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Really good mechanics...and some Rookie mistakes

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IMAGE_022Fabian Williams and the team at Williams Information Group should be proud.

A few months ago, they went out on a limb and said, "you know what? We want to grow our business and we'd like to tap into your event model."

They listened in on our bi-weekly best practices call and clearly did their homework in reading this blog, learning from the best practices (and mistakes) of others. 

Some highlights included:

  • brilliantly designed color-coded name tags...customers, partners, prospects, and employees each had a different one
  • A pre-event questionnaire which helped us uncover (and touch on) additional interest areas for some of the attendees. Increased value and customer sat significantly!
  • Leveraged Microsoft...they had not one, but two presenters (ok, one of them was me, but hey)
  • built breaks in nicely
  • had a hands-on lab where customers could play with the new technology themselves

IMAGE_023As it was their first event, it is to be expected that they would make some "rookie mistakes." And they did.

  1. Despite prodding from me, they didn't spend enough time in the demand gen phase. Consequently, they had 25 registrants and 11 attendees.
  2. The classic opening mistake. The first slide of the entire day was an "About Us" one. As I told Fabian, "my friend, no one is coming to this event to hear about you. They are coming to see what you can do for them."
    Next time, they will lead with evidence of their ability to deliver results and do a better job of engaging the audience emotionally. (It's ok guys, we all make this mistake!)
  3. Didn't start on time...it's natural to not want to miss anybody and the temptation for "a few more minutes" can be great. But, it's not fair to those who did show up on time. They have the right to expect that you will begin promptly. When you do, it shows them that you value their time, which is more than you can get across in an "About Us" slide.
  4. The 20 minutes or so before the official beginning of the event can be quiet...or you can use it to create a Vibe. Think about what you can do to get people charged as soon as they arrive.
    Lajuane Brooks from NGEN is at my desk now and she suggested a brilliant idea: How about a wordfind game where people have to find words about your company and Microsoft technology?

IMAGE_020All in all, a good start. As I've told other partners before, "we will never ding you for poor results, if you demonstrate that you have the mechanics."

WING has the mechanics and with some more practice, I think they can make a memorable event experience for customers and prospects a healthy, company growing, habit.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    June 14, 2007
    Thanks Jeremy - couldn't have done some of the key planning items without your tips and energy to spur us on! Plus the other folks ideas from the blog were generously borrowed - thx. AND it's amazing that even personally calling each attendee the day before didn't impact having all come -- and that there were no calls or emails that said "I can't attend" - the frustration of any event planning I guess. Anyway, having a "template" now will really help with event prep next time so we can focus on those blips instead of mechanics. I would like to note that we received 8 evaluations at event end (they stayed through the WHOLE day!) and were all VERY SATISFIED! The boxed lunches were a huge hit (I'll take that kudo) as was lunchtime roundtable chatting/networking. Fabian's hands-on petting zoo was a total home run - attendess REALLY liked seeing products in action and talking with others and asking specific questions 1:1. Realize that the "zoo" could have been some of the "intro" filler time to create initial energy as folks got settled.  Having some raffle prizes throughout the event was an audience grabber too. Yes, some rookie mistakes, but hey, we captured their attention, they got to know WING better and "us" as real people ready to please them -- AND these attendess know people, who know people, who know people... Some post-event follow ups include ty's (for coming or we missed you) and also topic inquiries for potential summer local lunch & learns (match up small size group that focuses on their common interest). Would love to hear other ideas on successful follow ups after this type of event.  Again, appreciate everyone's info, ideas and tips on the blog for events like this. THANKS.

  • Anonymous
    September 28, 2007
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