November is a time to give thanks and give back! The Event Team is proud to be involved in several philanthropic projects this fall & holiday season. Check out these great ways to give back throughout our region & let us know how you plan to get your do-gooding on, either individually or with your company!

Trick or Suite: Last week The Event Team participated for the third straight year in Embassy Suite’s Trick or Suite event. The event benefitted the children of St. Vincent de Paul, Starlight Foundation, and Polinsky Center. This year, we decorated our suite with an “Under the Sea” theme. Shout out to Jenny, Ciera and Romy on our sales team for making this event a success! Check out more photos here!

Decorating our "Under the Sea" Suite

Home Start: Every year The Event Team “adopts” a local family during the holiday season. It is so heartwarming to pitch in as a team and work together to help the family have a great Christmas. And the handmade thank-you cards we receive from the kids every year are a wonderful added perk! If you’re interested in adopting a family, contact Home Start today!
Toys for Tots: Another annual tradition for The Event Team is hosting a Toy Drive at our holiday party! This year, we are hosting the festivities at 57 Degrees, and as usual, local marines will be on hand to collect your donations of new, unwrapped toys. Click here to find out how to have Toys for Tots come to your event!

Some of last year's great toy donations!

We wish you all a safe and fun holiday season of giving! Here’s what’s going on around town this month:

November 2: Do the Time Warp down to the Old Globe for a live performance of the cult hit that is The Rocky Horror Show. http://www.theoldglobe.org/

November 3: The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego promises a Phenomenal TNT (Thursday Night Thing) filled with California Light, Space, Surface—and of course music, drinks, and hands-on art. http://www.mcasd.org/index.php

November 4: Wine your way to The Butcher Shop Steakhouse to sip and sup at Clairemont Uncorked, a community tasting event. Then, spend the rest of the week soaked in suds at a bevy of brewery events for San Diego Beer Week, through November 11. http://www.clairemontuncorked.com/
http://sdbw.org/

November 5: It’s the most fun you can have on two wheels: Bike the Coast – Taste the Coast takes cyclists 7, 15, 25, 50, or 100 miles up the coast to the Oceanside Pier, where food, beer, and music await. http://bikethecoast.eventmediainc.com/

November 5-6: More than 30 Temecula Valley wineries celebrate the season with food and wine samplings during the Harvest Celebration Barrel Tasting Weekend.  http://www.temeculawines.org/events/index.php?events_id=16

November 6: Free street fairs are in full swing as history buffs step back in time at the Gaslamp Quarter’s Fall Back Festival, while North County shoppers stroll the sales and sample the food at the Carlsbad Village Faire.  http://www.gaslamp.org/fall-back-festival http://www.carlsbad.org/products/productList.aspx?uid=27-109

November 9: La Jolla Strip Club gets you over the hump with indulgent happy hour Manicures and Martinis in its private Champagne Room. http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/menu-restaurants/la-jolla-strip-club/

November 10: Who says beer is for boys? Certainly not Stone Brewing Co., which schools beer-loving ladies at Beer U: Introducing Barley’s Angels.  http://www.stonebrew.com/calendar/default.asp?intEventsID=1815#1815

November 11: San Diego salutes its servicemen and women at the Veterans Day Parade and patriotic celebrations at the Midway Museum.  http://www.sdvetparade.org/

November 13: Feel the rush as you cross the finish line at the Silver Strand Half Marathon.  http://www.sdhalfmarathon.com/

November 14: Gorge your way through Little Italy as you sample budget-friendly bites on this month’s Grub Sprawl. http://grubsprawl.com/

November 16:The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is an oenophile’s fantasy: five days filled with wine dinners, tastings, celebrity chefs, and cooking classes. http://www.worldofwineevents.com/

November 19: ’Tis the season for Dr. Seuss, as the Old Globe welcomes back holiday favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas. http://www.theoldglobe.org/tickets/production.aspx?PID=6791

November 20: The 65th annual Mother Goose Parade, the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi, hits the streets of El Cajon.   http://www.mothergooseparade.org/mgp/

November 20: The name has changed, but the coastal holiday feel is the same at the Encinitas Fall Festival shopping bazaar and street fair. http://www.encinitas101.com/events/fall-festival/

November 23:San Diego jazzes itself up every Thanksgiving as the Dixieland Jazz Festival rolls into town with five days of foot-tapping tunes. http://www.dixielandjazzfestival.org/

November 26: Christmas comes early for fans of sultry songsters as the Chris Isaak Christmas Show seduces audiences at the Belly Up. http://www.bellyup.com/show/detail/47626

“Tuesday Tips” is a new blog project from The Event Team that will share our advice on all things professional and personal. We want to share our industry expertise, and we want you to get to know the team, so each week we’ll feature a new set of tips for your reading pleasure! Feel free to comment of make suggestions for new “Tuesday Tips.” We love to hear from you!

This “Tuesday Tip” comes to you from our fearless leader Matt Robbins. Matt started The Event Team nearly 20 years ago, and 2011 has been the company’s most successful year to date. Matt is always quick to give his team credit for the company’s success. But we give him all the credit for utilizing our strengths and empowering us in our jobs. We asked him…

contact Matt at mrobbins@eventteam.com

How to Get the Most out of Your Employees:

1. Treat them like individuals. No two people are alike and no two employees are alike. Don’t have a set way of dealing with everyone.

2. Trust them. If you start out trying to make an employee prove their trust you will never get it. Trust them from the beginning and you will be rewarded.

3. Lead by example. Don’t ask anyone to do something you would not be willing to do yourself.

4. Empower them. Don’t make employees have to come to you for every little thing. Give them the power to make decisions. It will make your employees and customers much happier!

5. Keep them informed. Have weekly meetings where you can keep everyone informed on what is going on at the company. Make them a part of the decision making process.

6. Reward them. There are many ways to reward employees and it’s not always about money. Have fun together!

“Tuesday Tips” is a new blog project from The Event Team that will share our advice on all things professional and personal. We want to share our industry expertise, and we want you to get to know the team, so each week we’ll feature a new set of tips for your reading pleasure! Feel free to comment of make suggestions for new “Tuesday Tips.” We love to hear from you!

This “Tuesday Tip” comes to you from our National Sales Manager Dick Burson. In our industry, we’re always wondering how to make site visits effective and memorable. Dick is an expert people-person so we asked for his advice on:

for more info, contact dburson@eventteam.com

How to Plan & Execute the Perfect Site Visit
The San Diego’s Convention & Visitors Bureau has done a great job in identifying  the bricks of planning and conducting successful site visits:  Know your client’s program – ensure you’re up-to-date on changes – what’s hot and not; own the account throughout the RFP process; be hospitable and personable; make sure all suppliers are ‘dialed-in’;  support your ‘sell’ with relevant tools – pictures, descriptions, maps, layouts, and diagrams; vive la differrence -  tout why your products, services, and location are clearly the best choice. But wait there’s more! In our line of work site visits are wonderful opportunities to show our clients that we can make them as well as their participants feel welcome and special. Here are some tips in creating that extra-special experience:

1. Site Itinerary: Plan It!
-Base the itinerary on conversations with your client. If the client tells you the CEO got seasick on a yacht at last year’s meeting, you probably don’t want to waste anyone’s time scheduling a site on a yacht.

-Include all the spots your client has requested to visit. Figure out the best route possible to see all venues in the most time-efficient manner.

-Provide an electronic hard copy with snapshot information on what’s going to be seen including an actual road map showing each location – clients love this part!  It gives them an area overview.

 2. Be Prepared!
-Confirm by phone with all of your vendors a few days before & the day of the site. Make sure you all have each other’s cell phone numbers.

-Get your client’s cell number – make sure your client has yours!

-Ask for Help. We always ask our Operations Managers to come with us on sites if their schedules permit. Their logistical expertise is an added bonus for the client and for us!

-Have a “Virtual” Site Visit prepared- just in case!  Sometimes a site visit gets shortened at the very last minute, forcing you to reduce the number of venues you can show. Don’t let the omitted venues fall completely by the wayside- bring an Ipad (or laptop) with a photo presentation of each venue. That way you can at least give the client an overview of one venue on the ride to the next space.

3. Kindness Counts
-Greet ‘em at the airport! EVERYONE likes to be met when they arrive. Greet your client with a sign displaying their name & company name and/or company logo (Make sure to ask permission first). Transport their luggage to your vehicle. Take the scenic route from the airport to your client’s hotel, pointing out landmarks and current local news and/or events along the way.

-Prepare a snack pack with a bottle of chilled water.

4. Day of the Site
-Greet your client inside the hotel lobby

-Bring along all contact info including cell numbers. If your schedule slips let the next stop know you’re running behind

-Be expert on all the venues you’re visiting and the most expeditious routing to use in driving to them.  You may need to pre-drive the route to familiarize yourself.

-Invite your client to a creative lunch.  Perhaps a new restaurant  or a water’s edge picnic

-Be flexible – you’ll learn more as you drive and a venue may ‘pop-up’ that you had not previously discussed.  Do include it!

-Share enough info on San Diego to show that you’re a local expert . . . but don’t be boring!

5. Après Site
-Follow up on getting all the information you promised your client during the site. Edited pricing, photos, etc.

Sites should be fun for both your client as well as yourself.  They’re a great time to sell the destination, the venue, and of course you and the services your company has to offer.   Good luck!