Following a post by the Godfather of Marketing ‘Seth Godin’ on the time spent planning in comparison to the time spent actually doing. I thought i would take a moment to relate the concept to event planning for events for large groups. Before i comment further please do take a moment to read Seth’s original post. 

In some settings, more than 90% of the time and effort invested isn't in the actual 'work', but in getting setting up, debugging and then polishing the work. Heart surgery, for example, might take five hours to perform, but the actual procedure might only take thirty minutes. A piece of code might take a few hours to create, but days or weeks to be specced, reviewed, tested and then ready for the public. Dinner at a fine restaurant is mostly cleaning, chopping, mise en place and service, not the part we see on the plate itself.

And yet...We often get confused about which part is important, which is worth our time, which is the point of the exercise. Without a doubt, if the thing we built isn't of high quality, don't bother. But it turns out that all the other parts, the parts that we think might be beneath us, it's those that matter the most.

When in doubt, spend half as much time as you expect on the thing that most people do, and far more time on the spec, on the quality control, on the soft stuff, the stuff that actually matters. 
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/02/fit-and-finish.html

To often, as event and conference planners, we become so focussed on what we consider the ’major’ elements of the booking, spending months negotiating and tailoring the event to the clients needs.  Securing the best price for the hotel or venue,  making sure the invoices are paid on time, scheduling all the transfers, the list goes on and on.

BUT do not take the time and effort to ensure that we are fully prepared for all the little things that really count when the client is in our hands.  The relatively little time, in comparison to the planning time, when the event is actually happening. This is the time when tiredness, stress, unforeseen circumstances can cause us to cut corners that often consists of the stuff that really matters. We do not get to cross the 't's and dot the 'i's!

How to ensure you manage all the little things that count?

Pre Event - conduct an inspection visit!
Always conduct an inspection visit with the client. This provides you, as well as the client, an excellent opportunity to sample the menus, view the hotels, meet your events ‘team’ to develop the sense of mutual trust and respect  that you simply cannot achieve over the phone or via email. The key objective of an inspection visit is to understand the expectations so you can do your best, to at least meet and hopefully, to exceed them. 

During the Event - your events team is larger than you think!
ALL the event staff are fully briefed about the event. Now you might think that event staff are solely your own team but you must understand that the hotel staff, restaurant staff, Audio Visual suppliers, activity providers, anyone and everyone that is related to the event are all directly associated to you and the destination.  This, not only, helps ensure that all ‘players’ in your team act professionally, and are synchronised during the event, but also helps maintain the personal touch and professionalism both internally (how effectively the team perform) and externally (what the clients sees, feels and hears). The best way to manage this is to simply organise a planning meeting at least 2 weeks before the event.

Post Event - the debrief! 
Co-ordinate an event debrief with all involved (including the client themselves) to understand areas that could be improved (there is no such thing as a perfect event) within 7 days of the event ending. We use google docs with 3 columns - What went well, what did not go so well, what we could do better / changes for the future and schedule a meeting / conduct a conference call with ALL the key representatives.  The added benefit for co-ordinating such a meeting it will strengthen the relationships with all your partners for your next event!

Would be really interested to hear any more ideas you have to ensure your events exceed expectations.

Thanks for taking the time to read.