The ONE thing that will make your event successful!

Hi there!

90% of what makes an event or gathering successful is put in place beforehand. True or false?

If you answered true, you’re correct! 
By the time your event rolls around, you should be sleeping soundly knowing you’ve put everything in place for a successful event. 

That simply means you’ve taken the appropriate steps to de-risk it, and now have the mental bandwidth to quickly quash any last minute curveballs thrown your way (and we know there are always one or two!)

But how can you ensure the right plans are in place beforehand, you might ask?

So glad you asked because I’m about to share my secret sauce with you …

My planning process that builds the following:

• “Prime” your attendees before they get onsite so they know what to expect, what to prepare, and what you’re going to deliver.
  
  This ensures everyone shows up with the right intentions, goals, and also helps ensure you’re reducing day-of attrition by giving people a heads up on what is expected of them and what they will get out of the event. It’s an art, and I can help you with this.

• Plan a 2-hour attendee-journey session with everyone involved (key stakeholders, agency, cross-functional team members, an event consultant, etc.) to ensure you poke holes at every aspect of the experience. 

• Where might there be pain? If there are any pain points,  turn them into surprise and delightful moments instead.
  
  i.e. at registration offer people wellness shots and protein balls with conversation cards attached with toothpicks to assuage their hunger and boost their immune system (and also strike up a reason to get them chatting)

• Where are you lacking clarity? If there is anything left unanswered, make sure you figure that out onsite. You want to walk into your event knowing you’ve alleviated 100% of the outstanding questions so you’re not scrambling onsite.
  
  This can be as simple as: If the product team is demo’ing a product to attendees, knowing who’s taking notes and capturing the questions the attendees are asking so Sales can follow up. (hint: Maybe pair a member of Sales with Product demo-ers so they can take notes and follow up with more detail to close or accelerate the deal after the event).

• Think of your opening and ending with intentionality. It’s true - people remember the beginning and ending of experiences and a crucible moment, so get them right.
  
  (i.e. ask attendees to write a note to themselves that they want you to mail to them in 6 months. This gives you an excuse to reach out to them after the event while also reminding them of how thoughtful you are and what a great time they had at your event).

• Whatever you do, don’t start or end the event with logistics! There’s nothing that makes me cringe more than an Executive starting off their keynote with housekeeping notes!
  
  Take care of these before people enter the general session, or at the very minimum, have an Emcee handle them so the keynote can make a big slash at the cognitive hallowed ground that is the first 1-5 minutes of the session.

Need more help with your event?

I can audit your event plans, lead your attendee journey audit session, help you strategize how to intrigue people and capture their attention before, during, and after the event.

Reach out and book time to share what you need help with via my calendly here: calendly.com/gianna-gaudini.