One + July 2011 - (Page 81)

FAM Best Practices HONOR THY HOST. “Be gracious and understand the trip is not a personal vacation for you,” advised Richard Miseyko, CMP, CMM, president of Site Search Inc. “CVB FAMs can be especially demanding with early-morning departures and late-night entertaining, but be where you’re supposed to be and have the common decency to be on time for the damn bus!” RESPECT YOUR PEERS. “When you’re part of a group tour, remember it’s not all about you and no one wants to hear you getting into speciﬁcs about your program with the convention center rep and monopolizing the conversation,” Miseyko said. “Keep your questions short and sweet—you can always do follow up later.” A DIFFERENT HOTEL EACH NIGHT. “If I am going to give each property equal weight in deciding which gets my business, I must see/feel/hear/smell all contenders,” said independent planner Nancy Coll, CMP. She recommends a well-balanced visit to include at least three large hotels, two mediums and one boutique. FREE TIME. “It’s always good if there can be a certain amount of free time at the destination to explore on your own,” said Brian Stansifer, VP and director of creative operations for MIM Companies. “The best thing about a FAM is having an experience which allows you to speak passionately about the destination. When you have the opportunity to explore on your own, you will seek out what is meaningful to you and, hopefully, leave wanting to come back and next time, with business.” ENGAGE ATTENDEES BEFORE THE TRIP. Leigh Cort, founder of Leigh Cort Publicity, sends a quiz to expected participants—all answers are found on the client’s website. “So many people are on a revolving door of trips, it can be hard to keep them separate,” Cort said. “They’re on sensory overload. I like to get them focused on the upcoming trip with me.” And yes, there is a prize for the fastest correctly answered quiz: sometimes the presidential suite. LEAVE A MARK. “Going on several hotel or venue walkthroughs on the same day, back-to-back, in the end, all becomes a blur,” Stansifer said. “It’s better to have each meal at a different venue so you have an experience to remember the hotel by.” INCLUDE A TRADE SHOW. Pam Balakian, Mondotels sales manager, recommends a trade show element in the middle of FAMs to ensure the buyers can meet all of the suppliers involved. INVITE PLANNERS AND THEIR CLIENTS. “To maximize conversion, we have found it most effective to invite meeting planners to participate with their corporate clients,” Balakian said. “It not only helps the top planners justify time away from the ofﬁce, you’re one step closer to reaching the ﬁnal decision maker.” FREE SHIPPING. “We have found the little extras go a long way,” said Cindy Ekonomou, director of destination services for Palm Beach County. “For instance, after our tabletop mini trade show at the convention center, we have boxes and packing labels there for the planners to drop all their gathered materials and gifts right into a box to be shipped to their ofﬁce before they walk out of the center.” tive with the agendas that are being organized,” Davila said. “We want to avoid taking planners who are not really interested.” Balakian seeks to ensure all valid FAM participants are interested by making the entire process as time efﬁcient as possible. That job, she says, is the host’s responsibility. “A meeting planner’s job is demand- ing,” Balakian said. “Their clients’ expect them to be able to recommend the destinations that will drive meeting participation, but also offer the greatest value possible. This perpetuates the constant struggle of maximizing ofﬁce time and expanding their understanding of destinations around the world.” MICHAEL PINCHERA is senior editor, One+. mpiweb.org 81 http://meetings.oceanreef.com http://www.mpiweb.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of One + July 2011

One + July 2011
Contents
Energy of Many
Impressions
Paradigm Shifts, Part II
Web Watch
Agenda
Thoughts+Leaders
Ask the Experts
Recognizing Community and Organizational Excellence
Overheard
Art of Travel
The Prism Effect
Top Spots
Connections
Irrelevant
Using New Tech for Old Purposes
So You Think You Can Dance
Don’t Use Tech You Don’t Understand
Are You In It to Win It?
Anything is Possible
Night of the Radishes
Well Played
When People Come Together, Magic Happens
Size Matters
Building a Better FAM
One Bar at a Time
MPI + CSR
Industry Insights
Your Community
Making a Difference
Until We Meet Again

One + July 2011