How to Host a Successful Business Conference

1. Hosting an important business conference can be a stressful experience! But it can also be energizing and an excellent way to advance your career. The good news is, most anyone can learn how to organize a successful conference. Although there are a long list of details to go over and preparations to make, the planning of the conference is the single biggest factor in determining its success or failure.

2. Identify the audience

You need to have a clear idea of who you want to attend your conference before you start planning it. If it is too narrow an audience, you won’t find a market for the conference. If it is too broad, you run the risk of a bland theme that will not hold your attendees’ interest. Think about the demographic qualities of your attendees, including age, income level, and location. Will attendees be from same organization or industry? Will they be executives, middle management, employees, or a mix? You cannot make proper plans if you do not know whom you are addressing or hoping to attract.

3. Determine the format of your conference

After you know who you are planning your conference for, you’ll need to figure out how the conference will be set up. Will it be primarily speaking presentations, panels, interactive presentations, or a mix of those? Think about how many speakers or presenters you will have and how long presentations will be. These decisions should be tailored to the subject matter and to your audience

4. Create a Project Team

Unless the event is local and limited to a few attendees, the person in change will need help. Build a project team with at least one member assigned to each area of conference planning. The areas to be considered are the agenda, speakers, logistics, budgets, accommodations, refreshments, marketing, and public relations. There may be other areas specific to your conference as well.

5. Develop a budget

Develop a budget and stick to it. Decide whether the goal is to break even or produce a profit, and then if there is a specific revenue target. Include elements of costs and revenues (attendance sales, underwriting guarantees, etc.) with a specific person on your project team being responsible for purchasing and contracting to avoid confusion.

6. Confirm team member responsibility and authority

Individuals on your project team should be responsible for specific areas of your conference preparations. Meet to clarify exactly what each member is responsible for and the powers they have (spending, decision-making, etc.). Make sure to address any overlaps in responsibility so that you can leave your project team to their preparations. Give them an easy way to contact you for clarification of any other issues they experience.

Related post: How to Become an Event Planner

7. Develop a project plan

Your project plan outlines the conference preparations, execution, and followup. Include schedules for meetings and guidelines for communication between project team members, both during preparations and after. Then, set up deadlines for conference preparation, such as when to lock in sponsors or speakers. Finally, set up a preliminary schedule for the event itself with dates and scheduled events.

8. Prepare a conference agenda

The last part of your project plan is the conference agenda. This is effectively the menu of the event, including the who, what, and where for every aspect of the conference. When creating it, you’ll need to consider each segment of the conference, the length of speeches, rest periods between them, break out sessions, and the possibility of multiple simultaneous sessions. This should also include refreshments or meals served to attendees and when they will be served.

9. Find speakers

The speakers at a conference are, along with the location, the biggest draw. In terms of attendance, they can make or break the conference’s success. People don’t come for the catering, after all. When choosing speakers, consider the number of speakers, panel members, or hosts needed for the conference. Think about what sort of credentials you are looking for, along with whether you want them to be internal or external to your company or industry.

10. Confirm team members responsibility and communications

Make sure all of your team members are on the same page and prepared for the conference. Go over individual responsibilities for team members. Check that communication channels are ready and working. This meeting should occur in a meeting the evening before or the morning prior to the event.

11. Set up rooms and seating

Consider the appropriate seating arrangement for the type of event. For example, you might have audience-style seating, a U-shape seating plan, or a standing crowd, depending on the type of event. Set up break rooms and dining areas for their intended purposes. Make sure there is adequate room in and between rooms for your crowd of attendees to move around.

12. Test your AV equipment

Make sure everything works by checking presentations on equipment. Resolve any issues you run into or have someone more tech-savvy do it for you. When you’ve done so, create a backup plan in the event of equipment failure.

13. Coordinate caterer’s activities

Work with your caterer(s) to organize their schedule and responsibilities. These might include the set up of dining and refreshment areas as well as clean-up, particularly if there is a speaker presenting during the meal.

14. Arrange security

Work with your security team to make sure your space is adequately protected and prepared for emergencies. Make sure protection is in place for the property, attendees, and cash (if fees are taken at door). Consider potential protestors or demonstrations and make plans to ensure the safety of attendees. Have medical personnel on standby in case of a medical emergency.

15. Analyze the feedback

Once you’ve got input from all the stakeholders involved in the conference, you can synthesize the information. Use the synthesis to make your next conference more successful. Combine this information with your own documentation and comments on the conference planning and execution process.