PCMA@LinkedIn: Negotiate This When Lisa Woods, president of profes- sional training and coaching company ManagingAmericans.com, posted an article on PCMA’s LinkedIn group offer- ing 10 tips for preparing for a tough negotiation, group members added their advice, gleaned from the meetings indus- try. (The article is available at convn. org/negotiating-tips.)
I have typically conducted most negotia- tions via telephone or conference calls. I agree with the article that preparation is key, especially for large contracts, such as with convention centers or major vendors for multiple-year con- tracts. Showing a unified front from your team can be crucial in securing desired concessions and pricing.
Mary Ciambrone, Event Planning and Nonprofit Management Consultant
In the many negotiations I have con- ducted, the preparation is in knowing what you have to have, would like to have, and would be nice to have. If you prepare that list, the negotiations will go well. Further, it is very important to listen carefully during negotiation to hear what the other side has to have, would like to have, and would be nice to have. In knowing both sides, you can come to the best possible conclusion. … By being clear at the outset, the nego- tiation can go smoothly or, alternately, can be discontinued if the disparity between needs is too great.
Brett Filson, PCM, Manager of Association Services, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease
I am in favor of telephone or face-to- face if possible, followed up in writing. Too often I find (and I can be guilty of it, too) that people either just skim, or don’t read what is there but what they think will be there. Voice and facial expressions sometimes help (and can hinder), too. However, if I reviewed
what is offered, looked carefully at what I need and want, made some notes about why I need or want whatever, and what I am willing to let go of — it works for me. It must be a win/win result, plain and simple. You have to also understand what you are willing to
settle for and what you can’t. There are times when you may have to just walk away and go to Plan B.
Gail McHardy, CMP, Director of Conference and Events, Canadian Society of Association Executives
From Convene’s blog For more on the meetings industry, visit our blog at pcmaconvene.com.
Obscura Digital’s stunning digital projection onto the Sydney Opera House’s façade.
Assistant Editor Katie Kervin attended BizBash’s IdeaFest, a daylong conference for meeting and event planners at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on Oct. 24. The day was packed with education, Katie writes, but one presentation stood out: “I found myself most fasci-
nated by the last presenter of the bunch — Travis Threlkel, who is co-founder and chief cre- ative officer at Obscura Digital. Threlkel gave a presentation on digital projection mapping, a strategy his company has been creating on a grand scale for clients like Coca-Cola and Nike.
Threlkel enthralled the crowd (not an easy feat during the last presentation at an event that was already running slightly over time) with examples of the technique, which allows the projection of digital images onto any surface using as few as one to more than 45 projectors. Obscura Digital … created interior and exterior projection mapping at the Sydney Opera House in Aus- tralia for YouTube Symphony’s grand finale event in 2011, beam- ing images across the water and live feeds of what the musicians were playing onto the interior.” Read more at convn.org/