Getting paid as an event planner is not easy. Below are three options on structuring your fees to get paid what you deserve.
Option 1: Packages
For special events where I know the average time that will go into them, I put together Packages. This allows my customers to choose at what level they would like me involved and at what level they would like to pay.
Now, when I was first starting out I had people ask me to put together an event proposal and a budget. I put together a lot of proposals and budgets – only to never hear from them again. I quickly realized that they were taking my idea and budget and then putting the event together themselves. I was speaking with Victoria Lewis, owner of Genesis Masters of Events and she gave a great piece of advice to combat this.
“I tell my customers that if they want me to put together an event, they have to hire me. They can see my past work and either trust what I do or can find something else.” Victoria said. “People think they are being sly, but their dishonesty shines through. I did proposals and had people walk away. I no longer do them. I do give a free hour consultation and talk about my services in the last 5 – 10 minutes.”
Now, I get my full fee upfront. I put together various packages for clients at different price points. If someone balks at the price, I offer to let them think about it and reach back out to me.
Option 2: Hourly
Business events I often charge my services by the hour. I do this for two reasons, the first is that business people are used to being charged by the hour. They equate that to their lawyer and accountant and you can get more respect. The second is, that a few times the business has canceled the event and wanted all of their money back.
Now, businesses also like to know how much they are going to be charged. I have them buy 100 hours of my time at the rate we negotiate. When I hit 80 hours of work, I let them know and ask if they would like to purchase another block of hours or if they want me to wrap up what I have done. This allows them to feel in control while also ensuring that you get paid.
Options 3: Percentages
When working with non-profits, I will often offer for them to pay me a percentage of the money that they raise. This percentage will is negotiable but 10% seems is my standard. This means that if I work 100 hours but only raise $100, I get paid $10. Make sure you make the distinction between how much money is raised vs. how much money is earned. If you go off how much money is earned, you take out all of the expenses of the event and get a percentage of that.
A word of caution, I make sure that I have 75% of the control on events like this and I can affect the money raised. If they will not cede that control to me, we move back to the package deal. I must also be able to review and audit the fundraising efforts. I also have a payment clause in the contract if the event gets canceled.
As event planners, we need to know what we are worth. Don’t let penny pinchers bully you into dropping your prices. If it is so easy and they can do it thank them for their time and wish them well on their event planning.
In-house, post-trade show surveys have given me invaluable feedback and great ideas. I ask each salesperson and booth staffer to complete my quick 5 – 6 question survey. People who were just attendees at the show to complete the survey as well. It gives a slightly different perspective from the booth staff.
I introduce the surveys in my pre-meetings. We discuss why we are going to that particular show and I ask each staffer and sales person to write down their objectives for the show. I keep copies in my event box at the show and ask them to complete the surveys as they are walking the floor.
Here are the questions I ask:
Show Name
Show Dates
Your Name
Competitors Exhibiting
Competitors Sponsoring the Show
What stood out at our competitors’ booths?
What stood out at other booths? What tactics should we adopt?
What did you like about our booth?
What would you change about our booth?
Should we attend this show next year? Why?
Did you achieve your show goals?
These questions fit front and back on a half sheet of paper and can be used for any trade show. If I am not able to attend a show, this gives me insight and I scan all of the answers into my event folder. The first thing I do when the show comes back up on my calendar is to look over the surveys again. It helps me remember if the show is worth attending and how we can improve.
The booth staffers can be wary about giving honest feedback. I have combatted this in a few ways. The first is to incorporate their advice and ideas into the shows over the years. I also give them credit for the ideas. News like that spreads fast. For new staffers, I explain how I want their point of view because they are in the trenches and have better access to information than I do. The last is that I work hard on being gracious about the negative feedback I receive.
The trade shows are my baby and hearing criticism can be hard. I continually work on listening and accepting it – and improving.
Chairs. I have a love/hate relationship with the chairs that often come with your trade show floor space. The basic booth package for a 10 x 10 space is the pipe and drape, one 8 foot table, and two folding chairs. I often hide or give away the chairs that come with the booth.
Why? I want my people engaged with the attendees. Chairs can bring comfort but they also tend to bring out cell phones. And cell phones often mean that the booth staffers are not talking with the attendees.
Think back, did any booth draw your attention have a staffer sitting in a folding chair? Most of the ones you skipped by had a table placed in the front, with two chairs behind it and the staffer staring at their computer or phone.
For shows that I am unable to attend, I send a diagram of how the booth should be set up and request pictures. My booth staff and sales team understand my motives and why I keep the chairs out of the booth. They do not always agree with me but they understand. In the smaller booths, they have also seen an increase of leads by shifting the table to the side or the back and removing the chairs.
Here are the instances that I allow chairs in the booth:
The booth is bigger than 10 x 10.
The objective of the booth is the have attendees sit and talk with you.
The show is longer than 2 day or 10 hours.
Health reasons
If the objective of the show is to have attendees sit and have a long conversation with you – I upgrade the chairs and I always make sure that I have 3 – two for customers and one for a booth staffer and a table for them to work on.
Chairs are welcome and can provide a place for prospects and customers to sit and stay a while – keeping them away from your competition. The expectation needs to be that the chairs are for the customers and the sales team and booth staff is at the show to gain more leads – not sit and do normal work.
Do you have a take on chairs in your trade show booths?
I loved the movie Oceans 8. It has a great cast but from an event planning standpoint – it has a great moment. The scene where Sarah Paulson’s character is talking about the need for a nutritionist on hand because of all the special request foods made me think of all the pitfalls that feed a large crowd can bring. I wanted to highlight the 3 main pitfalls that I have seen at events.
Food Allergies – Peanuts and Gluten are the most common food allergies that we hear about. I will often ask for food allergies in my event registration and then work around them as I can. Most adults with food allergies take responsibility for themselves. I worry about this more with children. In a buffet line, I will post the ingredients under the dish title.
Cultural Restrictions – Beef and Pork are the cultural issues that come up most often. This is easily solved by having a chicken or fish option. This is why beef and chicken are often the main dish choices at events. It covers 80% of the average population.
Vegetarian and Vegan – Vegetarian is often an easy item to fill with a pasta dish. Vegan is harder but not impossible to accommodate if you have enough of them. I look closely at the target demographic of the event that I am hosting before choosing to eliminate these option.
One thing to remember that unless you are hosting the Oscar after party or the Met Gala – you cannot please everyone. Work within your means to accommodated who you can and apologize when you can’t. Showing that you have made an effort to include everyone will go a long way.
What is the biggest food issue that you have faced at an event?
I love brainstorming sessions. I love to stand in front of a huge whiteboard and bounce ideas off of others. To build on ideas. To think up wild ideas. Some of my fondest memories of afternoons at work have been huddled around a white board and dragging random people into the brainstorming.
Below is an example of the questions I ask myself and others when brainstorming.
What are my objectives and goals? This is obvious. Your booth design must work around your objectives and enhance them.
Does the show have a theme? I exhibited at a show with the theme of Alice in Wonderland. I created hundreds of paper flowers as a backdrop.
Is there a holiday nearby? The World Ag Expo always falls on the week of Valentine’s Day but I have never seen anyone take that and run with it.
What hot trends are out that you can capitalize on? Photo booth? Bell Bottoms? Unicorns? Mermaids? Will any of the major trends work with your objectives?
How can we make it interactive? What will draw your customers in?
Does your company have an anniversary or milestone that it is hitting? These make great themes and get to celebrate your companies longevity.
What constraints do you have? Booth size, budgets, materials, staffing.
What would I do if my booth was half the size?
What would I do if I had half the budget?
What has worked in the past? You do not need to reinvent the wheel. Use what has worked and build on it.
I use words, doodles, and images to capture the ideas that come out.
I like questions 8 and 9 because it helps to distill your ideas down to their core essence. I ask these at the end of a brainstorming session. They strip away all excess and fluff to bring the objectives to the front.
What are your best brainstorming tips and tricks? What questions do you ask your team when building your ideas?
