Ready or not... here it comes! A new year means a new calendar of events and of course, they all have a budget!
There's no doubt that your event will at some stage be measured against the budget, so we thought we would share 3 golden tips to make sure there are no blow outs!1. Communicate, communicate, communicate!
When starting discussions with your suppliers, be they venues, caterers, audio visual or transfer companies be clear about your needs.
Approach them with a solid brief or list of your requirements with as much detail as you can. Suppliers to the event industry are hard wired to be able to cope with massive amounts of information and this actually makes them feel more comfortable.
By providing clear documentation you will speed up the quoting process and make the suppliers more comfortable to quote competitively as they understand the larger requirement and aren't fearfull of the 'grey areas'. When you contact multiple suppliers and begin to compare you will be comparing 'apples with apples' and not basing your decision on the suppliers interpretation of your requirements.
2. Place a dollar value on your time!
Quite often it is easy to receive a supplier quote, look at your budget and think, "Wow that really isn't going to fit... I can do it myself at half the cost!"
The above may be true when if you don't place a dollar value on your time. Yes, it may seem obvious to do the work yourself, however you need to consider what else you could be spending your time on, is this your time best spent and am I going to get a result as good as the supplier in question?
If you can positively answer "YES" to the above then go for it! If not, maybe a second competitor quote is needed to put your mind at rest.
3. Ask for more?
Suppliers to the Event industry has obviously started to come out of an interesting 2009, as the industry experienced a decrease in activity. They are keen to charge into 2010, gain new clients and deliver more often for their existing ones.
One thing I have noticed of recent is that if you are bold enough to ask, there is a good chance they will 'cut you a deal'. Have discussions around exposure of their services to your delegates, repeat business and serious intention to engage if they meet you half way... you might just be suprised how quickly they turn around and say that beautiful word - YES!
I open the forum for you all to share your budget busting tips and tricks! Feel free to login and comment or for you new readers create an account to get blogging!