It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a conference, a wedding party or a corporate meeting, you’re always going to face some event planning. Each event has its owns personal characteristics that will make a difference, so be sure to treat it as a real project.
Here are some steps you may follow to organize a great event.
Define your goals and objectives
It’s the most important thing of the event. All the planning we are going to do afterwards will be mainly to achieve this goals.
Identify sponsors/stakeholders
They are a great opportunity to make a difference in your event. Be sure to go over contracts to ensure how they should be presented or in which way they should be utilized during the event.
Establish a budget
Understanding the budget is one of the most important steps in the planning process. You also need to know where that money is coming from and the consequences of going over or under budget.
The event from star to end
The best thing to do as Patrick Healy, President of New York Celebrity Assistants, says is to get into the guest experience, from the moment they enter the door to the moment the left. You have to analyze every touchpoint of interaction.
Study Trends
There’s always new trends going on so we have to be updated in order to incorporate them (or not) to our event. Knowing your target will help you decide if the trend is relevant or if it’s better without it.
Develop a schedule
It will work as well as the agenda we all use. It’s really important that we take our time to see how many time interactions, meetings or conference will take in order to follow it perfectly.
Select your venue
The venue will make things easier or more difficult to us. We need to check what we need, take into account the budget and see how can we transform the place for our event. It’s also good to tour potencial venues in person before making a final decision.
Check with the suppliers
Ensure your suppliers have an understanding of execution. There will be another schedule where everything needs to be on time. Keeping positive relations with suppliers will benefit you in the long run. If something does go wrong, be sure to act professional regardless of how you feel in the moment.
Have a Plan C
We sometimes have to make the impossible happen. That’s why it’s better if we plan some solution in advanced.
Post-Meeting debrief
This part is as important as the first one. Reviewing each step of the project will make us realize in which areas we succeed in which others need improvement. With practice, you’ll find your own tried and true steps to event planning.
