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Cool Runnings...
How to Run an Event without a Hitch
Date Posted 03/02/12
The key to running a good event is to be organised. A poorly run event will impact your relationship with everyone there, whether it's a training course, a networking event or a dinner party and there are lots of things to think about to ensure that your event is a hit with everyone ...
Although planning for the three types of events is very similar, today's blog is going to focus on organising training or networking events. In the business world it's important for events to run smoothly, as a badly run event can have a huge impact on your reputation.
So here are the crucial factors for you to focus on to ensure that your event is a success:
Organisation before the event
You have to start with some delegates, without them there wouldn't be an event! Part of the organising involves inviting people, booking them onto the course and making sure they know what to expect. Then once they have booked they will need to know the address/directions to the venue, how to cancel/contact you on the day, what to bring with them and at least have a brief understanding of the agenda.
Once you have everything sorted for your delegates, you will need to organise yourself for the event. Anything you can do in the days before should be done as this will help you not to be too flustered on the day. So you can pack any manuals/handouts, notepads, pens, feedback forms, literature in advance, you can even put them in the car ready so you don't forget them!
Liaising with the Venue
If you are using a venue for the first time then I would advise you to visit it at least once before the day so that you are familiar with the layout, where the fire exits, toilets, etc are - there is nothing worse than not
being able to answer a delegate's question. Whilst you are there you can check that all your electronic equipment works in situ; the last thing that you need is to arrive and find that your laptop will not interface with their projector.
For every event you are planning you will need to check the venue knows:
- What you require in terms of catering
- How many delegates are coming (usually confirming in the 48 hours leading up to the event)
- How you would like the room laid out
- Which equipment they are providing e.g. projector, extension leads, flip chart etc
On the Day of the Training Course
It's always a good idea to arrive early to any event: there may have been last minute changes by the venue which mean you are in a different room; your laptop might suddenly decide that it won't work with the projector. By arriving early you can tackle these little crises before the delegates arrive! It's often a good idea to have the delegates' mobile phone numbers with you, in case there are any last-minute changes to the plan.
Your final job is to be on hand to greet the delegates. I don't mean manning the admin/sign in desk, because you need to be available for any questions delegates have, so where possible arrange for someone to run the admin/sign in desk for you. Now all the hard work is done, and the delivery of the course should go off smoothly. I'm afraid that bit is definitely down to the expert!!
Of course if Admin/Organisation is not your strong point then by all means call an Event Management expert. As one of our clients, Jacky Sherman of Referral Institute, says
"I love being organised for a training course. The great thing about using The Office Genie is that my training courses are organised with very little involvement from me. They offer a fantastic event management package. They can email, ring and chase delegates until the booking is confirmed, keeping me updated along the way. They liaise with the venue for me. They even send me the attendance list. All I have to do is invite people to come along and then turn up on the day."
If you're thinking of organising an event, why not chat with us on +44 (0) 845 184 8446 so that you too can have the confidence and peace of mind that everything will run like clockwork?
Verbal Diarrhoea or Fear?
How to leave a professional answer phone message?
Date posted 10/01/2012
Everybody has at least one contact that does it. They always seem to call you after hours and you dread the blink from the answer phone. And you know that you need to give yourself at least 5minutes to listen to it.
They have probably done one of two things; either they have left you enough information to fill your notebook or else they talk at the speed of light. If you are very unlucky they do both! And regardless of which they do, you know that when you call them back they will repeat all of that information before the conversation gets started.
But why do they do it? The two problems have different origins.
Downloading a raft of information
One theory is that the absence of the “conversation factor”, by which I mean another human being interjecting with answers or comments, means that they suffer from verbal Diarrhoea. And everything they wanted to ask you or talk to you about is divulged in one go.
The second is the fact that they knew what they wanted to talk to you about, but having failed to get you they don’t want to forget anything so they give you all the information in the message so that you have got it. It neatly shifts the responsibility from them to you.
Talking at the speed of light
II suspect that one reason for this is fear related. When you haven’t prepared for an answer machine then you can feel under the spotlight, and knowing that someone will be listening to it can bring about a spot of “Stage Fright”. And so you blurt out the information as fast as possible.
Another reason, of course, goes back to the days of little tapes. In the very early days once the tape was full your message got cut off, and as the person leaving the message you had no idea when the tape was full. So to combat this we developed the technique of speaking quickly to ensure the information was passed across.
So it all comes down to this – How to combat it?
Well we all know that in an ideal world every caller would speak slowly, clearly, repeat their telephone number and not leave a long complicated message. But how can we tell them to do that without making our message long and convoluted. Can you imagine recording the following?
“Thank you for calling The Office Genie. The office is now closed, if you would like to leave a brief message then please speak after the tone. In order for your message to be easily understood and noted down we would appreciate it greatly if you would speak slowly. Also could you make sure you enunciate well as we would hate to mis-hear you? When leaving your telephone number, please repeat it so that we don’t have to listen to your whole message again in order to take it down. Thank you again for calling, we will of course return your call during our office hours which are Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm excluding public and Bank Holidays”
I got bored typing it and so I suspect that callers would get bored listening to it and hang up. But you can influence your callers in subtle ways. By making your outgoing message short, simple and by speaking slowly and clearly you will be encouraging your callers to do the same.
I do know people who actually leave off the “brief message” from their outgoing message, asking people to simply leave their name and number and someone will call them back. In that way they signal to their clients that the important information is their name and number and that is all that is needed to get a call back.
But regardless of your outgoing message; remember that most people will ring and expect to get a person and so will be thrown by getting an answering machine. Listen to yourself when you next have to leave a message when you were hoping to talk to someone. I suspect you will find yourself getting a little flustered and babbling a little. But remember if in doubt leave your name, your telephone number (twice) and simply ask them to call you back, if it’s urgent suggest they call you before a certain time.
Are you feeling nervous about leaving messages now?
Are you running an advertising campaign?
Posted on May 27, 2011 by Jules Thomas
So you have got your content which will grab people with a delicious hook and an irresistible call to action. You have got aesthetically pleasing pictures to accompany your powerful message. Pictures paint a thousand words and yours are the equivalent of the Sistine Chapel! You launch your campaign. You get a terrific response, far exceeding your expectations, the phones are ringing off the hook with new enquiries…
Did you forget something? How are you going to handle the influx of calls? Did you lay on extra staff? Doubtful, as you weren’t sure of your ROI.
Nobody does an advertising campaign they think won’t work. We want it to work, we want it to generate more business, otherwise why would we do it? So why don’t we ever plan how we are going to handle all these new enquiries? Don’t waste your time, money and effort. Be prepared with our telephone answering service. We can take all those new enquiry details, make sure you don’t miss any of your calls, answer FAQ’s and even take orders. All in your company name!
Isn’t that a much more satisfactory outcome?
The Office Genie is now Live!
Date Posted: 19/10/2009
The Office Genie was established in 2005 to offer virtual administration services to companies in and around Northamptonshire. The company specialises in all aspects of office administration from telephone answering and forwarding to bookkeeping and payroll sevices. We are pleased to announce the launch of our website which was built by Digital Paint Web Design Services in Northampton.
Please bookmark (Ctrl + B) our website and come back regularly to see updates.
Nobody does an advertising campaign they think won’t work. We want it to work, we want it to generate more business, otherwise why would we do it? So why don’t we ever plan how we are going to handle all these new enquiries? Don’t waste your time, money and effort. Be prepared with our telephone answering service. We can take all those new enquiry details, make sure you don’t miss any of your calls, answer FAQ’s and even take orders. All in your company name!