A New Lesson in Event Planning

I can't begin to remember how many events I planned and ran when I was a non-profit professional. But I do remember the most important thing I learned: The most important thing at an event is the sound system. If attendees can't hear the speakers, it does not matter if the room is full, everyone loves the food, and no one hates their seat. If they can't hear the speakers then, for all intents and purposes, the event never took place.

Let's just agree that I have seen a lot. The good. The bad. The ugly. And now the ridiculous.

A LinkedIn connection called me to discuss career change. We chatted for a few minutes and she explained that she was distracted. She had secured a new client who was going to hold a major event at the facility she managed, and for which she was receiving a lot of credit. But it had to go off without a hitch. The problem was that the event was scheduled to begin at 1 PM. She had another event that would run from 10:00 to Noon. Her staff would need a good hour to set up.

I did not understand the problem. Kick everyone out at Noon. Be polite about it. Explain why. What's the big deal?

Well, she explained, the 10:00 AM event was with a long-time client who could not be alienated. She books her place every couple of weeks. The room was always full. The audience was entirely made up of women. They adored her. After she finishes they want to thank her, shake her hand, ask her questions, exchange business cards, comment on her presentation... we all know the drill. That could last over half an hour. She needed a way to get them out of the room and asked me if I had any suggestions. (Moving them into the hallway was not an option.)

This sounded like something very remotely similar to what I had gone through a long time ago. So I asked her to describe the neighborhood where the event was being held.

She told me that there were restaurants, an independent bookstore (Who knew they still existed?!), a convenience store, a couple of coffee shops, a shoe store... BINGO!

I told her I had a crazy idea. She should go to the shoe store and offer the owner a deal. Tell him that in exchange for him agreeing to have a one-hour sale for the attendees at your event, she would print up, at her own expense, cards announcing that for one-hour only, from Noon to 1:00, anyone presenting the cards would receive half off their purchases. Each attendee would have a card on their chair when they arrived.

She confirmed that she thought it was a crazy idea, but she said she would give it a try. The owner agreed. He figured he'd break even but the sight of scores of women trying to get into his store would attract more customers. And for the store owner, that is what happened, only it was a lot more than scores and lasted longer than an hour! But what about my caller?

She told me that at about ten minutes to 12:00, for the first time ever, women started to leave her presentation. Precisely at Noon the speaker ended. Only a few attendees approached her. The rest made a B-line across the street for the sale. Her crew had plenty of time for setup.

Just another example of the importance of building partnerships...and trying crazy ideas! Sometimes the ridiculous works...

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Bruce Hurwitz is an executive recruiter and career counselor. He has helped scores (thousands if you include attendees at his presentations) of people, including veterans, not only change jobs but, on occasion, change careers. Having successfully transitioned from academia to non-profits to the recruiting industry, he has been there and done that!

Bruce is a recognized authority on job search and career issues, having been quoted in over 700 articles, appearing in some 500 publications, across the United States and in more than 30 foreign countries. His posts on LinkedIn have been read over 350,000 times and have garnered national and international media attention, including television appearances on Fox Business Network and Headline News (CNN).  

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, he co-chairs their Entrepreneurship Council, hosts their weekly podcast – The Voice of Manhattan Business – and serves as an Ambassador. 

An advocate for the protection of job seekers, visit the homepage of his website, www.hsstaffing.com, to read about questionable offerings of so-called job search assistance companies and to learn about his upcoming speaking engagements.