Leadership development is one of the hottest trends right now in business because these programs offer attendees the opportunity to sharpen their management skills. However, launching such an event will take a great deal of planning and if you have never taken on such a task, you will need to understand what is involved to execute this successfully.
Preparing for a conference is not done lightly. Indeed, it does not come down to bringing together professionals to present or discuss a subject. It is above all a communication operation. In other words, the stakes go far beyond the question of the organization of events. The credibility of your business is at stake.
The success of your leadership conference depends on several elements. From the choice of the date to the choice of the event space, including logistics and possibly catering, everything must be perfectly planned. Here are some things to consider to help you take on this large task:
Prior To The Event
To get started, you need to set a clear budget, keeping in mind that the quote you will get will be approximate, given the following three categories of expenses:
1.Fixed expenses: these are expenses that do not vary, regardless of the number of participants (among others the costs of renting the meeting room or the rental of
2.Audiovisual equipment); variables: the amount depends on the number of participants (for example the cost of meals, drinks and coffee breaks);
3.Indirect costs such as costs related to the communication campaign and travel costs. Once it’s done, you can move on to the next steps.
Set A Clear Objective
“Setting clear goals can be the most critical factor in the success of your planning” says Sean Adams of Motivation Ping. “If you want to ensure that everything goes well and that you are not overwhelmed by analysis paralysis, you need to set clear benchmarks on what you want to accomplish.”
Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
Why do you want to organize a conference?
What are your goals?
Is it to present results, share your expertise, raise problems and seek solutions together or mobilize your sales teams around a new commercial strategy.
By answering these questions, you will be able to define the format of the conference, that relates to:
- Duration: a conference usually lasts one or two days.
- The place: a castle, a meeting room located in a business center, etc.
- The number of participants: this last point will have a direct impact on the degree of participation of the guests, because the more participants there are, the more difficult it is to discuss and exchange.
Hire A Keynote Speaker
Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your event can feel a bit overwhelming as the success of your conference will heavily rely on your decision. You have the choice between going to a renowned keynote speaker (which involves a certain cost) or using the services of an unknown speaker.
You can also call on several leadership speakers and see which one is the right fit. In all cases, the speakers must arouse the interest of the public, that is to say have style and be able to provide relevant content.
To do this, you need to do it early enough, that is, a month to a month and a half in advance. This will give you time to find the perfect candidate. And so that he does not withdraw at the last minute, establish a written contract.
Select A Date
When you organize a conference (and this is valid for all other events), choose a date that is quite distant. Not only may participants decline your invitation for the simple reason that their agenda is already full, but in addition, you will certainly have difficulty finding a room in such a short time. Conference rooms are generally reserved several months in advance.
On the other hand, do not organize a conference at a time of the year when participants are on leave or the weather conditions are particularly difficult (participants will not want to make the trip). You can also cross off school vacation periods, public holidays, election dates and sporting event dates from the calendar.
Select Your Venue
Select the venues best suited to your corporate event (three or four addresses should normally suffice) depending on its format and duration (understand that there is no need to go to the other end of town to organize a conference that lasts only one hour).
Once you have found the meeting rooms that are right for you, you should definitely visit them. This will allow you to verify that the inventory matches the description you saw on the website or in the brochure.
In addition, this will allow you to get to know the managers of the establishment. If the current does not flow between you on the first visit, it is unlikely to improve afterwards and it may affect the organization and running of the conference .
On the other hand, if all goes well, you will not forget to reserve the room and confirm your reservation at the agreed time.
Create A List Of Participants
And send the invitations by email. You can also use social media to send out invitations. Or even opt for professional and personalized invitation cards if it’s a big event. In any case, it is recommended to send the invitations three weeks in advance to be sure that the majority of participants respond present.
In some cases, it may be useful to send some documentation to your guests, so that they take note of the information beforehand and get into it. In this way, the time allocated for the conference can be used more efficiently. Finally, you will not forget to send the reminders a few days before D-Day.
Prepare Your Presentation
If you are also planning on giving a presentation at your event, you will also need to make sure you take the time to prepare for it. While it is good to hire professional speakers who can do most of the heavy lifting, you will also want to make sure that you have something to share as well. Because you are the leader of the event, you know exactly what your audience must hear to get the most from it. Here are some resources worth reviewing:
- 10 tips to give a great presentation
- 8 ways to be more confident with a presentation
- Free powerpoint templates for your presentation
Contacting Vendors
In particular the caterer, hostesses and possibly translators as well as audiovisual equipment rental companies if the meeting room you have found is not previously equipped.
D-DAY
Go to the scene in advance to carry out a general location. You will also benefit from it for:
- Brief all providers
- Give final instructions to hostesses
- Remind stakeholders of the timing
- Check that audiovisual equipment is functioning properly
Finally, you can give the start of the conference and welcome the guests. Also, you might want to consider some giveaways for your attendees as this can help make a great impression.
Post Event
Once the event has completed, make sure to:
- To send a thank you letter to the speakers and participants;
- To publish the report of the event on your website;
- To share photos and videos on social networks.
- And finally, you can also offer participants to respond to a satisfaction survey.
