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

How did she become so powerful?  Why do people listen to her every word and passionately adhere to every syllable?

It’s because she uses one of the most overlooked magical marketing tools around:  she helps – and not just any help, but life-changing, empowering help.

Ellen DeGeneres is another example. She gives away cars and other gifts on her show, too.  These gifts improve the quality of life of the less fortunate.  So even if you can’t stand to watch her dance down the aisles (my favorite!) you can’t resist hanging around to see who she’ll help next. I’m sure Ellen is genuinely a kind and giving person, but make no mistake, that’s highly effective marketing.

Why is helping so magical?

Once you’ve helped someone change his or her life for the better, that’s it – that follower, potential client or customer will be under your magical spell for life.  Okay, no, they’re not really under a spell, but depending on what you’ve done for them, they will grow to trust you.  They’ll look to you as a credible source. They will drool over and crave everything you do. These are the people that will become your biggest promoters – your raving fans.

The other magical part of helping, is that when you do, sometimes you end up in places and among people you’d wouldn’t otherwise have access to. It opens the door to infinite opportunities that you wouldn’t have been exposed to any other way.

The most important thing that I’ve learned since the day that I started blogging is this:  if you can figure out how to help people, it will build trust and strengthen your credibility faster than a speeding bullet.

I helped one woman create engaging content for her site at a discounted rate, but I still went out of my way to provid top notch service. I provided value without regard to how little I was charging. And do you want to know what happened?

A few weeks later, she referred several other small business owners who were eager to get my help and weren’t concerned about the cost. I couldn’t have found those new clients any other way, but the act of helping created those opportunities instantly out of thin air.

So why isn’t everyone out there on a helping spree?

There are lots of reasons, but I think it’s mostly because helping others is counter-intuitive. Helping and/or giving away your time and resources just seems to produce the exact opposite of the outcome you’re aiming for. You’re giving, when instead you’d rather be getting – sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Almost everything you read about marketing and promotion will tell to create a product or service that people want, advertise until ears bleed, and they will flock to you quicker than pigeons to a tossed hot dog. In some ways that still applies, but there’s been a shift, companies are beginning realize that people have not only become immune to advertisements, but most people despise ads and will gnaw off their own foot if they have to just to get away.

It’s not until marketing becomes helpful or meaningful that it really gets people’s attention.  As Bob Gilbreath puts it, “When marketing is meaningful, it adds value to people’s lives whether or not they immediately buy what you’re selling.” (The Next Evolution of Marketing, 2010.)

You’ve got to give people a chance to choose what they want. And what most people want is help. Some are willing to pay for it and some aren’t.

If you can offer a service or a product that helps people solve their problems; that will teach them something valuable, or that will help them reach their full potential, you’ll attract a loyal following that will do just about anything to express their gratitude. If you ever need help, just yell and they’ll rush to your aid in droves.

But to begin reaping the benefits of helping, you have to get out and start planting some “help” seeds. You’ve got to jump start the process by going out of your way to help others first.

Helping doesn’t always have to be about giving out something for free, but if helping is really the focus, you will learn that sometimes you have to be willing to bend and understand that sometimes a delayed reward has just as valuable, if not more, in the long run.

So how can you apply this to your blogging efforts?

When I first started blogging, I thought I would be in constant battle with people who were only concerned about selling, but I ended up meeting some of the most helpful people around. People like Evelyn Parham would visit my blog and leave helpful comments and share my posts on Twitter.  People like Ileane went out of their way to sponsor fund raisers and contests. To this day, I can’t thank Brandon Cox enough for the opportunity he gave me when he was looking for someone to take over WeBlogBetter.

At first glance, it might not seem like commenting, sharing content, sponsoring, or giving a new blogger an opportunity is all that important, but these are simple helpful tasks that when applied can have a huge impact.

How can you help?  It’s really simple.

Do something for others without thinking about what you’ll get in return. Go out of your way and do something that you’ve always wished someone would do for you. That is how you build beneficially helpful and meaningful relationships; that is how you get the biggest return on your marketing efforts. Helping and giving is the key to getting more out of social media and life in general. Think of it as an investment that has endless returns and possibilities for growth.

If your blog isn’t growing, it could be because you aren’t helping enough. What can you do to change that? What do you think about all of this?

This article was originally featured on SocialMouths.com. Francisco Rosales, author of the site, works to help people and businesses enhance their online presence through blogging, social media strategies, e-mail marketing, and web analytics. This is a guest post by Kiesha Easley

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.

One of the highlights for me was Kimpton’s Peek-A-Boo Rooms concept. In contrast to the typical obligatory venue tour, Kimpton took a creative approach. Rather than showing you unoccupied guest rooms, they hired actors to play the roles of hotel guests. A businessman paced about in a heated phone conversation, and in a second room, a couple romantically fed each other strawberries and sipped champagne. Watch the video below for a whirlwind tour of the most unique and fascinating hotel open house I’ve ever attended.

• 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?

Hotel Palomar served hors d’oeuvres such as grilled vegetables and risotto, and lively entertainment was provided by XM Radio’s DJ Chris Styles. Photographer Daniel McGarrity snapped photos of attendees as they sipped beverages from the open bar, including wine from DC-area wineries.

For more information about the DC area PWG, visit http://www.facebook.com/DCPWG.

Using a unique web application, Melanie Spring of Sisarina created a LIVE twitter feed of the event’s buzz that displayed on flat screens throughout the room.  Additionally, Ultimate Amusements “Facebook Photobooth” allowed attendees to upload their booth photos directly to their social media profiles.  This was a modern twist to the traditional photobooth that I think will be a hit with young audiences (ie Mitzvahs & Sweet 16′s) and corporate networking events.

The venue, provided an unobstructed view of Georgetown from the Key Bridge all the way to the Kennedy Center.  The view, perfect weather, spacious venue, generous sponsors, and capacity crowd made this one of my favorite MES mixers to date. Looking forward to seeing everyone in June!

Event Sponsors

• Toybox Productions – Beautifully filmed and edited recap of the mixer.
• Capitol Chocolate Fountains
• The Travelling Bean – Provided some refreshing smoothies
• CORT Event Furnishings – Check out their white modern lounge furniture in the video.
• Daniel McGarrity Photography – Full album below!
• Drape Kings
• IndAroma Bakery – Their dessert station was a hit!
• Josh Norris – Modern Day Magician
• Rentals to Remember
• The Davis Event Group
• Exhibit Imaging – the most reliable event signage company we’ve ever worked with

Watch The Video Recap

Check out the video recap by Toybox Productions.

View the Full Photo Album at http://facebook.com/metroeventsorg

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!