Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Bacak

Planning a conference means details, details, details!

So let’s look at the details necessary for planning a successful conference.

The Right Time

What may be the perfect time for you may not be the perfect time for your attendees or the city/hotel you want to use. Plan and coordinate a time that would be suitable to all. You can’t please everyone in this, but it is best to schedule it around the important attendees and speakers.

Avoid any holidays or important events during the time that may affect attendance such as religious holidays and other industry-related events.

The Right Location

The right location, with the necessary facilities, is the key in making an event attractive to potential attendees. It’s best to hold conferences in a cosmopolitan city, which is also a business hub.

The city's convention and visitor’s bureau (CVB) Web site will provide you information about other conventions, meetings or sporting events taking place during the same time. The local CVB also can assist you in finding the right hotel for your event. They will send your lead out to all their member hotels so you don't have to contact each individually. Be sure to identify what type of hotel property you are interested in i.e., four-star, close to the airport etc. Make sure there are plenty of travel options by air, train or road.

The Right Hotel

The right hotel is pivotal to the success of your conference; make sure the hotel has all amenities that might be important to your conference needs.

The hotel must have, fully geared Business Centers with state of the art facilities coupled with boardroom and meeting rooms. A multi function room to cater to meetings, theatre style seminars and promotions and exhibitions, is important, and of course, sit down dinners and lunches with full and latest audio + video conferencing facilities.

Find out what food and beverage venues the hotel offers or are within walking distance, especially if you are not providing breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.
 

The Right Equipment

Most hotels have an audio/visual department, and this department also controls the sound. But they also service other groups in the hotel as well. Consider arranging for a technician to be in your conference room at all times.
 

If your presentation is on a computer, make sure you back-up your presentation to a jump drive. Podium microphones and wired lavaliere microphones are the least expensive. Make sure your video devices are setup for maximum exposure.

Pre event checks

Two weeks prior to your event, send your specifications to your hotel, include: date, time, set-time, rehearsal times, room set-ups, microphone and audio/visual requirements, and any special needs you may have.

Catalog the number of meeting rooms needed; seating set-up, number of seats; AV requirements; food and beverage rooms, offices, and/or storage.

If space is stretched and you need multiple meeting rooms, try scheduling the main session in the morning or afternoon and use the same meeting room for lunch.

Ask the hotel to list amenities that might be important to your group i.e., free wireless, health club, room service, spa facilities etc.

Be sure to review the catering menus and prepare an estimated budget.

Check your meeting room setup as soon as possible, before doing anything else.

Request the room to be set for 25 percent more than you expect.

Schedule a daily meeting with everyone that is involved with your event including the catering manager, convention services manager, AV and sound technicians.

Last but not the least pays attention to details, details and details.

Prabhash Bhatnagar is Manager of Sales & Marketing, maker of hotel management software and Resort management software handles the key aspects of the running of client’s business, including bookings & reservations, Housekeeping, Spa, POS and generating reports. For further details, contact prabhash@blueappleonline.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Prabhash_Bhatnagar

If you are planning to host corporate and association meetings, conferences, training sessions, seminars, sales and marketing presentations, product launch event and other special events, then executive conference centers are the right choice.

With award-winning facilities, executive conference centers provide elegant and efficient meeting space to accommodate small to large size meetings. These days, executive conference centers are gaining more popularity among the business community. To make your executive meeting a total success, executive conference centers provide you with a professional business environment that is conducive to corporate meetings.

Executive conference centers provide facilities such as meeting rooms, training rooms, board rooms, and conference rooms that are fully furnished with executive chairs, computer chairs, conference tables, sofa, and easels. They are also equipped with a wide range of audio/visual equipments such as overhead projectors, LCD projector, DVD player, VCR player, Cable TV, and podium microphone.

Wireless high-speed internet access, printers, scanners, copiers, and fax machines are also provided in executive conference centers. Apart from the above facilities, they provide professional on-site conference service staff to provide assistance in meeting or event planning.

To make your business meeting a memorable experience, executive conference centers provide leisure time facilities such as fitness center, gym, athletic clubs, swimming pool; exquisite dining options, and beverages. In short, everything you need ranging from productive meeting rooms to a comfortable guest room is available with executive conference centers.

Executive conference centers that are conveniently located close to popular attractions and shopping areas are more favored by business people. Some of the best executive conference center options are AMA?s executive conference centers at New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC; St. Louis Executive Conference Center, Davidson Executive Conference Center, Babson Executive Conference Center, and R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center. To take advantage of excellent meeting facilities, one can book these conference centers either online or by contacting over the phone.

Conference Centers provides detailed information on Conference Centers, Hotel Conference Centers, Online Conference Centers, Best Conference Centers and more. Conference Centers is affiliated with Audio Conferencing.

Macromedia's Breeze Meeting is one of the premier entries in the web conferencing software arena. This article is one in a series that describe the features of the major web conferencing software products that are on the market today.

Let me say at the outset that the functionality and features of Breeze are much too plentiful to be completely described here, and I'll cover only some of the Breeze Meeting features to try and give you a sense of what you can accomplish with the package.

Meeting Rooms

A Breeze "meeting room", your virtual meeting place, is persistent, which is a fancy way of saying that the content of your meeting - notes, presentations, and chat contents are automatically saved for you. Meeting rooms can have a custom layout defined that is also automatically saved. By the way, Mac users, Breeze supports OS X 10.2 and 10.3.

Application and Desktop Sharing and Remote Control

Any web conferencing software worthy of the name includes the ability for the presenter to share applications on his/her desktop with the other participants in the meeting. One very powerful use of this technology is remote software installation. I described in an earlier article in this series the process of receiving an application software upgrade using conferencing software. The latest release of Breeze includes improved desktop sharing that allows shared presentations to be viewed in full-screen mode by the participants. In addition, the presenter (the meeting controller) has the option to synchronize all the participant's screens. The remote control facilities of the product now support full screen mode also. If you're not familiar with it, remote control actually let's one participant control the desktop of another - the first time I watched the mouse pointer on my screen under the control of someone else, it seemed a bit eerie, but I quickly adjusted - its a very powerful facility.

Attendee Management

If you're holding an online meeting of any sort, wouldn't you want to be able to track who is/isn't there and to know if they're connected properly? Breeze provides the ability for the presenter to see who is in the meeting and their connection status. If the purpose of your gathering is training, attendance is taken for you!

Audio Conference Call Control

One way web conferencing software products provide the audio portion of the meeting is through a telephone conference call. Breeze now incorporates the ability to control an external conference call from within the application. You can dial out to meeting participants, control the mute/unmute function (in case someone gets a little too verbal), even eject participants if necessary (the overly verbal guy!). In addition, the controls to record the meeting are part of the interface.

Microsoft Outlook Integration

Breeze is now integrated with Microsoft Outlook. Anyone working in an office environment (and overwhelmed with meetings) will appreciate the convenience of this feature. You can schedule Breeze meetings and invite attendees right in the familiar Outlook environment. Users can even join a Breeze meeting right from their Outlook calendar.

Multi-point Video

The one aspect of a real meeting that web conferencing often doesn't provide is the visual presence of the participants. Breeze now features improved multi-point video - meaning that multiple users can be supported with video input from webcams. I suspect it won't be long before video input becomes a more common aspect of all web conferences.

Whiteboarding, participant polling, participant permissions, and moderated Q&A sessions are some of the other Breeze features that can't be covered here.

The last very interesting bit about Breeze is that it runs under Flash, which is already installed on most computers, which means they can all access Breeze Meetings without installing any additional software.

Peter Cullen runs http://www.Web-Conference-Info.com where web conferencing software is reviewed and relevant articles are posted.

You're sitting in a room full of eager business owners at a networking event. One by one, everyone stands up and introduces themselves, hopefully gaining the opportunity to find one or two new prospects in the crowd.

Unfortunately, most business people stink at Introductions.

Take for instance the remarks made at a recent event I attended. A hotel sales rep introduced himself and stated that his hotel offered beds, meals and meeting rooms. Oh really? How many hundreds of hotels offer that, I thought. What he said was essentially the same introduction used by all the hotel sales people in the room that day.

What if one of them had said something like this?

"Hi, my name is Bob, sales manager with Big City Hotel. Sure, we have meals and beds and meeting rooms like all the other hotels. But they don't have Ruth, our front desk supervisor who's been serving our guests for more than 22 years. Her only responsibility is to help you have an extraordinary stay at our hotel."

Which hotel has the best chance to get your business? The one with meals, and beds and rooms, or the one with all that, plus a great staff.

And Bob can strengthen his relationship with his audience at the next meeting. What happens if he brings Ruth with him and lets her introduce herself during the Introductions? Talk about making an impression on the crowd! By the time the meeting is over, everyone there will be best friends with Ruth.

As good as that is, Bob isn't done yet. He can make a bigger value statement at the next meeting. This time Bob quickly introduces himself and then plays a short recording:

"Hi, this is Tom, sales director at XYZ Company. We had our annual sales meeting at Big City Hotel a few months ago and it was the best we've ever had. Ruth and her staff waited on our people and took care of everything we needed. She was fantastic."

Now that's an Introduction. So the next time you're attending a networking event, can you introduce your value to your audience when you introduce yourself? What is a benefit you can highlight that none of your competitors can claim? What is it you do better than everyone else?

That's the best place to start.

Larry Baltz runs a company called More Sales – More Profits. He works with small business owners who want to get more clients and sell more products and services. Larry is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and small business marketing expert. For his free report, “Knock-Their-Socks-Off” Promotion and Marketing, go to http://www.moresales-moreprofits.com for your copy.

If you're in the process of organising a large function - whether it's a corporate meeting, an extended family reunion or a blow-out wedding - you'll likely find yourself under a lot of stress. From booking the event location to making sure that all the necessary attendees are notified, event planners and co-ordinators are bound to have a lot on their plate at any given time in the planning process. That is why it's essential for event planners to seek help from a trusted expert that will help them cover all the bases.

Many event and meeting locations - such as hotels or conference centres - offer detailed help and comprehensive support if you book with them. Through direct booking or online booking, the best event locations will offer first-class event planning services, including a Guest List manager, the ability to book multiple group reservations at one time and the opportunity to view floor plans online in order to create the perfect seating setup for your guests.

Some hotels that offer event planning help, such as Hilton Embassy Suites, even offer the opportunity to create a personalized online group web page with a unique web address, so that your guests or meeting attendants will be able to book their own guest rooms. For example, if you're planning a wedding, creating your own wedding website could work wonders during the planning process. Your guests will have the option to RSVP online, book rooms in the hotel in which your wedding is being held and view your wedding gift list online as well.

If it's a business meeting you're planning, then many hotel meeting venues will help you determine how to divide your budget between meeting space, food and beverages, guest rooms (if necessary) and any audio or visual rental equipment you might need. What's more, you'll find detailed advice on how to plan daily schedules, should your conference carry on for more than one day. If you're trying to plan a large social gathering of friends, then meeting venues will even help you compile a list of what you require for your function: for instance, whether or not you'll need a dance floor or a stage.

Whatever type of event or meeting you're planning in a hotel meeting venue, make effective use of the checklists and organisational services available to you. This will not only ensure that your event gets off to a roaring start, but will also take some of the pressure of your own shoulders.

Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist who travels extensively.

Planning a meeting, corporate event or conference can be a trying task - particularly if you expect the event to be a large one. But before you despair over thoughts of potential meeting mishaps, remember that there is help at hand.

There are a number of comprehensive resources to which you can turn when planning a meeting or event - from extensive checklists to professional event planners. And whether you're a practiced corporate event planner or are about to embark on your first ever event-planning effort, it's always essential to make full use of these resources.

One of your most significant event planning resources will likely be the venue at which you choose to hold your event. That's because event venues are usually equipped with a range of internal event services and facilities, such as audio-visual technology and dedicated event staff. However, you'll likely still need to outsource various other services, such as transportation and accommodation (if the event requires travel) and possibly even catering services. In the end, all the outsourcing can amount to a lot more work than you had bargained for - meaning the organization of your event might face compromise.

However, certain types of venues, such as hotels, can offer a comprehensive set of event services through a single facility, meaning that your event planning package can encompass all of your meeting requirements. For instance, many hotels operate divisions that specialise in organizing hotel meetings and events, in addition to providing meeting facilities, catering and event staff, as well as guest accommodation - so you'll be covered in terms of both meeting services and event facilities.

Moreover, hotels can offer exclusive services which are personalised to ensure success for you and your event - so you can expect your event to run according to your company's unique needs and requirements. And finally, you'll find countless hotels that are ideally situated for business travel, whether that means being located in close proximity to the airport or having easy access to the city's business district.

So, whether you're planning a large corporate conference or a small company meeting, you'll have a number of essential factors to consider. Choosing to hold your meetings and events at a hotel will give you access to a wide range of meeting and events facilities, as well as tailored support to produce a successful event - meaning that no factor will be overlooked.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist who lists traveling and rugby among his interests.

If you've ever attempted to make a group hotel booking, you'll know how difficult it can be. When it comes to business meetings or conferences in particular, mass hotel bookings can be particularly hard to co-ordinate. After all, it's likely that all the delegates attending the business meeting you're planning will be arriving from different parts of the country at different times; so how can you be sure all their rooms are secure? You'll also have to ensure that you have sufficient meeting space for your business delegates, as well as refreshments and audio/visual equipment - so things could get a little overwhelming!

However, the development of the internet over the past few years has meant that hotels have come with increasingly sophisticated ways for their guests to book hotel rooms - and this is especially useful when it comes to group business hotel bookings. Many top hotels and hotel chains, for instance, will offer comprehensive online group booking facilities, allowing you to book multiple guest rooms, a meeting room, food and beverages and any audio/visual equipment you might need with just a few clicks of a button.

From a business perspective, making e-bookings for your business conference can make your business meeting scheduling as productive as possible. You'll be able to estimate the right-sized room for your business meeting without having to travel to the hotel in question personally. What's more, the best business e-booking hotel providers will allow you to pick the arrangement of your room. So, rather than having to supervise layout of tables, chairs and a stage yourself, you can draw out a plan for hotel staff to follow to your requirements.

Often, you'll even be able to select from food and beverage menus. This way, if your business delegates have any particular dietary requirements - such as vegetarian or kosher food - you can make sure that they'll be well catered for. You'll also have the opportunity to order ample beverages for the business meeting - so the attending businessmen will always have something available to quench their thirst when the effect of the day's heated business debates takes its toll.

What's more, online business hotel booking facilities will even help you find the right equipment and technical facilities that you'll need for your business conference. You'll be able to choose from a variety of options, including high-speed internet access and Wi-Fi to top of the range AV projectors and visual screens for presentations.

So the next time you're organising a business conference in a hotel, make sure you choose a venue which offers business e-booking facilities online. For example, the Hampton Hotel E directory lists over 1400 hotels and locations, so you certainly won’t lack for choice! And, not only will you increase the efficiency of your task, you'll also have more time to get involved in what's most important - the business meeting itself!

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist who lists travelling and rugby among his interests

The primary objective of a convention center is to facilitate events that generate economic benefit. As a concept, convention centers are advanced meeting solutions combined with modern accommodations.

The success of a meeting depends, to a certain extent, on the environment in which it is conducted. Organizations require private and comfortable spaces to accommodate varied groups. They need audio and video resources for live presentations. Atlanta hotels have large convention meeting spaces with advanced equipment. Atlanta hotel and convention centers are ideal for national and local conventions, corporate meetings, association programs, retreats and seminars.

The features of a convention center can be customized to meet the requirements of guests. Light, sound, and room temperature are self-controllable in convention rooms. Seats are designed to give maximum comfort, and writing surfaces are provided. There are deluxe rooms that combine the coziness of a luxury hotel with the latest amenities and technologies. The rooms in Atlanta hotels meet all the criteria laid out by the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC). Atlanta hotels offer their guests a laptop, as well as wired and wireless Internet connections. Atlanta hotel and convention centers also supply technicians and staff for the coordination of events.

Additional services at Atlanta hotels include welcome packages and mailings, activities and entertainment programs, recommendations for sightseeing and recreational activities, housing assistance, bid presentations, media coverage and publicity, color slides or digital photography, information tables at registration, and marketing support. The restaurant services at the convention centers offer event catering, décor, and theme consultations to welcome guests. Atlanta hotels also help to engage experienced event-planning professionals who can manage events and ensure the success of conventions. The event manager schedules a pre-event conference with the convention event professionals to coordinate the required services. Atlanta hotels meet all the demands put forward by event planners. Atlanta hotel and convention centers thus give prime importance to overall guest satisfaction.

Atlanta Hotels provides detailed information on Atlanta Hotels, Atlanta Luxury Hotels, Atlanta Airport Hotels, Downtown Atlanta Hotels and more. Atlanta Hotels is affiliated with Boston Luxury Hotels.

Business meeting is an important happening in every business venture. If you are a manager or owns the company, every time you will like the business meeting to take place at a location giving all your executives a wonderful experience. Business meeting and conference is one thing that marks a very impressive occurrence in business. Business hotels equipped with good facility and services are worth making your business meeting and conference a success. Whether it is general body meeting of managers or you are willing to organise a business conference, a good business hotel will meet all demands.

It is important to consider several things before you have finally booked a hotel for your business meeting and conference. Many of us have notion that business hotels are boring place to be. In fact, such hotels are great place to sharpen your business acumen, and give you a better insight of your business. It is the place where you come to know many of your business associates, and experience good business exposure.

Today, business hotels are equipped with very well appointed services and facilities. The entirely furnished rooms endowed with all facilities keep guests at complete ease. Lush green lawn where you can take a walk, open top and spacious swimming pool, reading room and game room are places to keep you prettily engaged when you are away from your business meeting.

Having ample of facilities, these hotels are worth managing corporate gathering. Be it business conference, convention or simple business meeting, business hotels have special arrangements to meet your all needs. The conference hall would usually have facilities, such as wi-fi access, computer projection, OHP, LCD screens, whiteboards, excellent audio tools and equipments, good catering service, etc. Availing the facility of business hotels for all your official requirements, you need to find a service provider which gives you all information about all such hotels located at place where you want your meting/conference t be held.

About The Author: Dona Markley writes for UK Conference venues that offers free service to find conference venues and centres in the UK and worldwide. She has done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting UK Conference Venues as a marketing specialist.

So, you have a potential client who’s requested a meeting with you—at “your office”. But, you work at home. And, if you’re anything like me, your home may not be worthy of a spread in Architectural Digest, or even Not-Quite-A-Safety-Hazard Gazette. What to do?

As an independent professional, I’ve had meetings literally everywhere you can imagine—parking lots, onboard boats, and at mutual friends’ weddings. I’ve even met extremely busy clients at their supermarket and walked the aisles with them, asking questions while they shopped. But, that’s a bit extreme. There are several more tame options for alternate venues for meetings. Here are a few:

- Go to see them. When I offer to “come to them”, most clients are thrilled and flattered – they think that you’re taking great care of them, and they’re glad to not have to worry about travel time. If they work out of their home, they may be comfortable having the meeting at their place. I’ve even found that going into my clients’ offices and homes helps to give me an idea of their design and organizational styles. It even gives me an idea of how much project management may be required on a particular project—if their home is chaotic, there’s a good chance that the project will be, too.

Just be sure to dose up on allergy medication if you have any pet allergies—you never know when “Fluffy” may be lying in wait. Pets are even common in offices these days—which I learned the hard way (with a combination of much sneezing and a rescheduled meeting).

- There’s always the local coffee shop. Though this option is now a bit “laughed at” as the official meet-up for freelancers, many clients don’t mind meeting here. Make sure that you don’t schedule the meeting for the early morning rush hours if possible, so you’ll have some peace and quiet. Better yet, do an audit of the off- name coffee shops in your area; small, local places are often more cozy and atmospheric than the local Starbucks’. You may even find a shop nearby with free Internet access, which will enable you to show your live, online samples in a meeting —a great benefit.

- Restaurants are a good option, too. Everyone needs to eat lunch, right? So, a restaurant can be the perfect place to take care of lunch and business at the same time. Visit several of the restaurants in your area to read the menus, get an idea of the food quality and options, the price range, and the atmosphere and seating arrangements. Do a bit of advance consultation on the restaurant choice with your client, too; it’s a good idea to make sure your client’s not a vegetarian if you’re planning to take them to the steak house. And Plus, good etiquette often dictates that you pick up the tab. (At least it’s tax deductible.)

- Hotel lobbies can be comfortable. There’s a hotel by my house that has a grand, sweeping foyer with several groupings of armchairs, sofas and tables. This particular hotel is very accommodating to occasional business meetings; but you may want to check your local hotel before scheduling a meeting there. I suggest phoning ahead to inquire whether they’d mind if you have a meeting there, or go by yourself and “hang out” for an hour or two, with your laptop or a good book, to make sure that their security team doesn’t get itchy about your presence. You don’t want to get shut down mid-meeting!

- Many public and school libraries have conference rooms. You can either use these rooms on a first-come, first-served basis, or you can sign up for a specified time— depending on the library. The good news here is that you get a large, private, quiet space, and if there is a cost associated, it’s often minimal.

- Check with your professional associations. Many professional associations offer meeting space as a member benefit. For example, some Chambers of Commerce offer their meeting rooms to their membership. Check with the associations that you belong to, and see if they offer any spaces to conduct meetings.

- Outdoor sculpture gardens or parks can boost creativity. For these two options to work, you need favorable weather and an open-minded client, and when the combination’s right, great things can come of these meetings. Walking while you talk can also keep the inspiration, and your blood, flowing. A dog-owning client will often love this idea—as long as you like dogs too, invite the pooch along!

- Form an alliance. If you have a friend, business acquaintance or client with an office space, you may be able to arrange to take an occasional meeting at their workplace. I have a couple of such alliances, and I offer my alliance partners small consultations and bits of help in exchange.

- Rent-a-room. I’m not talking about a sleazy motel room! If you’d like to present a buttoned-down, professional image, there are several options for conference rooms that you can rent by the hour. There are “Executive Centers” popping up all around the world that rent out office space and conference rooms on an as-needed basis. HQ Global (www.hq.com), some FedEx Kinkos (http://www.fedex.com/us/ officeprint/storesvcs/technology/conference.html?link=4) locations and many hotels offer executive meeting space.

Choosing a great place to have a meeting involves developing a bit of intuition about your client, and doing some research on the options available in your area. However, with a touch of creativity and sometimes a bit of cash, you can find a great place that will be host to a comfortable, project-winning or relationship-building meeting.

About the Author Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and effective logo and marketing material designs for over a decade. elf design offers the comprehensive graphic and web design services of a large agency, with the one- on-one, personalized attention of an independent design specialist. Erin works closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and memorable – and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent way. For more information about elf design, please visit: Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com

If you're a businessman who travels often, the chances are you know what to look for in a good hotel room. And, if you're the kind of business traveller who spends a lot of time on the road, you might also carry around photos of your family, or other small items from home to make yourself feel more comfortable in your hotel room - after all, it's the small things that can make someone feel at home!

But most of all, it's important that you can enjoy the convenience of staying connected to the internet and in touch with technology at every turn. Modern business is now so reliant on the World Wide Web that, if you're a business traveller, it's paramount that you're able to access a high-speed internet connection wherever you go. So, if a hotel has high-speed internet access in all guest rooms, business travellers will be able to enjoy the freedom of staying connected to both their home and the office when they need it most.

What's more, if you're holding a business meeting in a hotel, it'll be essential that the meeting room has high-speed internet access or wireless internet access. This gives both meeting attendees and presenters the chance to demonstrate products, video conferencing and interactive training, amongst many more benefits of being online, so that you'll be able to conduct your business seminar or workshop with ease.

Of course, while it's normal that you'll be carrying your own (or your company) laptop during your business trip, it's much less likely that you'll bring your own printer with you as well! That's why it's always handy to stay in a hotel that has printing facilities for business travellers. This means that if you've prepared a presentation on your laptop in your hotel room the night before a big business meeting, you'll be able to conveniently print it out and hand out to the other members of your seminar.

Moreover, after a hard day's work, business travellers will want to wind down in the hotel's leisure facilities before another day of meetings - or the inevitable trip homeward. This might involve taking some time out in the hotel spa, going for a midnight dip in the swimming pool or even opting for a relaxing evening in the hotel bar.

You’ll likely find that most providers of business hotel accommodation will offer these first class services; and if you're lucky, the better ones will also throw in a few useful technological gadgets that will make your life simple - such as speakers in which you can plug your mp3 or CD player or handy alarm clocks that will make sure you don't miss that business meeting in the morning!

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist who lists travelling and rugby among his interests

It's important to talk to the right person when trying to get a great deal, that means someone who has the authority to negotiate with you. You can ask to speak to the Sales Manager or if they have a dedicated staff for meeting and event coordinating, speak to the manager of that department. Remember to research comparable room prices in the area online so that you'll have a good point of reference to bring to the negotiation table. It does take some advanced planning to get the best deals, but hotel room prices are more flexible than the average person realizes.

Be aware of the seasons and try to schedule your seminar during a time when the hotel's business is typically slow. Getting a great room at a great price will always be easier when the hotel isn't full. If you're booking a block of rooms for seminar guests and speakers in addition to the meeting room, you're also more likely to get a better price for both. Several popular hotel chains have extensive planning tools available online so be sure to take advantage of the wealth of information made available.

Once you've got a list of possible venues together, you can start contacting the sales department of each hotel and sending them your request for proposal or RFP. Make sure your RFP includes preferred dates, number and type of sleeping rooms you require, food and beverage requirements, a tentative agenda and the amount of meeting space that is needed. Based on the hotels' responses to your RFP, you should be able to narrow down the field of possibilities and schedule some site inspections. To save both money and time, you can substitute an actual site inspection with a detailed questionnaire, virtual tour or both!

When you start negotiations, always remember that everything is negotiable. If the group generates sufficient guestroom and food and beverage revenue, the meeting room rental fees can and should be waived. If you're planning a reoccurring event, you can also use your loyalty as leverage.

Once you've weighed your options and made your decision, make sure everything, big and small, is outlined in explicit detail in the written contract. Deposit procedures and acceptable methods of payment are two things that should be agreed upon before you sign anything.

After the event, take your time going over the invoice with a fine-toothed comb. The first draft of the invoice from the hotel is almost never correct so be sure to point out anything that needs to be corrected. Get feedback about the hotel from the seminar attendees. If there are complaints, politely let your hotel representative know about them. Any good salesperson will gladly offer an additional discount to ensure that you consider them again next year.

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com.

If your sales techniques include meeting with customers at a business event, introducing a speaker, or leading a presentation at a meeting, a light touch of humor works wonders for your sales.

A good sense of humor draws people to you, and is a key element in building relationships. Laughter is a kind of social glue that binds people together. When people laugh together, tension is reduced and connections are made.

You don't have to wear a lampshade on your head or tell jokes to show you have a sense of humor. In fact, humor that is based on observation is far more effective in creating bonds, because it is based on a situation you share. Here are some tips for injecting fresh, original humor that will help you connect with your customers.

Sales techniques - adding humor

1. Look for connections between people, places and situations. Observe what is around you - the location of the hotel where your meeting is taking place, signs, restaurants, local cuisine and customs.

2. At a company meeting, find out what is happening in other locations and at other times. Know what is happening that evening, and the next day. Find out if there is any inside humor for this meeting - perhaps something unusual that happened earlier in the day.

3. If you are introducing a speaker, or you are the speaker, open with observational humor only if you are sure it's funny. If you aren't sure, use it later in the program, or after the audience is warmed up. Then if no one laughs, you can just continue as if you meant to be serious all along.

4. Don't tell jokes. People respond differently to jokes, and you are likely to offend someone. It's also hard to tell jokes well.

5. Never poke fun at anyone. It's much better to comment on the oddities that you all share, such as a new food you all tried at the restaurant the evening before, than to point at something unusual about another person. The exception is poking fun at yourself, but this should also be more about something you didn't realize, (alligator tastes like chicken!) than about you personally.

Spontaneous, observational humor is a wonderful way to build connections. When people laugh with you, they'll be more likely to remember you. A small dose of humor can remedy almost any situation. You're guaranteed to experience very positive side effects with these sales techniques.

You are invited you use these sales techniques to help you connect with your customers and build relationships that lead to more sales.

I'd also like to offer you a free report: "Breakthrough Communication Skills" packed with powerful tips for business success, at http://www.ImpressforSuccess.com when you join my Communication Capsules newsletter. Would you like to attract new customers, increase sales, and boost your career? Click here for simple How-to Guides that give you immediate results. http://www.goldmansmythe.com/howto.html From Lynda Goldman, business communications and etiquette consultant and author of 30 books, including How to Make a Million Dollar First Impression.