If you’ve had any success in the MLM world for any given amount of time, one thing should be very obvious: the cycle of events and how important it is to get butts in to seats. More importantly, it’s getting those butts in seats about once every 90 days. Studies show that those who attend an event at least once every 90 days are more likely to stick to the business. And sticking with it is half the battle. You’ve probably heard the old adage “90% of success is showing up.” Well, this is true and it’s why you want to make sure that you are always working towards the next event.

If you are a start up, these meetings are going to be your life-blood in the beginning. It’s going to be how you build and grow organically in your early stages. For those of you who are growing or need a growth spurt, events are going to be the way you promote for the next big thing or just use those meetings as a way to publicly recognize your movers and shakers.  People will do more for recognition than for money. Especially distributors!

Holding regular meetings allows your executive team to get out there and give face time to the field.  Inform the field of new products, training, and incentives. Let them know that they are getting the inside scoop. It also gives you an opportunity to recognize those who are leading the charge in front of all their peers, and of course, every and any social media outlet where your leaders post updates (a.k.a. the world!).  Spend the money on those big gigantic 6-foot checks. Spend the money printing up award certificates. In the end, it will be money well spent.

If you have a decent budget, hire a meeting planner to take care of all the details for you in terms of locking down a venue, contracting with the hotel and setting up the flow of your program.  Otherwise, you want to pick a location that allows for easy travel for the majority of your attendees.  If you don’t have your own audio-visual equipment, you will want to ask the hotel for use of these items. Create banners, signage and hand-outs with your marketing team to distribute during the event, and you will want to order these items at least 2 weeks in advance. Here are 4 important tips, to make your meeting a hit:

Promote your event

Promote for your event at least 3 months in advance. Create perks or discounts for early registrants to encourage faster registration.  Mention the event on every call, and make it easy for your distributors to share event details through social media, teaser videos and email communications. Do invest in a press release, especially for larger events or events that signify a major announcement (i.e. Pre Launch, New Product).  As you lock in your key note speakers or contributors, focus on what those presenters will be talking about to pique curiosity and sell value.

Fit the space to the group

Rooms need to be size appropriate for the distributors in attendance. Too few people in too large of a room will make your event look tiny.  You want maybe 10 feet between the end of each row of seating to the side walls of the room and no more than 20 feet from the last row of seating to the back of the room.  You can accomplish a fuller looking room by setting up classroom style (seating where there are rows of 6-8 foot tables with chairs in long rows) or even half round (round tables where only half the table is utilized so all seating faces the stage).  On the morning of your event, you can typically add or subtract tables pretty quickly if you didn’t know in advance how many people to expect.

Play music

Music will help set the mood.  Upbeat music playing as people enter the room, take their seats, and prepare for the meeting will keep the energy high before the festivities begin.  Having walk-on/walk-off  music is always a good way to kill any dead air or awkward silences as your speakers go on and off the stage.  Nothing communicates high energy like a Katy Perry tune or the Mission Impossible theme music.

Prep with your presenters

Presenters need to be prepped ahead of time so that they come ready with their presentation. Are they using Keynote or PowerPoint? (Important detail to know, since it may mean bringing a special adapter for use with Mac’s versus Windows laptops). Will they be playing a video from the internet? (Internet in meeting space typically comes at a price).  Will there be a way to notify the presenter that their time on stage is almost up? (A timer works great, or waving a bright red bandana in the air whilst jumping up and down from the back of the room). Having an Emcee will typically help your event stay on track and will allow each speaker an appropriate introduction as well.

Give out recognition

Lastly, you will want to incorporate awards and recognition into the meeting. Have that photographer on hand and make sure you do something for your distributors that will create that viral-social-media craze that gets your company out in front of the world.  After all, you want to commemorate each event and have your own corporate photo album. Photos can be used in future advertising and marketing media.

Finally, announcing the next event or reward trip are great ways to end your meeting, and kick-start the process all over again.