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Successful event planning is often defined by the details. Here is a checklist of ingredients that ensure a smooth running event from the planning stage until the final wrap-up.

1. Visit the venue. While photos are great and a lot of planning can be accomplished remotely, seeing a venue in-person for your meeting or event is the way to go. It allows you to visualize your event, ask important questions, understand the design of the venue and make note of things you may not have noticed in photos. If an in-person visit isn’t possible, check with the venue to see if a virtual tour is available.
2. Have a RSVP process. You don’t want to pour your blood, sweat and tears into planning only to have no one show up to your event. Before recommending overnight accommodations to your guests, speak with the manager of the hotel/motel to try and get a network rate for your event. Once you have a confirmed rate, include the information in your event invite.
3. Give invitees plenty of notice for your event. A good rule of thumb is to send out invitations or e-vites between 3 and 6 months in advance. Try to have almost double than what you think you need in case of an extra large turnout.
4. Make your attendees feel special with a care basket or care package for each person who RSVP’d. Include things like a name badge, branded pen, notebook, and branded tote that the attendee can use to put materials they collect from the event in.
5. Struggling to find people to present and speak at your event? Offer incentives like a free room, or free restaurant voucher for participation.
6. Spread the word with a marketing calendar! No one will come to your event if they don’t know about it. Social media, traditional mailers and email reminders are all good ways to keep your corporate event from being forgotten.
7. Monetize your event by selling ad space in the event program or get leading vendors to "sponsor/host" the entertainment or speaker.
8. In the days leading up to your event, it’s a good idea to review the plan again and again. If you’re working with a team, review the plan as a group. This is your opportunity to uncover missed items, make improvements and ensure the event goes smoothly. When you know the plan inside and out, your confidence will shine through.
9. Always include feedback cards. It’s extremely important to get feedback from your attendees so you can find ways to improve any future corporate events.
10. Pretend you’re an attendee. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who will be attending your meeting or event. This will help you think through travel arrangements, parking, signage, programs, communication tools and more. As the event planner, you know every detail of the event, but attendees rely on excellent communication before, during and after the event. Communication has a significant impact on attendee experience and is critical to the success of the event.
11. Hire amazing entertainment! To really make your event pop you need to have entertainment that engages your guests. Our company Becker Magic is able to take any corporate meeting or event and turn it into extraordinary with magic, illusion, and comedy.