Planning a basic meeting is not as cut and dry as everyone wants to make it, because every meeting has its own personality. Before you can plan one, you need to know three things:

1. The purpose of the meeting.
2. What you want to accomplish at this meeting.
3. How much you have to spend – a.k.a., the budget.

Once you know the answers to the above questions, you’re ready to wrap your arms around your assignment. But there’s still more information you need.

How many people will be in attendance? And where will the meeting be held? If it will be local, will the money for mileage and parking fees be coming out of your budget, or will they be an attendee expense? If it is a guest event, what expenses are you picking up? If the event will be held out of town, will you be responsible for airfare and ground transportation to and from the airport? What about porterage charges: Is your company reimbursing passengers for that extra piece of checked luggage, or are there additional fees or supplies related to attendee transportation that need to be covered by the budget you have?

Other items you need to determine in order to set the blueprint for your meeting include:

• Duration of this meeting: Is it a day-long event? Two-three days, etc.?
• Number of hotel guest rooms needed.
• Meeting rooms needed, based on type of set-up and number of people, including:
• General session room — always take into consideration the front area of the room for staging and audio/visual presentations.
• Break-out rooms and the specific set-up requirements for each one.
• Room(s) needed for meal functions and/or entertainment.
• Audio/visual equipment needed (i.e., LCD projector and screen, podium, handheld or lavalier microphone, video camera, lighting, whiteboards, etc.).
• Will any meals be provided?
• Will there be any off-site activities? If so, make sure to account for any additional ground transportation, décor, F&B, A/V or entertainment needs and fees.

Knowing those variables will help you determine how to best spend the budget you have. It will also help you eliminate unsuitable venues and find one that really fits your group’s needs.

Now, take the following items into account:

• What kind of registration process will you will use to get information to (and about) your attendees?
• What kind of vendors do you need to contract (e.g., online registration company, in-house or independent A/V, ground transportation, printers, sign company, promotional item company, on-site staff, entertainment, and/or caterers, etc.)?
• What will be the pattern of your event? That is to say, on each day, what will be happening when? Draw up a schedule.
• What kind of meals need to be provided? Plan the menus, taking into consideration the group demographics and dietary needs of all participants.
• What kind of set-up will each room need during the event?
• What are the housing needs of company executives or invited guests? Also consider their on-site transportation requirements.
• By going through this process, you’ve outlined all your meeting needs and can get to work checking items off your list. The given time frame — whether it’s a year, six months or (more likely) a matter of weeks — will end up determining the order in which you start to make arrangements, whether you need to outsource some of the planning process, and what deadlines you need to meet.

Once all these aspects have been put into place, now you must execute this event successfully. As a meeting planner, it is your responsibility to check every detail on your outline for each day’s events. Ensure that the property and the vendors you are using have all your requirements and can provide the set-ups and service that you anticipate from them. Never leave anything to chance; it is your responsibility to be sure every “i” has been dotted and every “t” has been crossed. Expect anything that can go wrong to go wrong, and think about what the possible solutions could be in advance. Develop a crisis management plan. Make sure that you have emergency contact information for everyone, including members of your team, and a communication plan team members can enact in case something unexpected happens that might disrupt your event (i.e., a death on-site, an earthquake or swine flu, etc.).

Remember, even after the meeting is over, your job is not done until you have reviewed all your vendors’ invoices (and made corrections, if necessary), sent them thank you notes on behalf of your company for the service each has provided, and secured all meeting records and notes in a file that can help you or anyone else on your team plan the next meeting.

Next week, look for my cost-effective tips for planning meetings.