In the end, Current Sushi turned out to be the perfect location for MES. The fall weather cooperated and MES members got an exclusive look at the newly renovated back patio of the Dupont Circle sushi establishment. Dubbed “Rose Bar”, this 800 square foot patio has the feel of a Morrocan Garden. The plexiglass bar features backlit white roses and walls are adorned with a faux ivy covering that gives the feel of an exotic escape (Despite the fact that its located on the bustling Connecticut Avenue). The interior features a skeleton staircase reminiscent of a yacht and water filled floor panels that let you see through to the lower deck.

The 325 event planners and professionals who attended were treated to an open bar, dessert by Policy Restaurant, music by NYX Entertainment and Events and DJ Flounder, fun halloween accessories by Say Cheese Paper Props, dramatic lighting by Huqa AV, custom leather bracelets by Talk of the Town and strolling magic by yours truly.

Looking forward to seeing you all in 2012! Wishing you a busy and productive winter! -josh

View the full album on our Facebook Page. Photos: Daniel McGarrity Photography

Yet if you carve out 5-10% of your time on marketing – even during your busiest seasons – you can create an ongoing pipeline of marketing and business development activities that will have long term payoffs.  The trick is figuring out how to schedule time and set up systems.  You’ll spend less time on the busy work and more on the daily operations and long term growth potential for your business.

So I’ve come up with a few tips to help you get started.  They are a work in progress so don’t hesitate to share ideas for how each of these can be improved for the event professional community.

#1 – What are your monthly and quarterly sales goals?
Ideally you sit down before your busy season and outline your annual and quarterly goals with your team or advisory board.  But since I’m convinced that most of us neglect this task when we have time, I’ll share an idea for how to do it…in the midst of the chaos.

Schedule a 2 hour appointment with your team to outline the marketing and sales goals for your company for the next 90 days.  Limit your list to only 3-5 areas to focus on because you know that you are in the midst of your busy season and will have limited time to work on everything.

Here are some sample marketing goals you can include

• New client meetings – 1-2 client presentations every two weeks
• Face to face networking – One networking event every week

By setting limits in advance, you’ll make it easier to prioritize your time when requests come in.  As well, you’ll ensure you are not neglecting this area – even when things get too busy

#2 – Commit to maintain quality communication on your social media platforms
I’ve watched many people get “gungho” about posting on Facebook or Twitter during their quiet times and neglect their accounts during their busy season.  What’s the message you are sending?  Especially if a new client logs onto your blog or social media platforms and sees you haven’t been active in months.

Set a small goal to spend TEN MINUTES a day updating your accounts.  Use scheduling software like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to help you schedule things.  Post one new status message or photo from an event that you attended.  This way your message stays fresh and you remain relevant in your community’s mind.

#3 – Adopt a reward system
One of the reasons most of us don’t spend time on the “business of our business” is due to the tasks we dislike or are uncomfortable with.  For example, I enjoy meeting new clients and hosting presentations yet have a total distaste for follow-up calls and generating proposals.  But it all needs to get done!

So I learned to set up a reward system for when a task that I dislike is completed.  It helps me to avoid procrastinating and ensures that I am maintaining solid follow-up in ALL areas.  It’s amazing how motivated I am when I know there is a scheduled massage waiting for me after I finish the final version of a client proposal.    Or a time out to read a new book after I’ve made ten follow-up calls.

So be honest about what you dislike and choose rewards that will motivate YOU and get the creative juices flowing.

#4 – What can you outsource?
One of the best business investments I have made is securing the services of virtual assistants and other freelancers to help out with projects.  Rather than spinning my wheels with the details of my business, I have learned how to create systems (where possible) and leave detailed instructions for how I want things done.  While there is an initial cost (of money and time), I am able to generate more in the long run because I can focus on the activities that generate larger sales in my business.

For example, I have my VA schedule meetings on my calendar with reminders and get her assistance with gathering data for final reports.  Let me tell you how much time that saves in email when I can forward the email to her and she produces a calendar invite in a few minutes.  Sure, I could hunt and peck around to schedule it myself – but I’d rather be focusing on future projects that generate $75 or $100 an hour.

The key to working with anyone in a support role is to be clear and communicate in explicit detail how the task needs to be done.

I hope these tips have been helpful for thinking about how you can manage your business development activities during your busy season.

This article was written by Malla Haridat and originally appeared on the blog by Liz King Events. To read the original article, visit http://lizkingevents.com/2011/06/29/juggling-business-during-the-busy-season-by-mallaharidat/#more-2497.

Malla is the founder and CEO of New Designs for Life and a nationally recognized expert in the specialized field of entrepreneurship education.

• Sugar Bailey and her team from DIYva Designs offered their planning and styling expertise.
• Buddha Bar provided Asian hors d’oeuvres and small bites, as well as a one-hour open bar.
• Guests were amazed by the live Buddha statue, furnished by Cast of Thousands.
• The excitement of the event was captured by Conjo Studios.
• Impressions Caterers provided the deliciously sweet cake pops.
• Signs for the event were produced by Exhibit Imaging.
• Tierra Floral Design added a delicate touch with colorful floral centerpieces and garlands.
• Hot 99.5′s DJ Chris Styles spun records in the DJ booth, providing energy for the crowd.
• Memories of the event were captured by photographer Peter Stepanek of Sky High Art.
• Yours Truly Lighting and Decor set the mood with their energetic lighting displays.
• Josh Norris performed crowd-pleasing magic.
• Thanks to our volunteer coordinator, Ellis Connolly, from CaterWire.com.

On May 22, 2011 an E5 tornado tore through the city of Joplin, MO, killing 142 people, injuring over 900 people, damaging 8,000 structures, and destroying over 2,000 buildings in its path.

The Joplin, Missouri chapter of Habitat For Humanity is asking you to show your support for the victims of the tornado that swept through the Show-Me State on May 22, 2011. The chapter’s goal is to raise more than $50,000 for the town and its residents, which will be covered by ticket costs, t-shirt sales, and donations made by attendees: national and local government officials, local celebrities, and you!

Red4Joplin will offer the best in cuisine, including Spaghetti Red, a recipe from Joplin’s own Fred and Red’s restaurant. Whet your whiskey palatte by sampling at least five different whiskeys. Red attire–including ties, hats, shoes, dresses, anything!–is encouraged.

I’ll be emceeing the event and providing a bit of entertainment throughout the evening.  There are two ways you can help show your support as well, either by volunteering your time or services or purchasing a ticket to attend.  For more information please visit: http://www.red4joplin.org/

Although CaterWire is similar to Groupon and other daily deal sites, the site is built for those people who are searching for catering and event-related services, such as catering for office luncheons or meetings, personal chef services, or private happy hour deals.

While I cant speak to the size of their audience or potentially how many purchases you might receive, I do think its worth a look. It’s a novel concept and has a focused industry, which I think could work. It’s free to receive updates and free to list your service. However, there is a profit sharing structure in which CaterWire receives a portion of each sale.  Depending on your margins and your specific service, this may or may not be a good fit for you.

Recent deals included 40 percent off a private function at Funxion (including your F&B purchases!) and 40 percent off private party wait staff. I could see this being useful for event planners as well. If you catch a good deal on a service that has a fit for your client, you can look like a super hero when you pass the savings on to them (or keep this a secret and increase your margins ). I’ll leave that choice up to you.

To join the site and signup for their weekly deals, visit www.caterwire.com. If you’re interested in having your product or service be featured as one of the deals, you’ll need to contact them directly.

All in all, I’m excited to try out their service and see what kind of sales it will generate. I’ll report back on the success of my first listing after it’s completed.

Have you had any experiences working with existing daily deal sites for your business (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.)? How did it affect your business? What kind of customers did it attract? Was it an overall positive or negative experience?

First things First – The Client is ALWAYS Your ONLY Client
I hate to say it, but no one cares that you’re really busy. I’m sure it makes you feel all self-important to say it over and over, but the customer does not care. Your potential client is coming to you and looking to spend money on you and your time. If you give the impression that you have too many other people to take care of, or worse, more important people to take care of, you might as well kiss that client good-bye. No one wants to believe that they are last on your to-do list and it’s your job to suck it up and put on that smile and appear calm, cool & collected for your clients.

The Client is ALWAYS your priority
I went bridal shopping with a client (and friend, yay!) of mine last week. We went to David’s Bridal which has, in my opinion, some of the worst customer service ever. I made the appointment early and they asked the bride to go online, create an account and “favorite” the dresses she likes so they can pull them when she comes in the store. I loved the efficiency. However, when we arrived, they looked at her list and rather rudely began crossing them out. “We don’t have that one, we don’t have that one, no, no, no”. I was already angry, but I politely asked if they had anything similar to the dresses she chose. “Nope.” was the only answer I got. I went on to tell them that she already tried on a dress that she loved, described it to them, went on to tell how it went perfectly with her mom’s veil from 25 years ago and asked if they had anything similar. Again, “no” was the only response!

I don’t care if you don’t have anything that I’m looking for, but as a client coming in looking to spend money at your store, you better have options and you better have good reasons for me to try those options. There’s nothing that gets under my skin more than businesses not going out of their way to find what you want and need (or the closest thing to it, at least).

The client is always right
There’s a store in the NY/CT area called Stew Leonards. For those of you who haven’t been, it’s like a mix of Chuck-E-Cheese, a farm, and a grocery store. Okay, so that doesn’t do it justice, but it’s a cool place. I usually suffer from a slight amount of sensory overload when I visit, but it really is nice. What I like best about it is the sign that greets you as soon as you enter “Rule 1: The customer is always right. Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, re-read rule 1.” It’s the foundation of their business and something that should be modeled in all businesses. Whether you are right or not, it’s most important to listen to your client’s needs, identify where you can help and do everything in your power to make it right.

Let’s make a commitment to think of our customers first – to remember that they are the ones who keep us in business. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Let’s put aside our stress about the amount of work we have to do or the lack of funds coming in and get back to the basics – our clients. Let’s treat them well and serve all their needs. Then, I’m convinced our businesses will flourish and will be sustained even through the worst economic times! That’s it for my rant, I hope it was enlightening and called you to action. Enjoy your clients today!