Meeting Management: Independent Planners continued
“The thing that makes us unique is that each and every one of us owns and operates a competing business.”
kets,” Cummins said, addressing topics such as time and business management, marketing, tax- related and bookkeeping issues, and commis- sions. In time, Cummins said, this could even result in a special certification program for inde- pendent planners. Not surprisingly, education was one of the
main topics discussed atIMPDFW’s retreat at the Gaylord Texan, along with “the challenge of PR and marketing,” Cummins said, “both for us as individual businesses, but as much or more so about public-relations efforts…that can increase or elevate the value of what independent meeting professionals do and can do for companies.”
clients fromone another.“The thingthatmakes us unique — and I would challenge you to find another group like this in the United States—is that each and every one of us owns and operates a competing business,” Cummins said. “At the same time, we have a code of honor that says we don’t compete directly with one another. If some- one said, ‘I do business with Kim [Reynolds, CMP,CMM,president of Strategic Meeting Solu- tions and a member of IMP DFW], I would say, ‘That’s great.’” Over the years,Longley has“worked with half
of the people in the group.” This system has proven invaluable, she said, and “has helped busi-
Take Away
Group Dynamics Independent planners who wish to follow in the collective foot- steps of IMP DFW should keep a few things in mind. The first step, Tony Cummins, CMP, said, is to find a handful of leading independent meeting planners in your community—at least five—and then simply start to meet on a regular basis. It’s important to
Who’s Independent? Morethan a dearth of education programs,Cum- mins thinks that independent planners suffer from a perception problem. “Is [an independent planner] anybody that hangs up a sign and says, ‘I do spe- cial events’?” Cummins said. “Or is it somebody who carries a certain level of credentials? Or is it somebody that meets the requirements of years of experience?Oris it somebody that [carries] appro- priate liability insurance? And I think the answer to that is: It’s all of those.” ForIMPDFWmembers, an independent plan-
ner is alsosomeonewhoalways supports andnev- er detracts from another member of the group. Membersmakeit a point to hire one anotherwhen they need an extra pair of hands (or more) on a project, and they have a policy to never steal
50 pcma convene December 2010
ness come back for several people when last year was really hard for quite a few of us.”IMPDFW even has a brochure that promotes the group as a whole, in order to communicate to potential clients the resources and years of experience that the consortium can bring to bear on a project. The group alsomaintains an internal resource
list of vendors and suppliers that members “feel are good, thatwewould recommend to other peo- ple,” Cummins said. And, of course, there’s the camaraderie that IMP DFW offers. You can’t underestimate the importance of havingother peo- ple aroundwhounderstand your business and the difficulties that you might be experiencing.“Hav- ing family is wonderful,” saidLongley, “but if they are not in the industry, they never quite under- stand.”
meet in person, according to Erin Longley, CMP, and to agree to confidentiality and a code of ethics. “You have to create a very open, trustworthy environment,” she said. Start by dis- cussing collaboration and best practices. “Talk about issues with running your business day by day,” Cummins said, as well as “what kind of challenges you are facing.” Next, establish a
schedule for your meetings, and consider assigning presentation topics to members onissues related to meeting and business planning. “You don’t want to show up and have no purpose,” Longley said. “Everyone’s time is valuable, and there’s no time to be wasting.”