Planning Ahead

 

Event planning is a complicated process. Even when putting together something as simple as team building events, it can get complicated quickly – figuring out the logistics alone is a difficult task, and that’s just a small part of putting together the event.

How much time should you give yourself to plan an event? What should you begin to think about first?

Read our top 5 things to consider pre-event execution.

#1. Event Goals

Establish your event goals and objectives. Start by asking yourself: Why are you organising this event and what do you hope to achieve? This sets the agenda for everything else that you do when planning. If in doubt over any part of your plan, refer back to your objectives and ask yourself if it helps reach those goals.

#2. Event Budget

​Make a list of everything you need and what the cost will be; gather quotes wherever you can. If you have planned a similar event in the past, you can use those figures as a baseline.

This is also a good time to consider whether you’ll need a sponsor for your event – if so, start the process early!

#3. Event Schedule

Once your goals and budget is set consider the schedule for planning your event. Start with major milestones and work backwards to figure out the required components to reach those milestones and the time and resource needed to achieve them. Ideally, you should have 4-6 months to plan your event.

#4. Venues

Venue availability has become the biggest challenge for event planners. To give yourself the best chance, start making a list of all the things that you need from your event venue, that will allow you to quickly rule out the majority of venues that doesn’t fit and focus on those that have the most potential.

Are you planning an event that you know will happen again? For example, quarterly business reviews or annual conferences? Be sure to negotiate rates to secure future dates with your preferred venue or supplier.

Another reason why giving yourself plenty of time to plan an event is in the fact that the closer you get to your event date, the more expensive the venue plus all your suppliers become.

#5. Build your team​

If you’re running a relatively small or simple event, you may not need a team but for the larger events, having a dependable events team working around you is essential.

Designating roles early will help people get to grips with what they have to do before and during the event.

To chat about planning your next company conference, meeting or incentive, do get in touch with the Gray Dawes Events team!
And remember, when it comes to corporate events, experience is everything… yours, your delegates and ours!

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If you're looking to make your next event the next big thing, no matter how big or small, we'd love to hear from you.

Start a conversation with us by using the contact form on the right, or give us a call.

08448 553760