Here are three stories of how meeting planners in different industries are using 1-on-1 meetings to enhance the value of their events.

Annual Sales Meeting Connects Corporate Staff with Regional Management

A large resort chain with several brands and properties throughout Asia hosts an annual sales meeting for the general management of each property. In addition to the traditional presentation agenda and social events in the evening, corporate marketing schedules time for 1-on-1 meetings between corporate functions and each general management team. Each of the 60 management teams meets with 10-15 corporate functions throughout the course of the event. In order to ensure that the general management teams are able to balance time for handling calls and emails, the teams are allowed, when registering for the event, to specify times during the day when they will not be available to be scheduled.  Using an online registration and scheduling system makes the task of setting the schedules for these meetings much simpler and less time-consuming.  Using 1-on-1 meetings facilitates focused discussions on goals, directions and challenges.  At the conclusion of the sales meeting, attendees return home having had productive, high-quality discussions with the corporate groups they depend on for success.

Software Company User Group Attendees Meet with Developers

At their annual user group meeting, the marketing staff for a mid-sized application software company encourages attendees to request, when registering for the event, face-to-face meetings with the firm’s senior-level software engineers. These meetings give users an opportunity to explore in detail requirements they have for database upgrades or application changes, or to talk through technical issues they are experiencing with their installation. Some meetings are for the company’s usability experts to walk through an early version of a new release to get user feedback on the system’s interface. By formally facilitating these meetings, the marketing staff ensures that key clients are given access to the company’s technical leadership, and that all clients leave the event more invested in their use of the company’s products.

Tradeshow Planner Supports Distributor – Buyer Business Development

At a large international consumer products tradeshow in Las Vegas, the event organizer wanted to provide a more formal opportunity for top tier distributors to develop new business relationships with exhibitors at the show. Working with the event’s meeting planner, they put together a targeted 1-on-1 meeting program where this select group of distributors accessed online, in advance, a list of the show exhibitors and could request 30 minute meetings with any of these exhibitors. The meetings were scheduled by the meeting planner staff and allocated a small conference room. Before the distributors and exhibitors arrived on-site, they were emailed their schedule of meetings, and arrived knowing that their time at the tradeshow would be productive.