The best teacher may be experience, but why not save yourself some time by taking advantage of other people’s life lessons? Here is a roundup of some of the best books for sales meeting planners. Among these volumes you’re sure to find at least one that will help you get the job done quicker or better.
Hotel Management and Operations, 3rd Edition, Denney G. Rutherford, ed. (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). The first rule of negotiations is know thyself. The second? Know thy opponent. Though it might seem unnecessarily confrontational to view hotel management as your opponent, in actuality venue representatives are trying to get their hands on as much of your cash as possible. That’s why trying to understand things from their point of view might be just the background you need to make you a savvy consumer – and negotiator. Created as a college text, this hefty collection of articles by industry names will give you an overview of what it’s like to run a hotel, as well as what the experts have to say about you, the pesky meeting planner.
Retreats That Work: Designing and Conducting Effective Offsites for Groups and Organizations, by Sheila Campbell and Merianne Liteman (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2003). Starting with nine reasons to hold a retreat and progressing through setting goals, designing the retreat, facilitating the proceedings and more, this book is indispensable for those planning or executing retreats of any size. The authors offer practical tips and activities for different types of retreats such as strategic planning, culture change, creativity and innovation and so on. Particularly useful is chapter nine, “How to Recover When Things Go Awry.”
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