The lines were out the door and down the hall at one session of the Meeting Professionals International World Education Conference in Orlando recently, the largest annual gathering of meeting
planners. Many planners were shut out of the session which was titled, "Smart Phones = Smarter Meetings." It was run by James Spellos, a meetings technology guru who is founder and president of a
consultancy called Meeting U.
The keynote speaker at the same conference was Simon Sinek, author of the book Start With Why. He used a single piece of white paper and a Sharpie in his
presentation in which he said, "We need social interaction, which is becoming a rarity. All this technology that is trying to replace meetings like this but nothing can. Why do 20,000 bloggers meet in
Las Vegas every year for Blogworld when they could just as well meet online?"
Meeting planners are faced with a situation where they have a huge stake in maintaining the idea that people
getting together physically is as important as ever. At the same time, they are impelled to use all the high-tech tools available to both: 1) generate interest in and make it easy for people to go to
meetings; and 2) make it easier for meeting attendees to get the most out of meetings.
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"The magic doesn't happen in this room with me speaking," said Sinek; "it happens when we take a
break and you get coffee and talk to each other."
What does that mean for vendors reaching out to meeting planners, hotels in particular? Because we're talking abut a massive business
here, and one that can mean repeat annual business involving significant numbers of high spenders, it's crucial for hotels to deliver the right message in addition to piggybacking onto any
technological innovations.
Perhaps it's a good idea to go back to Sinek's message for ideas about developing solid relationships with planners.
The most important aspect of
anybody's job, according to Sinek, is to start with the "why" of what they are doing, not the "how" or the "what." While most organizations talk about the "what" (the price and features of a product
or service), customers pay attention to underlying values to form emotional connections. His example: When Martin Luther King, Jr. drew an audience of 250,000 to the Mall in Washington D.C., there
were no emails to announce the speech. Sinek said, "And by the way, he gave the 'I Have A Dream' speech, not the 'I Have A Plan' speech."
Sinek said companies like Harley Davidson are
successful because they focus on the "why" of what they do rather than how they build motorcycles or how fast their motorcycles run. "Why do people put Harley Davidson logos on their sleeves and not
Procter & Gamble logos?" asked Sinek. "It's because we like companies whose people believe in something."
Meeting planners most definitely believe in something. They are passionate about what
they do and about the almost spiritual importance of getting people together. While meetings remain very much a business built on personal relationships, marketers can reach out to planners with
messages that extend beyond price, square footage and availability.
Rather than -- or in addition to -- the ubiquitous discounted Meeting Planners Special, how about: "We want you to be in
the same room as you. We hope it's a room in our hotel."