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Finding a Producer
If your company makes more than seventeen dollars a year meeting producers will find you.
Okay, slight exaggeration. But you get the idea. Meeting production is such a competitive business it generates very aggressive selling practices.
If you don't know any meeting producers, round up the usual resources: Yellow Pages, Internet, AOL, Chamber of Commerce, convention bureau, area hotels, friends at other companies. There are also several national groups you can check with:
- Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest organization in this field. They may have a chapter in your area. You'll find them at http://www.mpiweb.org
- The International Special Events Society (ISES) is another event planning membership association at http://www.ises.com
Confirming Producer Credentials
Here are some tips on screening out those waiting to use your business to learn theirs.
Visit the producer:
Producers (or sales reps) are happy to visit you. But, by visiting them, you get a chance to see more samples of their work.
In my experience, office and staff size control the amount of business a producer can handle, but have little to do with quality or ability.
Awards:
Bronze, silver, and gold award plaques on the reception room wall? Could mean a lot. Could mean nothing. It depends on the source of the awards
Some competitions and festivals are more concerned with collecting entry and judging fees than they are with originality and quality.
Qualify the pitch:
Every producer has video clips (or CDs) of their best work. And that's fine. Just make sure their areas of strength match your needs.
Planning beach barbecue costume parties doesn't automatically imply great speech support, or new product intros.
Listening vs talking:
How well does the producer listen and let you to talk about your plans and problems? Motor-mouth producers may be more interested in their work than yours.
I recall several pitches where producers picked up new business without showing a single capability demo. They just let the client monopolize the conversation.
Production procedures:
The question, "If you got my business, what's the first thing you'd do?" can elicit interesting (revealing) responses.
Check references:
Generally useless. I would question the ability of anyone dumb enough to list a reference that didn't provide good feedback.
Time in business:
A production firm in business for ten or 15 years is doing something right. And you gain some assurance they won't go under in the middle of your job. (Although the attrition rate in this business is legendary.)
Repeat clients:
The size of a client list provides an indication of diversity. But, in my opinion, size isn't as important as the number of clients who have been there more than once.
Specialization:
If your meeting concerns something like Managing Risk Assessment for Subordinated Debentures, or Clinical Characteristics of Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors, you may need a producer with special experience.
Flip side: If you really need some new ideas, consider those who haven't learned what they're not supposed to do.
Grace under pressure:
Try this one sometime: While talking with a producer ask the following (with a straight face), "What's the worst mistake you ever made?" The pro will smile and answer. The pretender will smile and waffle.
Coming up next: Amplifying Concept Proposals If you invite producers to submit proposals on how they'd handle your meeting, what you get will depend on how well you tell them what they need to know.
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