Seamless & Impeccable
Keys To the Kingdom

You will never achieve such perfection. It simply can’t be done. There will always be something that you can improve, but it is a goal worth striving for. And when you and your team are continually focused on that goal, your events will eventually come close to the unattainable target.

That’s not to say that your events won’t appear perfectly seamless and impeccable to participants. They very well might have that appearance for many people on your first try. This will be particularly true if I don’t attend because I rarely miss even the tiniest detail out of place. It could be something as innocuous as a scrap of paper on the floor or as large as the doors opening before the room is perfectly set and the staff is in place (a very common mistake), but I notice them all. And when I am working as a consultant to the event, I handle the major issues before they become serious problems or make notes of the less important issues to share with the team after the event is complete.

Most people, however, are not such sticklers for detail. In fact, they’re generally used to being treated so poorly at seminars, workshops and trainings that even the slightest improvement over the very low norm will be seen as extraordinary. For example, if you make sure that each person has a nice pad of paper with a hard back and a pen (with your name and contact information on it if you are a savvy marketer) presented to them when they register all of a sudden you are perceived as amazing to most people. They might not say anything but they subconsciously notice that they are being taken care of. If you take that aspect a bit farther upscale and present each participant with a custom notebook that has some of your material already bound in it (as well as your name and logo on the front if you are that savvy marketer) and space to take notes, you will be perceived as very professional. Long before your presenter has spoken a word, your participants will feel good about their experience. They will essentially be pre-sold on whatever you are offering both in course content and next steps (books, recordings and other merchandise for sale as well as registration into your next events).

And when people enter your meeting room if they see that all the chairs and tables are perfectly aligned, all the electrical cords tapped down and all the water stations filled with perfectly placed glasses, they will have a sense of impeccability, perfection and safety. And that sense of being in a safe room will allow them to get much more from your presentation as well as make them more willing to share their experience with friends, associates and family (which means that they are doing the most valuable type of marketing – word of mouth – for you).

This is why I constantly preach that one of the primary purposes of actually holding an event is to move people into your next event. When you create the perception that your event is seamless and impeccable, your participants will do almost anything you ask of them – including purchasing, enrolling in the next one and bringing others to your events. I have experienced this phenomenon again and again, even when the content and execution of the presentation left much to be desired. I have also seen the other side of the coin happen more than once.

Sloppy, ragged appearing events invariably fall flat, even if the content is outstanding and the presenter is a motivational wizard. I have watched some of the most charismatic presenters inspire people only to have them walk out the door without taking that next step that the presenter offered because the event appeared sloppily run and the room was simply another hotel meeting room with chairs, sound system, etc. There was not the sense of excitement that happens when your event is well thought out in advance and filled with the feeling that everything is perfect, seamless and impeccable

In the event business, seamless and impeccable can make your dreams come true even though these characteristics are not easily achieved. More important, you have to constantly realize that your audience will not and should not ever see what is shoved under the tables or behind closed doors. This is where the magic takes place, and participants should never notice it.

You can create some really amazing results if you can create an environment in which your team also perceives your event as seamless and impeccable. Since they will be doing most of the behind-the-scenes work to create that illusion for your participants, this is not an easy task. It can, however, be done, and the best way is to enroll them in creating that possibility for the participants and themselves. They then begin to generate thoughts and beliefs that focus on making their event perfect (and you want them to feel that it is their event, owning it without endangering your vision) – again seamless and impeccable. Then, your team begins to notice the small details as well as begin to seek out ways to be of service to the participants. Like all humans, your team has always wanted to contribute to others, and by providing them with such opportunities, you are being of service to the team. You contribute but allowing them to contribute, and everyone wins. When that happens, things are rolling in the direction you want them to move in, and you can begin to sit back, relax and watch it unfold.

Naturally, you want your team to constantly remember your vision for the event, but you will have transferred over much of that vision and ownership to them. And when you have empowered your team to hold the space and the vision as well as doing the work to turn that vision into reality, you have a much better chance of creating that perfect event which is seamless and impeccable for everyone involved.