Week 1
To learn what A`vie Events does and who our clients are. The intern will learn to interact with our current clients, meet potential clients and interview vendors.
- Get set up with an email to be used for company related business.
- Telephone and email etiquette: Learn introducing oneself, representing the company with vendors and clients.
- Conduct basic office work including updating files electronically, faxing contracts, answering calls and miscellaneous projects.
- Learn how to properly book an event and sign contracts.
- Set appointments for lead planner and clients.
- Proof of Liability Insurance from Intern.
Week 2
Review, Organize and develop a Plan of action for current A`vie Events. Assist with tracking potential clients and assist with immediate follow-up including:
- Create emails to be sent out to potential clients, target brides, etc.
- Create a promotion piece to be used in Bridal salons to promote A`vie Events.
- Review current events to know the specifics of each event.
- Double check all details and confirm with vendors for the day of the event.
- Learn to do an itinerary, timeline, rehearsal cheat sheet, and reception checklist and know how to use them to lead a successful event.
- Meet new vendors at events:
- Receive instructions in Marketing and Public Relations as is relates to A`vie Events.
- Collect contact information from and build relations with new vendors.
- Set a default email to welcome new vendors working with A`vie Events for a particular client.
- Set follow up appointments with vendors and assist with marketing for discounts for our clients.
Week 3
Learn to assist with vendor appointments for various booked events including weddings, private parties, and corporate events.
- Become familiar with the timelines and be able to communicate to vendors the needs of our clients.
- Become familiar with set up and needs for the event prior to the arrival-briefing meetings for our staff (typically set 3 weeks prior to the event).
- Review final floor plans with clients and all vendors involved.
Week 4
Time management of all details and delegation of responsibilities.
- Learn to plan and coordinate workers/helpers needed for each event.
- Become familiar with tear down procedures for each location.
- Contact vendors for returns/pick-up on the day of the event or for the following day.
- Confirm additional charges for ‘on time’ delivery/pick up.
Week 5
Implement follow-up plan for new bridal contacts from vendors.
- Input all new bridal contacts into an Excel Document for tracking purposes.
- Make a cold call script to use for each call. Have it approved by the owner before making calls.
- Get lead planner’s schedule to be able to make 30-minute consultation appointments.
- Provide email version of a map to our office for all potential clients. (Could do an email with address and picture if you wish.)
- Update Excel document daily so we know where we are with leads.
- Make contact with brides within 48 hours of them contacting A`vie Events.
- Have necessary contracts and other documents prepared for bride prior to arrival.
Week 6
Attend event consultation appointments to learn how to sell the company services and explain what we do.
- Learn how to sell A`vie Events services.
- Learn how to bring the client to contract.
- Become familiar with each of our packages, as well as a-la-carte items and custom packages.
- Become knowledgeable on all aspects of how A`vie Events may assist clients with things such as ceremony, reception, budget and other possibilities.
Week 7
Learn to bring a clients vision to completion and provide options.
- Listening skill and communication
- Offer ideas and wait to see the response before you move on. Look for common threads within what she shows you.
- When making the visions come to completion, you will need to give options and analyze them within the client’s budget.
- Look, listen, offer suggestions depending on their vision and personalities.
- Give ideas of what might trigger them to give you some feedback.
- You need to give them some options to guide them to make a decision.
- Give them options to trim or in enhance their vision.
- Make sure you are familiar with what it is going to take to make their vision possible.
- Map it out so they see the whole picture.
- Make sure you are familiar with what it is going to take to make their vision possible.
- Be prepared with alternatives if clients do not prefer the first set up suggestions.
- They won’t always like all your suggestions but something will spark them.
- Set up vendor appointments upon confirmation of vision and budget.
- Before contacting vendors, make sure they fit within their budget and priorities.
- Set up appointments for them to meet the vendor(s)-may need to meet more than one vendor per category.
- Book them as they make decisions to use them.
- Get final contracts drawn up and signed with deposits paid to officially book the vendors.
- Email out timelines to vendors.
- Bring a few extras to the events for vendors who forget them.
Week 8
Learn how to book hotel and honeymoon accommodations.
- Figure out if price or location is more important to them for their guests.
- Book a Wedding night for B&G, confirm location with the couple.
- Call several hotels that fit the qualifications and restrictions given by the clients-compare rates.
- Introduce yourself and explain who you are and you need a wedding block of rooms.
- Explain how many rooms and types of each you need per night. Note any special accommodations you may need.
- Fill out the proper forms to make the reservations
- Bride’s last name AND Groom’s last name.
- Most will need a signature to hold the contract. Confirm whose they need.
- Fax over the contract to the hotel, put a copy in the client’s file, add to timeline.
- Follow up with deposit and final payments if needed including cut off dates-(usually a month before the event, the rooms are released back into general inventory).
- Some require a credit card for a deposit and others don’t.
- If they require a credit card, find out if the card will be charged ahead of time.
- Follow up with any last minute changes or updates.
- Check in with the hotel at 2 months and see what rooms have been reserved under the block.
- Check in with them one month to make sure everyone they know who needs a room is booked before the rooms are released.
Week 9
Learn how to do more Public Relations with our vendors through discounts, gifts to our clients, advertising to future potential clients and following up with past clients.
- You must make a personal decision about what you want to do with your company.
- For A`vie Events I have decided that we don’t take kickbacks that would financially profit us from a booking of their company. We want the savings/discounts to go to our clients ONLY.
- Learn how to converse with all vendors and clients.
- Through email, fax letter, or phone-know which is best for certain vendors.
- See how you can help them at the event.
- Show them by your actions that we can take care of it all.
- Always send out thank you notes to all vendors the week after the event.
- Learn how to create an effective and efficient way of scheduling work and activities for the vendors and clients.
- Make notes of what areas they are weak in that you will need to cover.
- This way there isn’t a problem the day of the event.
- Be proactive.
- Make notes of what areas they are weak in that you will need to cover.
Week 10
Help with Lead Boxes with our current top vendors.
- Design a plan to track ‘lead boxes’ productivity.
- Place a box at several vendors shops around town that are the colors of the business, logo.
- Then figure out a form that clients/potential clients can use.
- Have our logo and contact information on it so they can take the brochure or packet and contact us directly.
- Possible marketing material to have at vendors to hand out.
- Some of our business cards.
- Schedule meetings with our top vendors to explain how they can become involved with our ‘lead box’ program.
- Top 2-3 in each category.
- Schedule times to pick up the boxes and move them around the area.
- Assist with development of a marketing plan to most effectively utilize the lead boxes and get the appropriate information from potential clients.
- How do you think we can do a follow-up?
- Promote them-if they are using one of the vendors who have the lead box, they would get an extra a-la-cart item for free? Or should we give them a dollar amount off?
Week 11
Business Ownership 101
- What are the tools needed to have in place before opening your own business?
- Get an attorney
- CPA
- File forms for an official Business name (need to make sure it is available)
- Get a County Occupational License.
- File with the government to get a Tax ID number.
- Get liability insurance on the company.
- Workers Comp for you and your employees.
- What is the specific purpose of your business and its services?
- Corporate
- Non-profit
- Weddings
- What do you plan to specialize in, more specifically? Make a list.
- What are you gifted in?
- What is your target market? What do their demographics consist of?
- Look at where you are going to do business-geographically, socially.
- Figure out if there is a need.
- Then determine how to reach them-how will market your company?
- This will determine where you go for pricing your services.
- Plan out a Media Kit and Public Relations plan.
Week 12
Start and complete a plan outline of things we can post on Facebook, create a Pinterest board for different themed weddings for A`vie Events.
- Oversee the development of a monthly outline that we can use to keep our Facebook users engaged.
- Constantly invite new people to “like” A`vie Events Facebook page.
- Determine a way through online we can market the brides, The Knot, Wedding Wire, Event Wire, etc.
- Have a Q & A section on our online exposure
- Put lots of pictures
Week 13
Research other local corporate events we could market to for Planning/Coordinating their event.
- What are some of the local corporate events we might be able to go after?
- Come up with a spreadsheet with name, contact person, email, phone number.
- See if you can find out what is the average budget they spend on this event?
- What are their needs?
- Planning vs. Coordination
- Staffing for the event.
- Do they have volunteers to help with set up and day of?
- Come up with a basic email introducing us to the contact person.
- Is there an expectation of profit from the sale of tickets?
- Attend the event if it is very close for us to put see what the event is all about.
Week 14
Create a list of the pros and cons of having a Professional Experiences Planner do an event.
- To market wedding and event planners, please make a list of what services a planner can provide to their client. This is a straight-forward but an example.
- PRO: What do Planners do that a client can’t do.
- PRO: List out your experience
- CON: We may not be able to see the same vision as the client.
- PRO: Hire one team to do it all-instead of farming out the tasks to friends and relatives.
- PRO: Getting discounts, better meetings, and deals.
- CON: That the mothers aren’t able to do as much that they would like to do.
- PRO: We are the middleman.
- CON: To have us in the middle-things occasionally fall through the cracks.
- Create a bulleted list of how planners can help prevent a client from making mistakes.
- Proactive
- Weather
- Time
- Knowledge
- Experience
- Knowing what could happen with this amount of people
- Small gatherings
- Large gatherings
- Requirement to have a map to the reception at the ceremony
- Working together with Vendors who know you and trust you
- Knowing that they meet our expectations
- Being professional in all aspects
- Being aware of people’s time
- Knowledge of events in general
- Practice makes Perfect
- Things need to be fluid at the Reception
- Not claiming it will be perfect but it will be successful
- Do your research
- Stay current with trends
Week 15
Update A`vie Events Staff on all projects intern has been working on.
- Forward any important emails
Create a list of how planners can protect the client from etiquette issues, budget mistakes, and vendor contracts.
- Etiquette:
- Aren’t sure who to tip.
- How to tip: what’s the correct way.
- Traditional Etiquette isn’t always right or done the same way now.
- Clash of the parents, grandparents and other family members.
- Budget Mistakes
- We keep track of the whole budget
- Make sure they make payments on time.
- Vendors Contracts
- Create a chart to share with them things that can happen without a planner/coordinator
Week 16
Evaluate internship and internship program provided by A`vie Events.
- Final evaluations of A`vie Events internship program to be conducted by the intern pertaining to their experience.
- List out of pros and cons (be honest). This will help us with interns in the future.