Kansas City is located on Missouri’s western edge and the border of Kansas. While the city is known for barbecue and jazz, it is also the perfect city for business professionals. This charming cosmopolitan city is home to the Kansas City Convention & Entertainment Conference Center. It’s an ideal place for hosting and implementing a business meeting for you and your colleagues. When planning a business meeting, there are some important things to remember.
Pick a Location
Choosing a location for your business meeting should be on your list of things to do. Once you select a site, then everything else should fall into place. Make sure to find a place easily accessible to everyone participating in the meeting, whether by public or personal transportation.
A perfect example of a place to host your meeting would be a hotel. The Hyatt Place Kansas City/Lenexa is close to Kansas City International Airport. Everyone attending the conference can stay at the same hotel, and you can host your forum here as well. Designed to promote sustainability and community, the hotel is close to big corporations like Kiewit and Quest Diagnostics, making it ideal to set up a meeting with a local business. The hotel’s spacious, comfortable rooms are pet-friendly and provide free internet access. While staying at The Hyatt Place Kansas City/Lenexa, you can also take advantage of the hotel’s indoor pool and 24/7 gym between meetings. The hotel also offers an on-site restaurant for after-meeting dinner and drinks.
Determine Your Objectives
Before your business meeting, it’s important to determine your goals and objectives. A defined purpose will encourage other people to engage in your session because they know its intent. It can also help set the foundation for your business meeting. Panels usually have two objectives: to inform potential clients and encourage them to make a decision.
Discussions are rarely the main goal or objective of a business meeting. However, discussions should be encouraged after you run through your meeting’s purpose and inform your attendees of all the points you want to make. For example, determining a marketing position for your advertising campaign is an effective objective. It’s focused and defines the goal of your meeting.
Assemble Your Attendees
It’s time to create a list of people to invite to your business meeting. Consider whether or not each person would benefit from joining your forum. Do they need to attend in person? Maybe they can do a conference call for one aspect of the meeting. If you waste a colleague’s time, they are less likely to attend the next business meeting you run.
Be considerate when inviting people to your business meeting. It would help if you were respectful of people’s times and schedules. You’ll have an easier time planning your appointment if you encourage them to attend but require them to let you know if they can’t participate. Inform them of the meeting’s objective, including the time it starts and the time it ends. Stress that they participate in the discussion on time.
Create an Agenda
An agenda is a list of key items needing review to meet your objective. The plan can be used for your records, or it can be handed out at the meeting. The advantage of having a plan is that it gives a script for other people to follow. However, the disadvantage is that it could distract them or allow them to jump to sections you’re not ready to discuss.
If you need to resolve certain issues, keep the agenda to yourself. If you plan a status meeting, use your timeline as part of your agenda. If you plan to give your attendees an agenda, state the objective at the top of each page and include bullet points. Everyone attendee should receive a copy, so ensure enough to go around.
Maintain Control
Once the meeting begins, it’s important to keep it focused and moving. Start your appointment on time, even if a few attendees are late. If you wait for the last person to arrive, your session will run late. Introduce yourself and state the reason for the meeting.
If you pass out an agenda, ensure everyone follows it so they know your objectives. If the meeting runs longer than expected and no decision has been reached, interject and politely remind everyone that it’s time to decide. If a decision still hasn’t been reached, state what’s necessary to resolve this problem and include it in your project timeline.
If the meeting goes off track, be firm and state that it should be discussed again. Schedule the next business meeting at the end of your current session before everyone leaves. If you planned the session, you’re responsible for taking notes or assigning someone to take notes for you.
Follow Up with Clients
While the meeting might be over, your work is far from over. It’s time to come up with a list of what was covered, what was resolved, and what actions need to be considered the next time. This should be created from your meeting notes. Thank everyone for attending and participating in the meantime.
Showing gratitude will make them feel that their time and work are valued. Update your meeting notes to cover the progress of your project at your next meeting. Include the time and date of your update, along with the tasks that need to be completed by then.
