8 ways I can help you deliver a more memorable event

Planning and executing a successful event can be a huge challenge. There are thousands of organisations that plan and deliver their events in-house instead of outsourcing it to an event management agency. While it might seem a more economical solution, whether it's a corporate conference, a product launch, a gala dinner or a not-for-profit fundraiser, relying on gut instinct and Googling won’t successfully deliver a large-scale event.

However, if you are stuck in a situation where your boss won’t allow you to outsource the event, than an alternative solution is to engage a consultant to train the team around developing the event strategy and providing guidance around event planning principles.

A consultant can help you envision, plan and execute your event while bettering your understanding of the industry and best practices. They can provide expert training, opinions, analysis, and recommendations to individuals and event planning teams.

In this blog we’re going to run through the advantages of bringing on a consultant, and why you’ll never want to go it alone again. Let’s get into it…

1. Training programs specific for your team

We’ve all taken time away from our busy work schedule to attend a workshop, only to discover that you already know all the information they’re giving you. Bringing in a personal consultant ensures that you receive tailored training programs to suit the skill levels of your own team members. A simple one hour pre-workshop consultation, followed by a short questionnaire, will help identify the different skill levels within the team and what they need to achieve from the workshop.

This very small time investment creates the best opportunity to achieve the most valuable insights from the workshop.

2. Expert guidance in event strategy development

The ‘WHY’ of any event strategy is the step that so often gets missed. The starting point of any event planning process should be to understand what the objectives of the event are, the demographics of the attendees and the outcomes that need to be achieved. There is no point moving forward with event planning without any real thought as to why you’re heading in that direction. Your consultant will be able to draw out these important thoughts from the team in order to form the foundation of a killer event planning strategy.

Once you have the event strategy locked down, you can then move on to the event concept and scoping process.

3. Get the creative juices flowing

You may have figured out the ‘WHY’, but strategic event planning goes beyond basic venue selection and logistics; if you really want to create standout memories for your guests you will need creative thinking and innovation. You want your team to be inspired, to think outside the box and generate fresh and impactful event ideas that will WOW your guests.

To do this, you need to have experience. Pinning 20 different concepts on Pinterest and then trying to squeeze them all into one event will only result in confusion for everybody, so sometimes you need a little help to guide you through the process of elimination. Over the years I’ve seen amazing and innovative event inclusions, along with many disasters. Nine times out of ten, it’s about understanding what is realistic and achievable.

I always find the best process is to get everyone to throw all the big dream ideas out on the table and then sift through them in order to find the gems to build from.

4. Understanding that supplier relationships are gold

The most successful events team will only be as strong as their supplier relationships. So many times I’ve had to call for help from my suppliers due to a client throwing a last-minute curve ball my way, and they have pulled miracles out of thin air. If your suppliers are invested in your event vision, they will bend over backwards to bring it to life. If you are only creating a handful of events a year, it is extremely difficult to have strong relationships with a wide variety of suppliers, so that’s when the consultant comes in handy. They will come with their little black book of suppliers to help point you in the right direction, as well as teach your team negotiation skills, pitfalls to watch out for, how to secure the best deal and critical information the suppliers will need. The result… cost savings and better event execution.

5. Assisting with risk management and contingency planning (AKA ‘The Scary Stuff’)

Too often we’re all about the WOW of the event and we forget (or don’t want to think about) what might go wrong. Risk management and contingency planning are so important for a stress-free event planning process. Each event should have a risk management plan created. Simply put: it is a plan which considers everything that could possibly go wrong at your event, along with strategies to either reduce the impact or eliminate it altogether. Most importantly, the strategy must be realistic and achievable.

A simple example of this is contingency planning for wet weather.  You might be hosting your event outdoors and the simple solution for rain would be to move the event indoors or host it under a marquee. That’s good… (tick! a)… but do you have an alternative indoor venue booked, or do you have a marquee on standby if this situation arises? The consultant will be able not only to help you identify potential risks to your event, but also realistic solutions to reduce the impact if a disaster does happen.

6. How do you measure the success of your event?

Events always have a purpose and a budget, so a crucial aspect of strategic event planning is deciding how you are going to measure or define your success. I am a strong believer that an event is a project, and each project must have a set of clear objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs) you need to hit, and a post-event evaluation method to determine its success.

The measure of success should not only consider your guests’ experience, but take into consideration the event planning process, the stress and pressure placed on the planning team, the relationship with the suppliers and the event budget. When all these boxes are ticked, THEN your event can be deemed a success.

Your consultant will help you map out 5-10 measurable KPIs to work towards, as well as provide tools to document your success through the planning process, so you don’t forget any of the wins or losses throughout the journey. I always love reviewing these documents for annual events, as it is a great starting point for future planning.

7. Get all the insider tips, tools and templates

We couldn’t do what we do without testing a huge amount of time-saving project management tools, and your consultant will share the experience they have with what’s in the market, including the best time or project management tools you can access online for free! You will also be left with a stack of useful templates to assist with documenting the event planning process: run sheets, production schedules, call sheets and more.

These shared best practices and templates will streamline your team’s workflow, and spare you the headache of scouring the internet for templates to ‘borrow’.

8. Boost your team’s morale

According to a study by the World Scholarship Vault, being an event planner is the third-most stressful job in the world this year. With countless details to manage, unexpected issues getting thrown at you and endless requests for changes, it’s no wonder! But on the flip side, you get to create joy and memories for people, and that is truly special.

Having knowledge around the event planning process – and understanding how to put out those inevitable fires as they pop up – is powerful and a game changer. I’ve seen teams go from being terrified and dreading the annual event they are forced to plan, to loving the opportunity to be part of it and seeing their chance to make a positive impact. This boost of excitement leads to stronger team morale and greater commitment to delivering an outstanding event.

Ultimately, we can never completely remove the stress and pressure of planning an event, but investing in the training and development of your team through the expertise of a consultant can be life-changing. It’s a strategic move that will not only create more impactful events, but can truly make the event planning process so much simpler. Event consultants excel at this because we do it day in and day out. Just like I might have a vague idea of how to change the oil in my car, but would I attempt to give it a service and save a few dollars? Hell, no!

I specialise in providing valuable insights, strategies, and support to organisations like yours, helping you to enhance your event planning and management capabilities. A simple phone or in-person chat will let us deep-dive right into the heart of your event, toss around some new ideas and come up with practical solutions. This can serve as a valuable secondary choice that complements your existing plans, not only enhancing the overall quality of your event but also freeing up your time to focus on what truly matters: creating memorable experiences for your guests.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
David Yakas