Meetings on a shoestring: fostering cooperation, at a savings.

• Author: Blodgett, John
• Position: Small Business Advisor

AS DIRECTOR of the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce, Bobbie Coray had to plan a team-building exercise for the Chamber's annual retreat for local executives. She was about to find out just how shy CEOs can be.

"They were afraid of looking foolish," she says. "They didn't want to come. [But] in the end, everyone was hysterical."

The cost to see CEOs loosen up wasn't priceless, to paraphrase a famous ad campaign, but it wasn't expensive either, thanks to Coray's atypical approach to planning. Scheduling the meeting in winter (the off-season) kept costs low and allowed a team-building exercise that used snowshoes instead of the usual ropes.

Picture CEOs attached at the leg and keeling over in the snow near Bear Lake. "We still laugh about it," she says. And they still do it every year.

Taking such an innovative approach to meeting planning, whether held within an organization or with current or potential customers, can provide lots of bang for not a lot of bucks. The results are riches that extend beyond fatter bottom lines.

"The trick is to get people away so they can focus on what you're doing," Coray says. "If people get far enough away, they forget the office and their cell phones." She finds that facilities usually will negotiate price during the off-season, an important consideration for a non-profit organization such as the Chamber. Coray saves even more money by using the services of the nearest university--in her case--Utah State University. (The outdoor management department at the school dreamed up the snowshoes course.)

Show Up and Stick Around

Other Utah companies are finding that the added value they are looking for doesn't need to be exorbitantly expensive.

"Part of our model is to build a base relationship [with clients]," says Craig Weston of Builder Fusion, an Orem-based software developer that serves the building industry. "When we have business meetings, I usually do what I'm doing now, which is flying around the country."

Flying isn't necessarily inexpensive, but the benefits are worth it. Weston says potential clients take their time making a purchase--not surprising when the product is a $40,000 to $50,000 software package. Getting in front of the customer early, and staying there, helps Builder Fusion cinch the sale in the end.

"The only way we make it in there is by being around, being on site and working with them," says Weston. "They trust us ... They decide to go with us." Aside from airline tickets, the only costs...