Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Never Make Assumptions!
To assume, as the old saying goes, makes an ass out of you and me! I encountered this recently on my vacation to Cape Cod where I went to an old Inn in Orleans, MA. I assumed that the Inn would be great. It was on the water, the menu seemed nice and the hostess was quite friendly... but I assumed wrong. The waitress was pleasant but not proficient. Our iced tea came without ice, our food came a good hour after ordering, and the chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich that we ordered without cheese came not only without cheese but without bacon too and it was burned to boot! The waitress said the chef assumed that we didn't want bacon seeing that we asked for no cheese. You never know what goes on in the minds of other people.So, yet another lesson is learned. Don't assume you know anything about anyone or any place without getting personal experience or hearing a referral from a trusted collegue or friend. When I am looking for the best of the best when it comes to vendors (caterers, floral designers, stationery designers....), I check out the internet, talk to anyone and everyone, and search magazines and other places that may hold a key to who is great and who isn't. After I get my list, I call them personally and work with the person/company on a personal basis. When I wanted to find a great photographer, I researched and then finally got my own photos taken so I could test out what the typical customer's experience would be. This way I know what my own clients can expect and I tell them so. I have done the same with stationery purveyors, caterers, floral designers....the list goes on and on. I test all vendors out on the toughest customer I know, me. Now I am ready for my own clients and their needs.
So don't assume anything, don't assume you know people, don't assume that a bright and shiny restaurant can deliver great service, and don't assume that you will get all that you have asked for because someone smiles and jokes with you! The real deal is in the deliverables not the assumptions!
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Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Negotiating for a Party!
Well, I am in the middle of helping the Fairfield Theater Company http://www.fairfieldtheater.org plan a very happening cocktail party in October. Nice board, good people, and great theater need help with their event and so comes Valorie Luther to put all of the details together.Well, people hire an event planner to find a venue, design the space, pick out vendors....I feel one of the greatest assets of an event planner is to understand the budget, work with it and then negotiate with the rest of the world in order to make the vision and purpose of the party become a reality. I am working with the wine people, the caterer, the printer, the host of the party who has to for sure love everything and the board who has to help pay for it all. It is all a negotiation.
I remember being in one of my first sales jobs in the corporate world. I was good at the job as a whole...everything but negotiating. I would freeze when it came to talking prices or offering extra services in order to get the account. I knew I wasn't confident in this area and knew I needed to learn it in order to fullfill my job description but how?
As years passed and I moved out of the job and into other arenas, I started to learn the art of negotiating...I think it happened when I was working on one of my first fundraisers where I had no money up front, but I had a show to put on with an immensely good cause behind it. All of the sudden I was able to negotiate free paper and printing, free food, wine at cost, musicians who 100% donated their time. I realized that it was all because I was very sure of what I was doing and who I was doing it for: an amazing not for profit down the street.
I am inherently honest, I was focused on the success of the event and I felt deeply about the cause which lead me into true success when it came to negotiating.
So maybe negotiating is all about believing, having a goal, and of course offering something of value to the vendor or person you are negotitating with...and it doesn't always have to be money. It can be press, one-on-one exposure with potential contacts or recognition...whatever is the hot button learn it and make every situtation a win win for everyone involved so that negotiation feels more like gift giving among friends!
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Networking and a Great Party!
So what is networking and what does it have to do with a party?Well, networking is truly a part of life whether it be for business or personal reasons. For example, what happens when you want to find the best babysitter for your kids? You don't usually pull someone out of the telephone book who has a nice name...you most likely call a neighbor or friend...you network with people you trust until you find the best person for the night or for the long term. And what happens in business when you need something accomplished that is out of your usual range of expertise? Well, again, you network with colleagues you have confidence in until you find the right computer person, the right PR person or the right window washer.
The same concept applies to entertaining!
You must have a network of amazingly great people in order to throw the party of your life or you need to know a person who has the network. Great event planners are great networkers. Every event planner most likely has a speciality area just like a general contractor who started out as an electrician. But the difference between an OK event planner and a great one is their network, their team, their trusted commrades.
And how do you know if an event planner has a great network? Go with your gut and as the old saying goes "people of a feather stick together." If your event planner is great (attuned to your needs, listens well, responds quickly...), then they most likely are surrounded with great people!
Good luck networking!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Party Chit Chat
So, I went to an event last night that was all about cocktail party chit chat. It is the one scene that scares so many people... I was meeting someone for the first time who I had not met before, I didn't know where I was going to meet her and didn't know if she would be welcoming and talkative! And, horrors of all horrors, what if she didn't show up at the party? Would there be someone...anyone who would welcome me into their group to chit chat? Fear..it is all about fear. And who doesn't feel that way walking into a party of people they know? How do you make the first step into the party or group? Once you have arrived into the group, what is your opening line?Here is what I do:
If I am walking into a party of familiar people, I grab a drink, walk over to the people I know, give a fond hello and make a toast to the night, the party or the people! That usually starts a conversation and gets the evening moving along.
But what about walking into a situation where you don't know anyone? I keep my head up, smile a welcoming smile, and drink (Ok now, don't drink until you are slurring cause that is worse than tripping over the coffee table!) until someone stops to say hello. From there I try to ask a couple of questions in order to find some common ground....usually a "what do you do?" does the trick and gets the other guest talking (this keeps conversation going longer than talking about the weather!)...don't forget everyone loves to talk and the more you can get the other person to talk, the more you are in their favor! If you smile, pay attention and comment intelligently on a couple of items and smile again, then you have made it through the cocktail hour chit chat.
If you need more guidance and reassurance about this, I have a good friend who trains people and leads them through the trials and tribulations of the dreaded cocktail hour. Kathleen Pringle who runs Predictive Insights, Inc. does many things in her consulting business but one area of expertise is to help prepare people for anything from the party chit chat to speaking to thousands at a conference. She is professional, kind, clear, funny and smart! Email kpringle@rochester.rr.com or call 585.727.1610. She is worth it if you are sweating bullets about your next event where you have to make an impression.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Photography
What is photography? Why do we need it? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words and that is so true for any occassion!
I have taken pictures all of my life...it wasn't about just snapping some goofy friends saying cheese...it was about capturing the moment. Like when the sun that was setting and how its light grazed the grass on the dunes of the beach...like when a child looks out a window trying to see what is going on with the clouds, how do you capture it...how about her profile and the reflection her sweet innocent face makes in the window.
I am no professional but a professional is a worthy investment for the special moments and the every day occurences. A true photographer is an artist trying to capture the same things I mentioned above! How about a wedding day and in the photo all you see is the back of the bride...thousands of tiny buttons going down her dress, the diamond and ruby comb keeping her hair in place, the simply done manecured hand revealing her engagement ring ready for the wedding band...that is just one picture my favorite photographer captured at a recent wedding in Greenwich, CT. David Bravo, based in Fairfield, Ct http://davidbravo.com, captured the clouds on that special day, the blooms of May, the hats of the guests from Texas to London, the food in all its glory... the special moments, the private moments...the essence of the event...the details we may not have even seen ourselves because we were busy chatting or getting our drink.
A picture is worth a thousand words!
All photos on this page are from David Bravo!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Perfect Service?
Perfect service? Does it exist? Can we find it?I think sometimes that great service doesn't exist, we wait for our drinks, the waitress has an attitude, the bartender is busy with the staff, the hostess doesn't care if we had reservations at 7:30 and now it is 8:15. After a long hard day, you want someone to care and to watch over you with attention to detail but not hovering too close...where can we find such a thing?
I experienced it the other night at a little restaurant called Ponte Vecchio in Fairfield, Connecticut. The restuarant was quaint with a good flow to it and our waitress was courteous and kind. Friendly but not too pushy. We ordered and got our food which was just Ok...the calamari was a little too salty and my pasta and shrimp was too spicy for my liking but by the end of the night it didn't matter because the hostess/owner talked to everyone, welcomed them into her place as if we were sitting in an warm kitchen in old time Italy. She walked around with a unheard of, at least by me, Italian after dinner drink, poured a glass for everyone left in the restaurant and talked to each guest as if they were family!
What is the essence of good service...knowing how to welcome, knowing how to serve with a smile, knowing how to step in and chat but also knowing when to pull away in order to let the guest have their space. Good service is like having a good friend to come back to ...that is why restaurants like Ponte Vecchio feel good to return to over and over again!
Until next time,
Valorie
