How do I find decision makers who plan corporate retreats?
I am looking for companies in the Phoenix Arizona market who want to escape the city and heat and set up a corporate retreats for their companies. My 2 Marriott hotels are 2 hours north of Phoenix in the mountains of Prescott Arizona. How do I find the decision makers? I am on every social media site possible!
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Sep 17, 2014
Cecelia ...You only have partially developed your target audience definition. What is the size (no. of employees and annual revenue) of the business that you are targeting?
Who within that corporation makes those decisions? Is it the administrative assistant to the CEO? Is it the secretary of the board of the directors? Is it the head of HR? Is it the head of sales and marketing?
I would recommend going to the list department of magazines like Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions and Smart Meetings. These publications typically ask their readership if they recommend, suggest, influence and/or approve meetings and their locations.
They also ask questions like how many meetings per year, type of meetings, meeting size, and meeting location among other things. This data can be used to pull appropriate companies and names for your list.
Jun 4, 2014
You probably already know this, but the group to find are the meeting planners. Most companies either have one or use a consultant meeting planner. Hope this helps. k
Jun 4, 2014
All great answers here. In addition to all the ideas, have you considered going round to other hotels and looking at their boards. Write down the names of the companies. Find out who the HR and CEO is and follow the suggestions in this thread. We use to do this on a monthly basis.
Jun 3, 2014
Great question Cecelia!
Try out LeadFerret.com. You can search for event planners within x miles of a zip code in your area and download the emails and everything! It's really affordable too!
Jun 3, 2014
Knock on doors and get business cards from HR and the C-level executives.
Might also pose as a potential client and call other properties and tell them you are interested in getting some referrals/references from other businesses that have stayed in their properties. It might get you some great contact information and put you in the position to call and offer your services.
It is a dog eat dog world out there!
Jun 3, 2014
I would start with the Chamber of commerce and the visitors information centers. they will have all the contact information you need.
Jun 3, 2014
Another idea would be to search for Executive assistants for various businesses on Twitter or LinkedIn. You will fond they have other friends there which you can also connect. Twitter and LinkedIn like most sites will start suggesting people you may want to connect with based on your types of searches.Look for Executive or secretary groups on LinkedIn as well.
Jun 3, 2014
Usually convention planners who plan what is called a "famtrip"short for familiarization, and when all else fails "Google-it".
Jun 3, 2014
Hello, it's so funny you ask this question. About two weeks ago I was invited by my bff who happens to be a big Executive that works for a high end corporate company. She was invited to spend a weekend at a big reputable hotel to experience the remodeling of the hotel's business center, conference rooms, business suites, food, cater, and other amenities that would benefit organizations. There were several other people invited from various companies present. The hotel had paid for all of us to see Gladys Knight in concert, VIP bar, huge food fiesta with live DJ and music. Gift bags, complementary overnight stay in suites, breakfast, wines, and tours. This hotel was located about 45 minutes from the city of ATL.. I was so impressed how the hotel catered this event and used such a great marketing plan to get us there and on their contact list as potential clients. In fact, all of the guest shared that they will definitely use the hotel's amenities for their company holiday parties and conferences/trainings. Remember, the executive assistants have direct contact to the decision makers (their bosses) and they are the ones that handle setting up corporate retreats, conferences, meetings, trainings, etc... Maybe you can suggest to upper management to plan an event like this?
Jun 5, 2014
Yes. We do conduct trips like this too. Great ideas. Glad you had a good time.
Jun 3, 2014
MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL
The people you're looking for get certification from MPI. Look it up, find the local chapters you want.
http://www.mpiweb.org/
Not gonna get any simpler than this!
Jun 3, 2014
We are members of MPI. The issue is many companies have been cutting back on corporate retreats since 2007. They do in house training or even webinars. We use a company by the name of CVENT that helps to send us leads. Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate you taking the time. Cheers, from Arizona...
Sep 17, 2014
Good, Cecelia - so you have ISES (Int'l Special Events Society) members covered, too?
I would also suggest, beyond HR execs, go to the sales executives. Many have meetings for local, regional, national and beyond.
(sales approach) To compete with in-house :events", create some scripting on all the great reasons to get outta the house. This might include a chart with what you get and what you miss. You get the picture.
Catch me directly, if you want to talk about the sales language side of things.
Jun 3, 2014
The people who organize these retreats are usually the HRDs (directors of Human Resources). They are NOT the decision makers who decide to have a retreat, but they're the ones tasked to find good venues. If you could arrange not only for lodging, but add travel and local sight-seeing, you would be doing them a great favor.
Jun 3, 2014
To find HRDs, contact your chapter of SHRM, The Society of Human Resource Managers. You might also try ASTD, the American Society of Training Directors. Finally, most management consultants use retreats.
Jun 3, 2014
Hello Cecelia , Wish you all the best . I wish I could do anything for you . majdi
Jun 3, 2014
Cecelia, here is what I have done to grow my business that has worked very well for me. If you can find a list of the relative businesses in the area (Chamber of Commerce directories) I would research the CEO's/COO's of every one of them. Most websites will tell you who the big dogs are. Then search them on Twitter and LinkedIn. Start to follow them and find out about them, start a dialogue with them, comment on their posts, build an "online" relationship with them. Then you will be able to offer them (or at least plant a seed) your services once you get to know their needs. Hope that helps a little.
Jun 3, 2014
No worries Cecelia, it's a great question. Getting in front of decision makers today is not necessarily easier, but certainly different to how I did it 10 years ago! Web content is richer and social media opens up people more for dialogue. This question I asked myself 2 years ago as I started a new business venture. It's a "slow" but more powerful way to build stronger relationships rather than cold calling or sending sales collateral to a business that may never find it's way to the ideal recipient.
Jun 3, 2014
In the size company you want to attract, what person is most likely to be selecting retreat sites? Is it the CEO? Or is this delegated to somebody else? My guess is the latter. If it were my company, I'd want my executive assistant to identify a number of alternative locations, then show me the best ones. So you'd need to get in touch with my exec asst.
That person may be easier to reach than the CEO, but do they have associations and conferences where they all come together?
Possibly Human Resources would be involved in that activity, and there are many HR associations that have membership lists, conferences, and exhibitors.
Also, your current customers should be a key resource for you. Many people who stay at your hotels are likely top managers from companies in Phoenix, Tucson, and other nearby cities. Make sure you let your current guests know about this.
Jun 3, 2014
I agree with you, Mike. It depends on the participants' fields, e.g., medicine, legal, etc. Marketing has helped me in planning events by researching venues I in which I am interested and providing details. Allow plenty of time to get your event planned just the way that you want it. A fine meeting will boost your business in months to come. Good luck!
Jun 3, 2014
Sales is usually the first place to go as they celebrate more than other departments. Next call the associations related to the target industries. Insurance associations have annual conventions as do a plethora of other industries.
Jun 3, 2014
Typically this can be found out by contacting the head of HR. In major companies should the CEO or other Senior Executive wish to have a corporate retreat for their team they will ask HR for advice on how and where to do it. Also the corporate travel person who generally works for procurement may be the person you would be looking for. Whenever I wanted to take my Team for a few days retreat I would always go to HR first because there are HR rules that need to be followed and after that then I would go to travel manager and get them to set it up. The advice I give comes from being with a large corporation. Smaller companies may have different ways and people who do this.
Jun 3, 2014
I don't have connections in Phx, but the best event planner I know is Joan Beugen, Cresta Communications. You can private message me for her information. This group has orchestrated creative, impactful events for major companies, all over the country and world.
Glad to meet you in Prescott, I love the areao. :)
Judith Rogala
Jun 3, 2014
Thank you Judith. I hope you can come visit us In Prescott some day....
U R the best Craig. thank you. have a fabulous day....