Imagine you have put together the perfect event. Your Twitter Wall is up on the screen, everyone is enjoying looking at all the exhibitors between each talk, it’s simply a wonderful day… Until your bad choice of an event vendor comes along and ruins everything.
Picking an event vendor is like building a loving relationship. They must be reliable, caring and keen to form a long-term bond. If you want to make sure that you have the right event vendor, who you can also work with in the future, then here are a few things you should consider doing.
Align your values for an event vendor
When it comes to event planning, there are values and standards that define both the organiser and the event vendor. To make sure your events are compatible with the right event vendor, there are many questions you must ask before you start the business arrangement.
- What are the values and representation of their business?
- What kind of events and businesses do your vendors usually cooperate with?
- Can they provide references or recommendations from other event organisers?
- Do they guarantee compensation in the event of failure to provide their services on time?
- Are they ready to provide discounts in the case of long term cooperation?
As budget is often a main point of negotiations between event vendors and event planners, you should come prepared with both your desired and maximum budget before contacting any event vendor.
Compile a preliminary list
Even if the first vendor appears to be perfect, it’s important to not rush into an arrangement. Compiling a list is a step you cannot skip if you want to make the most out of your suppliers. You can start by putting all contacts into a spreadsheet or a custom event planning checklist and add comments for each of the event vendor category.
To make the most out of your evaluation, it’s a good idea to request quotes from your event vendors. You should also check their websites to ensure they are reliable and ask colleagues for recommendations. Having an opinion from someone you know gives assurance that the event vendor is trustworthy. Based on the information you receive, give each event vendor on your list a rating and cut out the ones who don’t meet your requirements.
From this point you can contact your chosen event vendors directly to discuss your plan for the event and find out what they can offer. If you are hiring an external event planner to do this for you, it’s important to be sure that they have a good strategy in place for finding the event vendors you desire. Whatever the expertise they may have, you should devote some time for value matching so that they have a clear understanding of your requirements.
Spot the best candidates
With a narrowed down list of event vendors, you can choose the best. Based on your personal requirements for your event, pick a selection of five qualities that you expect from your ideal event vendors. These qualities can differ depending on the style of vendors you are looking for.
Pay attention to the Results
You may find that you are still hesitant to give an event vendor the green light. If this is the case, tracking past achievements will help you come to a final decision and choose the best suppliers for your event.
A real-life result offers the best proof of what you think is good quality. Go as deep into detail as possible in terms of the performance of past candidates, decide who you think was the most successful and bring them on board for this event.
Keeping your event vendors happy and productive
Seasoned event professional, Preston Bailey, believes that communicating well, before and after the event is the secret to forming healthy relationships with event vendors. If there is a reason you think you will find yourself being unable to cooperate with a current supplier in the future, then building a positive atmosphere is essential.
It’s important to respect your event vendors ideas for the event and to introduce them to the technical side of the organisation. Be sure that you and your event vendors have a connection and that they can contact you at any stage of the event organisation. You should also be there to provide recommendations to them on request.
These steps are important to follow, especially if you want people to be sharing only positive posts to be shared on your Twitter Wall. Remember, a Twitter Wall encourages your attendees to get involved and create user generated content, so to ensure your event is the talk of the town, email Social Sticker today.
