Sarah Fejfar 0:00
The number one question every single human entering your event is asking themselves is this? How do I fit in? And so I'm going to share the three secrets for creating a pro team arrival experience at your next event. Let's get into it.
Sarah Fejfar 0:18
How are entrepreneurs like us daring bravely to build a stage? Ditch the sweat pants and step up to the mic? How do we create our own transformative offense? So we can get our message out into the world in a bigger way. It's not only profitable, but it's actually something we can be proud of.
Sarah Fejfar 0:39
That's the question. And the answers are inside this podcast. My name is Sarah Fejfar. Welcome to greenroom Central.
Sarah Fejfar 0:46
So what inspired this episode is that to entertain myself, I love to watch the Magnolia team stories. And you know, the whole Chip and Joanna Waco, Texas experience. Well, this past week they've been doing, I think, I think this is called the spring at the siloes event. And they've been chronicling the experience and what you can expect on their stories. And you know me, I love a good Instagram story real. So I'm watching the stories.
Sarah Fejfar 1:23
And I'm noticing that there's this beautiful signage at the entrances, listing all of the available activities, entertainment vendors just like stuff to do and experience. I love that I love when there's clear directional signage and clear informational signage that guides guests through an experience. And then there's these little snippets on their stories of each of the stations that are there. And there's a person who does custom embroidery, and there's someone who does custom poems on a typewriter, there's food, there's get jewelry making, there's like painters, it's just so darn cute.
Sarah Fejfar 2:19
And it made me think about arrival experiences and maybe want to ask you Have you ever had a moment where you've entered an event, or an experience or someone's home, or a hotel perhaps, and you've just felt like cared for and seen and heard and celebrated, like you felt like they've attended to the details. You know me I love the details. Love, love, love. And inside of live and Academy, I talk all about how details matter. And I think inside of the arrival experience, it's really, really important. Extra important.
Sarah Fejfar 3:07
In fact, I remember walking into our hotel for our honeymoon. And we stayed at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua it on miles Maui. And first thing is we get out of our car under the pork share. I love a good pork share. And especially you're in Portland where it's always raining. Anyways, we're back on the island of Maui, and we get out of the car and there's like leis placed around our necks we someone greets us. We check in they're super friendly. There's beverages. The view is stunning because the lobby, like you walk into the lobby and you can look clear straight through and see the ocean. It's stunning. Gotta go. But that's, that's another piece of the arrival experiences.
Sarah Fejfar 4:06
What's that view? How did people greet you? And every time I walk into my brother in law's house, I am always feeling so good because he's always asking like, how are you? Can I take your coat? Would you like a drink? And that hospitality immediately is such a joy to know that someone is seeing you and hearing you and celebrating your arrival. Feels good.
Sarah Fejfar 4:45
Now another example I would give you is for about a year I was inside of a network marketing company. And one time I went to their event and it was huge. probably four or 5000 people, maybe more, I don't know, it was at a convention center. And so that's highly impersonal. And not very gorgeous, right. But they had done some amazing things. And this is for registration day. So we walk into the convention center, again, not stunning, but they dressed it up with beautiful signage.
Sarah Fejfar 5:29
And then it was directing us to not only the place where we would go and get our badges, but also some things to experience so that we could linger so that we could hang out and meet people or visit with people that we'd come with, there was a station for getting your headshot done, there was a station for I think getting your nails done, there was a station for grabbing a beverage, there was a swag shop that was out of this world, stunning, like full pipe and drape around the perimeter, they even brought in a floor, they'd they displayed all of the goods as if you were in a physical like brick and mortar store with beautiful tablescapes score adjusts.
Sarah Fejfar 6:20
And it made me really want to up my base map up my game for future arrival experiences that I co create with clients, because it just felt so good to arrive in a city that I wasn't familiar with. And feel like I had a home base and I had things to do. And I had people to do it with. There was even little mini breakout learning experiences that you could pop into that were just you know, additional topics that didn't fit on the main stage that you could you could pop in and out of an learn something new too. So it was almost like a mini event within the event. So all that to say.
Sarah Fejfar 7:16
I think that obviously there's an example in there that resonated with you and you're now thinking of a rival experiences that felt special and meaningful and memorable to you. And so let's get into the secrets of how do we answer that question? How do I fit in, in a really pro team style, so that your next event? At the at the outset the very beginning is totally wowing your guests. First thing I want you to know is just like overarching words that should be on your mind as you're brainstorming with your team. To create this, think clearer. Think simple, think creative thing fun, I want you to think interactive, I want you to think about all the different senses.
Sarah Fejfar 8:08
And I want you to think about the word linger. Okay? So first thing to brainstorm is I want you to brainstorm something for your guests to do beyond just register and get their badge or beyond just come in and sit down. Okay, give them something to do. And maybe think about this question of what do you want them to do or setup or feel as they're arriving?
Sarah Fejfar 8:41
And then is there an activity and it could be something super short. And it could be something long, you know, you decide based on the timeframes that you're working with. But it could be something like it could take under a minute. But maybe it's like pick a sticker up off the table. That means something to you and stick it on your your nametag, but give them something to do besides just sit down, okay. And then it could also be interacting with a team member.
Sarah Fejfar 9:23
You could be planting people throughout that arrival experience from your team or members of your community that you've enrolled and given jobs, to greet people to help them do the thing that you've decided on to introduce them to somebody. But think about like humans as part of the arrival experience that that you plant with specific jobs, as well as simply activities in the activity could be picking up a beverage of Welcome back for fridge or a snack, okay. So again, think about all those senses as you're crafting, that's something to do.
Sarah Fejfar 10:07
Second thing I want you to think about is something to see. So maybe it's a peek into the room where you'll be meeting, maybe it's a beautiful view, maybe you have the registration, not by the ballroom or not by your meeting room. But, but maybe there's a great outdoor patio or bar or restaurant or, or someplace where it's got great comfy chairs and a beautiful view that people would want to linger and stay a while, you know, that exact example I gave you, of the Ritz Carlton in Maui, where you can arrive, walk in through the portico share through the front doors and see all the way straight through the lobby, out into the the ocean, beyond. It's amazing.
Sarah Fejfar 10:58
And that view is really calming, and it's energizing. And so perhaps you shift your arrival experience your registration to somewhere else, where it's just fine. I remember one time we were at the I love this place, the JW Marriott in Tucson, Arizona, and it's in the middle of a swirl cactus forest. And the main floor lobby has outside has a beautiful patio with fabulous seating. And we're able to move our registration out there made sure we had some umbrellas for the sun. And like snacks like guacamole and, you know, great drinks.
Sarah Fejfar 11:45
And we're able to greet our guests out there with this beautiful view of the swirl cactus forests with comfy chairs with some snacks. And it's just that special touch that made it just a little bit more meaningful, and celebratory and fun to just have sense of feeling again, seen and heard and celebrated as they arrived. I love that. So make the mixture, there's something to see. Okay. And it could be signage. It could be really cool signage, it could be a really cool view. It could be a peek into the space, but think about what they're seeing.
Sarah Fejfar 12:35
Okay. And then third is I want you to be so crystal clear on what is the communication around the arrival experience? Are you hyping it up enough? Are you sending out enough messages on email on text? Is there signage in the facility itself to make sure that guests take the action you want them to do which is show up during the specified window of time, and enjoy what you've got for them. That's not to say you don't kind of hold some things back some surprises, I'd love a good surprise and delight. But let's, let's make sure that that communication is so so clear. Okay, and abundant.
Sarah Fejfar 13:31
So I hope that was helpful. I hope that you're now feeling inspired and have some ideas and are ready to go. Have a meeting with your team about how to amp up the arrival experience in a real pro team style. For your next event. You're going to do three things, you're going to think about what they're going to do and think about what they're going to see. And you're going to think about the clear communication because gosh, knows we don't want anybody to miss out on what you're creating because they didn't know or didn't have enough reminders. All right.
Sarah Fejfar 14:08
This has been so fun. I really love rival experiences. Can't wait to hear about yours. Like, please DM me on Instagram, if you have come up with a super fun idea that you want me to hear because I would love to know. All right. Take care. Thanks for hanging out today. Yeah, thank you for listening to the greenroom central podcast. If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your phone and post it to Instagram. And be sure to tag at zero Fejfar and let me know why you liked it. And what you'd like to hear or who you'd like to hear from in the future. That'll help me know what to create for you.
Sarah Fejfar 14:45
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Sarah Fejfar 15:03
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Sarah Fejfar 15:30
I appreciate your commitment to leveling up and learning the mindset and strategy of live events. Keep going, keep learning. If you want more, head over to green room central.com For show notes and all the links from today's episode.
