florida area that I could reach out to?’ So, it’s a really great resource to have.”

Detailed Planning and Organization

Experienced meeting planners know that the job demands meticulous organization and attention to detail. Whether it’s confirming contracts and communicating your expectations to vendors, or more granular tasks like AV run-throughs and ensuring that logos are centered on custom trade show table covers, managing logistics takes precision and requires a comprehensive plan.

Before she became a professor in the Gerrish School of Business at Endicott College, Dr. Linda Robson spent more than 20 years as an international event planner. Today, she teaches the next generation of meeting and event planners, and she says it’s critical to have a detailed timeline that maps out every phase of an event. She credits Dr. Joe Jeff Goldblatt, founding president of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and founding director of The Event Management Program at George Washington University, with identifying the five phases of an event cycle. His is the preferred system for tenured career planners.

“I used it when I was planning, and it’s what I teach now, because it’s really applicable to any type of event. It starts off with research, then goes to design, planning, coordination and evaluation,” Robson says.

She adds that powerhouse planners around the world follow these best practices to stay on track for successful events: “When I was doing it, I was really grasping with my clients: ‘What is it? Why do they want this event?’ so that I can really start to understand the elements that I have to put into it.” By discovering the “why” of an event, Robson says, you can fully understand its goals. “And then it’s, what do you want people to leave with? What’s the experience you want them to leave with?”

Standing at the forefront of event management studies, Robson says that, while organization is obviously critical, it also allows planner and client to stay on the same page, keeping the meeting’s mission front and center from the event’s infancy to wrap-up session. This way all parties can remain focused on the client’s goals and, perhaps most importantly, stay within budget. “Those goals really allow you to structure an event with the highest possibility of success,” she explains.

For many years, Megan Schwartz, CMP, FLMI, LLIF, was an international conference manager for LIMRA & LOMA. Now, as founder and event strategist at M Creative Events, she constantly takes notes during her events and organizes them later.

“Just to make sure that I have it tracked, because there’s so many moving parts, and the little thing that you think you’ll remember, or that seems insignificant at the time, can be really helpful to have written down to reflect back on later — even just small comments,” Schwartz says. “I try really hard to document different conversations that I have, whether it’s with vendors or stakeholders, and keep clean, clear notes, because you never know when you’re going to need to … refer back to them for little things.”

A Drive to Innovate and Impress

Part of the go-getter mentality that drives successful meeting planners is an ambitious drive to wow attendees from start to finish. There’s an intrinsic aversion to the “been there, done that” feeling. Instead, the powerhouse planner is inspired to impress guests by doing something that has never been done before, and by pushing boundaries to ensure a memorable meeting.

Mike Tidwell has spent the past 16 years of his career at Seaview, a Dolce Hotel, which is a golf club and resort just north of Atlantic City, NJ. As director of sales and marketing for the seaside property, Tidwell has worked with meetings and conferences of all sizes. He leans into the unique nature of the historic hotel to give attendees an authentic experience, and it’s this bespoke approach that has earned him a reputation and career that that are both envied and admired by all. But he’s the first to point out that his success has been possible only because of his team’s support.

“When someone books a meeting here, there are multiple touchpoints where we’re talking through the program and detailing it, and really trying to understand what they want to accomplish, and that’s one of the reasons we have a very high rebook rate here at Seaview, because we really pay attention to what our clients want, and we try to execute perfectly on that,” Tidwell says. “A lot of the success we have is because of the building and the history. We use that to our advantage.”

Tidwell adds that speaking with clients well in advance throughout the planning stages allows each party to adjust and pivot as the meeting comes together, whether that’s restructuring the timeline to accommodate schedules or selecting an alternative meeting space better suited to the number of registrants.

“When you talk to the client and really listen, it’s: ‘How does what we have fit into what you’re trying to accomplish?’” he explains. But that also means being prepared for unforeseen challenges — from last-minute venue cancellations to unpredictable weather. Tidwell knows the latter all too well, as many meetings book at Seaview to enjoy the hotel’s pair of world-class golf courses, but an experienced pro is always ready to recalibrate, and Tidwell prides himself on staying flexible, thinking on his feet and maintaining a positive attitude, even under pressure. Rather than being thrown off track by setbacks, an experienced planner can use obstacles to showcase their resourcefulness.

Continuing Education and Professional Growth

Industry insiders know “word of mouth” goes a long way. From planner referrals to vendor recommendations, the entire industry hinges on one thing: relationships. Building a vast network will help meeting professionals adapt and evolve to enjoy a long career in the field.

Rondinelli, Tidwell and Bishop have served, or are currently serving, on the boards of their regional MPI chapters. There they have found opportunities for professional development, networking and business exchanges.

“Those organizations are great,” Tidwell says. “It’s a competitive industry. There are so many great properties out there, and so it takes a lot of work to find business.” Making connections is a sure-fire way to do that.

Robson says that taking advantage of opportunities for professional development is key to a successful career in the field. In other words, don’t just look for what others can do to help you expand your expertise — you should also be seeking opportunities to become an expert or thought leader in your own right.

“My own personal bias is that, as I mentioned, a lot of event professionals over 35 fell into the industry, right?” Robson says. “And so the only way that we could get any education, or really kind of try to understand what we were doing, is through these associations.”

That was the case for Schwartz. “Like a lot of event people, I sort of fell into it,” she says. “I had no event experience when I started. I had more of the international experience, but I knew that I liked project management — I’m very organized. I’m analytical, and so they kind of took a chance on me, knowing that I was able to adapt to that international environment and apply those skills that I already had, and I had some wonderful mentors that helped me along the way.”

While the pandemic devastated the meetings industry, one silver lining was the opportunity for planners to take advantage of low-cost or free educational offerings. “During COVID, there were so many webinars and virtual events,” Robson says.

On-demand learning became more normalized, and that continues today, as planners have the tools to boost their careers by improving their skills and knowledge at their own pace. “There are a lot of these certificates, and a lot of this education is not in real time. You can … do it in your own time,” Robson says. These online experiences are also opportunities to connect with industry colleagues and expand professional networks far beyond your home base.

Asking for Support and Delegating Tasks

Like many planners, Bishop admits that earlier in her career, she was prone to thinking she could do everything herself. Time and experience showed her how that perspective did a disservice not only to her, but to her team as well.

“We can juggle so many tasks, and there’s so much we like to think we can take on, but then you take on too much, and you’re like: ‘Oh my gosh, what did I just sign myself up for?’” she says. Asking for support, she learned, not only encourages others, but empowers them.

“It’s okay to ask for help or support, because, like I said, as much as you want to be a superhero, you can’t do it all by yourself,” Bishop says. “Anytime you ask people for support, specifically with your team, people are willing to help out in any way that they can.”

She cites a sales kickoff event as an example, saying that perhaps planners can utilize people in their marketing department or in sales enablement to help with things like logistical support. “Just even getting people from point A to point B,” Bishop says. “People are always willing at events to jump in and help out any way that they can.” She adds that it’s also helpful to evaluate when it might be most efficient to have a contractor or consultant assist with reaching meeting goals.

Leveraging Technology

Technology has been a game-changer in event planning, enabling successful planners to work smarter, not harder. From using virtual event platforms to gathering advanced analytics, planners are leveraging technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their events. Event management software like Cvent or Eventbrite can streamline the planning process, from registration to post-event analytics, and social media can be used to help promote meetings, communicate real-time event happenings or schedule changes and engage attendees before, during and after an event.

Conferencing apps can enhance your event by digitally delegating tasks and seamlessly adjusting event schedules. They can also deal with the practical aspects of an event, such as directions, parking, virtual check-in, maps and conference floor layouts. Apps can also be used for real-time engagement via live polling or interactive Q&A sessions. On the back end, planners can gather critical data points, like attendance and engagement metrics, and collect real-time feedback.

“It’s a totally different world, and the pace of change is getting continuously faster,” Schwartz says. She adds that striving to always see things from the attendee perspective can be a helpful guidepost. “It’s the technology and expectations, and now people just expect more, right? They expect that you’re going to be looking at them as a person. You have to be more inclusive, and these are all good things. You have to be taking these things into consideration more than, I think, previously, even 15 years ago … If they don’t get that at an event, they’re not going to come back, so you have to really get ahead of that and make sure that you’re providing what they’re expecting.”

Bishop says that for the first time, she attended IMEX, the largest trade show for the global meetings, events and incentive travel industry. “It was great just to see the new technology and the different things that you wouldn’t necessarily think about,” she explains. “I feel like those conferences are really great just to see, especially in this industry… what else is out there.”

The hallmark of a successful meeting planner is the ability to adapt and thrive amidst change. By embracing a clear vision, meticulous planning, innovative design and continuous learning, event planners can create exceptional experiences that leave a lasting impact.

Ultimately, it’s the passion, dedication and resilience of a go-getter powerhouse planner that will transform an ordinary career into an extraordinary one. And in this ever-evolving industry, those who dare to dream big and are willing to do the work will find their place at the top. C&IT