 So the meetings industry is built on relationships, but we're supposed to embrace change Which one is it supposed to be we're gonna talk about that today? Everyone it's Leanne from Leanne Calderwood comm and today's post is a little bit like deep thoughts by Jack handy It's it's analyzing why we're built on Relationships and relationship-based business, but yet we're supposed to embrace change at the same time And this really hit me the last couple weeks because I had to change my hairdresser My former hairdresser has now moved on to actually open up his own shop But in that transition he needs to take a few months to get things set up and as someone with short hair So I needed to find a new stylist and and so anyways the the stress started to mount as someone with short hair usually gets when changing hairdressers and hoping to find someone that can manage short hair and and all the nuances that come with that and It really stressed me out trying to move to a new person when I had been loyal and with my hairdresser for so long and he knew my hair and Now I was asked to entrust my hair in in the hands of a new person I'm at my salon and I asked the front desk person who she would recommend and they recommended Girl named Kylie who's a senior stylist. She's been there forever And I had seen Kylie around but still wasn't sure if she was gonna be a good fit for my hair Because she has hair all the way down her back But I liked her hair and I actually really liked her hair color. So maybe I thought all right. Let's let's see If we should test the waters here Fast forward Kylie ended up being fantastic. She was very patient with me and Understanding my needs and the things that I wanted to get out of my haircut and my hair color And I ended up having a fabulous experience with her and to be honest I might just stick with her rather than moving with my old stylist to his new salon and this whole experience got me thinking about How meeting planners treat Relationships in the meetings industry once we create a relationship with someone in particular a hotel or an AV Company or even a destination and we stay with that hotel or the AV firm or a destination Because the people there Understand our program and the people there get to know us and know all the things that we need for our program But what happens when that hotel or AV firm is no longer available and we're forced to make a switch or even What if our program starts to get stale and we're forced to make a switch in that way just to shake things up? We are trained to rely on relationships But now we have to forge new relationships and we have to trust new people with our programs So there's two things that I kind of learned through this process for meeting planners out there There are people who you can forge new relationships with and trust and they're going to manage your program beautifully The first time around it's going to be a lot of Q&A So that you understand each other understand the needs of your program you understand the the limitations of the property But in the end a successful merger can be made When you choose to change venues or choose to change AV firms But meeting partners what I learned most applies to you when meeting planners are Changing and choosing your property over something that they've potentially used for years It's not as simple as flicking a switch You need to be patient with them and more importantly when you're trying to attract the business You need to bring something more to the table than just a two-dimensional floor plan You need to give them a reason to give you a try So there's a number of different ways that you can do that, but the lesson here is Change is possible, but you need to coach them through it So meeting partners if you are trying to woo a meeting planner to your hotel Give them something more that they can work with give them a reason to trust you and to try you and for meeting planners There are lots of hotels and AV firms and destinations out there that want to be given the opportunity To blow you away and maybe change your meeting in a way that invigorates it with new energy And in a new format and in a new way of looking at your program Which could pay off in dividends to you and your organization So those are my deep thoughts for today and I hope you like my new haircut If you're looking for more tips and tricks on how to attract meeting planners to your hotel destination or AV firm Please click on the link below this video on how to attract a meeting planners attention It's a checklist with lots of different tips and tricks that you can try to bring planners to your organization Hope you enjoyed today's deep thoughts and we'll see you next week. Bye for now