Planning stunning events

Part of a marketer's job is to throw a heck of a party every once in a while. Being in Channel Management for many years where the line between Sales and Marketing blurs, usually because of lack of resources, I have been involved in a few of these, some of them as large as 600 people spanning a week in lenght.
Here are some tips to make for an exceptional event:

Mind the audience. Always think on who is the event for. Target EVERYTHING to this audience. Focus on your niche. This is what ultimately going to show the value of the event, a high concentration of interests in one place and at one time.

Cover the basics. Make sure that you are covering your audience expectations. Ask yourself what is what HAS to be there. Make it happen.

Do not underestimate the networking. This is one of the biggest reasons why people attend events, to hook up with clients, suppliers and to pick the brains of their colleagues and competitors. Allow plenty of time for networking and make every time slot conducive for connecting. Provide means of sharing contact info, like an opt-in list to be distributed among attendees. Create activities with smaller groups, this is more conducive for peer-to-peer interaction as well as for Q/A sessions and information gathering.

Plan for the 5-year old. Well, almost. Keep changing the activities every 30-min to 1 hour. This will keep the audience engaged.

Change wardrobe. Or the drapes. Rearrange furniture. Mix it up and change the format of the presentations. Too many powerpoints? Conduct an interview on stage. Bring in a panel of experts. Show a video. Move the audience from one room to the other.

Think Hollywood. With whatever your resources are, think about making an impact. It does not matter if it is somewhat unrelated and not purely business, three months after the event nobody is going to remember the content of slide 5 of your presentation, but they will remember the CEO riding on to the stage with a Harley or the cigar roller at the Cuban-themed party.

Left brain, Right brain, repeat. Plan, plan and then plan some more. Hold meetings with every stakeholder, do a dry run on everything to make sure that it flows correctly. But be prepared and accept chaos, things WILL fall apart and you will have to make changes on the fly.

Keep tabs on the team. Remember to record all the phone numbers. Have a radio system. Hold staff meetings first thing in the morning. This will help you have a backup individual for everything and you will be able to contact them when something goes astray.

Assign shifts. Admit it. You cannot work 24/7. Make it clear who is in charge and when, and give yourself some time to participate and network yourself.

The four biggest mistakes in Channel Management

In my 10+ years of managing Channel Partners I have had the opportunity to confirm over and over again my common-sense approach towards Management and Leadership. I have put together this list trying to make it as short as I could, forcing me to prioritize. This is what I came up with:

1.- Failing to choose the right model from the start.

It seems simple, but it can really make a difference. The right decision will depend enormously on the client base you are trying to reach and second, your product. There are certain products that are just not made to be sold through a distributor, or maybe the Internet. Conversely, there are customers (and demographics) that you will never reach effectively unless you utilize the same reseller/retailer that they are used to make business with. Same applies for wholesalers, your product has to be carried by those who sell to your retailer of choice.

2.- Not declaring it to the world.

We like to go around making our own decisions and we don't really bother on letting people know what we do but letting the market know what type of Channel you are using and what is your policy is crucial to have the community properly aligned. Those who feel that your model resonates with them, will look after you.

3.- Not being honest

If you have decided to sell direct, say so. You can suddenly become someone's competitor but you will still be known to be a trustworthy individual (and Company!) in the industry. Allways stick to the rules that you put out, if you need to change them, do so but honor whatever happened under them when they were valid.

4.- Not having a "Channel Specific" plan

Let's face it. Channel Partners in general are in the business of sustaining their own companies and they will only behave in a way that supports these objectives. Vendors and Manufacturers COMPETE for their mindshare. You as one of the many that they carry have to make it easy and profitable to do business with you. Failing to have a Channel-Specific team and tools such as Channel support, Channel Marketing, Channel Portal, etc. will not get you very far or at least, will make things much slower.
More on this on an upcoming edition.