#1 Planning makes perfect
- Plot key dates and milestones
- Plan out how your budget will be assigned?
- Who will be invited?
- How you will market the event?
- Set some smart objectives allowing you to measure the success of your event.
#2 Regular updates
- Keeping the team up to date stops people getting stressed in the run up to the event.
- If everyone is on the same page they will be more invested in the event
- Have a planning document available for everyone to see the event progress
#3 Negotiate
- Never take the first price you are given.
- Suppliers want your business and if they see you as a future prospect of more events they will come down in price.
- No matter what they say there is always room for movement.
- Negotiate a room rate with hotels. Many will offer a corporate rate based on usage over a period of time.
#4 Build a good network
- Having a good network of contacts is invaluable when planning events
- You can get better prices and last-minute help if needed.
- You can get recommendations when your usual suppliers are not available.
- You get a more reliable service as suppliers will want to keep their good reputation in your network.
#5 Do site visits
- There is no alternative to not visiting the venue before your event.
- Viewing pictures on their website is not the same
- You can get a feel for the venue and can plan out your space.
- You can build a better relationship with the venues event manager and which makes the planning much more simple
#6 Room capacities are a guide
- Room capacities are only a guide based on fire regulations with nothing else in the room, so you need to consider what else there will be.
- If you are using back projection you will loose at least 30- 40 spaces.
- Are you are planning to have any exhibition stands in the room?
- Will the catering be in the room?
#7 Be flexible
- In business things can change very fast and this can then impact on your event.
- Changes will happen so you need to be calm and flexible to deal with the issues when they arise
#8 Use cloud based Event management platforms
- Reduce the risk of anyone being missed through lost emails
- Using online systems means it is the responsibility of the attendee to ensure that they register themselves for the event.
- As a planner, you have access anywhere to all your attendee data
#9 Always get feedback
- No event is perfect and the best way to improve is to get feedback from your attendees.
- Feedback can help if you are planning to grow an event and attract new sponsors
- It can help you to tailor a new event for the next
#10 Smile and Deliver
- No matter what happens you always need to wear a smile
- Clients never need to see if there is a problem and if they do it is being dealt with
- Aim to exceed expectations
