Smarter, Faster, More Efficient: Tech Tools to Help You Save Time, Money and Plan More Effective Meetings

SMARTER, FASTER, MORE

EFFICIENTT E C H TO O L S TO H E L P YO U S AV E T I M E ,

M O N E Y & P L A N M O R E E F F E C T I V E M E E T I N G S

K R I S T I C A S E Y S A N D E R S , C M P, C M M , D E S , H M C C

Director of Thought LeadershipMeeting Professionals International

MPI Vision: Leading and empowering the meeting and event community to change the world.

Mission: Connect the global meeting and event community to learn, innovate collaborate and advocate.

For more education, visit:http://academy.mpiweb.org

To join MPI: http://mpiweb.org/join

http://academy.mpiweb.org/

http://mpiweb.org/join

TODAY’S OBJECTIVES

1. Learn how tech tools can streamline communication and collaboration.

2. Identify potential project management solutions.

3. Discover apps and tools to make travel and meeting management more manageable.

C O M M U N I C AT I O N & C O L L A B O R AT I O NTO O L S TO H E L P YO U S H A R E A N D

C O L L A B O R AT E W I T H T E A M S

COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATIONCHALLENGES• Too many emails, too few

eyeballs• Death by meeting• Notes are everywhere• Multiple versions of the

same document

SOLUTIONS• Email filters• Instant scheduling• Cloud-based note-taking• Cloud-based document

editing

©2018 Meeting Professionals International. All rights reserved. http://www.mpiweb.org/join

http://www.mpiweb.org/join

EMAIL FILTERS• Sane Box ($5/mo)• Microsoft Clutter • Gmail Inbox (free)• Unroll.me (free)



CALENDAR SCHEDULING

• Microsoft 365 Scheduling Assistant

• Doodle.com• YouCanBook.me



CLOUD-BASED NOTE-TAKING

• Microsoft One Note

• Google Docs• Evernote

Premium (less than $6/month)



CLOUD-BASED DOCUMENT COLLABORATION

• Microsoft Sharepoint(PowerPoint, Word, Excel)

• Google Docs (word documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentations)



DOCUMENT STORAGE & TRANSFER + MOBILE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE

• Dropbox.com (free to monthly fee)

• WeTransfer.com (free to monthly fee)

• MeetLima.com ($99)• Intel Compute Stick

($149)©2018 Meeting Professionals International. All rights reserved. http://www.mpiweb.org/join


PROJECT MANAGEMENTTOOLS TO HELP YOU (AND YOUR COLLE AGUES) STAY ORGANIZED

PROJECT MANAGEMENTCHALLENGES• Setting S.M.A.R.T. objectives• Assigning tasks with

deadlines• Tracking tasks through to

completion• Reviewing progress• Measuring ROI

SOLUTIONS• Set strategy with stakeholders• Meeting agendas & action

items• Set deadlines and regular

check-ins• Discuss obstacles and

solutions before they impact deadlines

• Analyze results©2018 Meeting Professionals International. All rights reserved. http://www.mpiweb.org/join


PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS

• What’s your budget?• What are people using to track

tasks already?• Are teammates internal, external

or both?• What about firewalls?• What already exists that you can

repurpose?

What you choose depends on how (and with whom) you work.



PRICES VARY: FROM FREE TO PER USER/PER MONTH

• Trello or Microsoft Planner (visual cards)• Any.do (checklists)• Asana.com (tracks completion)• Podio.com (has templates)• Evernote (set reminders)• Smartsheet (customizable)• Basecamp (checklist-based)



TRAVEL & MEETING MANAGEMENTAPPS AND OTHER NIF T Y TOOLS TO MAKE THE PROCESS MORE MANAGE ABLE

TRAVEL MANAGEMENTCHALLENGES• Keeping all reservation info in

one place• Tracking receipts & expenses• Traveling without cash• Accepting payments via mobile

SOLUTIONS• Create a cloud-based itinerary

accessible via mobile or desktop• Photograph receipts for apps that

automatically track expenses • App-based transportation• App-based payment systems

• ©2018 Meeting Professionals International. All rights reserved. http://www.mpiweb.org/join


TRAVEL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

• TripIt.com & TripIt Pro • Expensify.com / Concur.com• AppStormLLC.com (receipt

generator)• Uber / Lyft• Square / Tabbed Out• US Mobile Passport Control

app• Global Entry



MEETINGS MANAGEMENT

CHALLENGES• Sourcing hotels• The back-breaking binder• Remembering details of

the site visit months later• Comparing apples to

apples

SOLUTIONS• Dynamic online search• Paperless binders• Cloud-based files• Mobile apps



SOURCING HOTELS & VENUES

• Cvent.com • Zentila.com• Etouches.com• Kapow.com • AirBNB?!?!



CREATING A DIGITAL BINDER

• Evernote.com• OneNote.com• LiveBinders.com (also

speaker materials)• EventDawn.com• eTouches.com



DOCUMENTING THE SITE VISIT

• Evernote.com• OneNote.com

Or that digital binder you should be using.



COMPARING VENUES & KEEPING TRACK OF STATS

• TechSpec app• Speedtest.net (and

app)• Social Tables.com

(PocketPlanner app)• Super Planner app

($9.99)



Career

Smarter, Faster, More Efficient: Tech Tools to Help You Save Time, Money and Plan More Effective Meetings