For a host to make sure that everything is picture-perfect can be stressful and requires hiring an event planner. The best event planners know that it takes a great deal of time and effort to organize an event and demands communication and collaboration with different teams and vendors. Following are the tips that will help you in choosing the best event planner.
Having Legitimate References
Know your occasion and the experts who manage such occasions, all occasions are not equivalent. Then you must find an event planner with an authentic professional record. First, it will help to know about their expertise and second, it will give you an idea of the quality of the events planned by them and what type of experience their customers had with them.
For example, if you want to plan a birthday event for your child but the event planner you chose is amazing at planning corporate events but has zero experience of household events then you may want to look for someone having relevant experience.
The Best Event Planners have Passion
“Do what you love and you will never have to work a single day in your life”, as put forward by someone who knew that if you enjoy your work then it enables you to cope with its stress. A true passion helps you overcome the obstacles that stand in your way and stay put when everything seems to go south. It also boosts your imagination to create beautiful things.
Passion is something that no one can teach you, either you have it inside of you or you don’t. If you find a passionate event professional, then do not let go of him/her because passion drives the ability to deliver great events.
Social Intelligence
Successful event planners have the ability to work with all kinds of people: sponsors, suppliers, traders, volunteers etc. Good collaboration with such a wide range of people requires social intelligence. is this profession one cannot succeed on his own. Also, what’s an event planner without its team players? The collaboration and support of a team are fundamental to the event planner’s work.
Good Communication and Listening Skills
Good planners should be able to listen and understand what do their customer wants, be clear and get their point across concisely when it comes to communicating with the customer. To successfully work with a range of people, a planner needs to be able to nimbly resolve conflicts, be a confident but pleasant negotiator. Moreover, it is not just about communicating the information from person to person but also the ability to present and share their ideas.
Budget Management
It would not be wrong to say that the ability to handle budgets is the key to success. An event planner needs to define the guideline of the event and plan of actions, all under the set budget. Also, nothing could be worse than a planner suddenly springing hidden fees or policies on their client. Professional event planners are always open about fees and policies. Also, they will always ask before taking any actions that might increase the agreed-upon budget.
Availability and Flexibility
Event planning is a job that requires being on the lookout at all times. Most event planners don’t work around the traditional office hours and their availability depends upon the nature of the event. Event planners need to be flexible and adaptable as they don’t have any room for single-mindedness. They often find themselves in a situation that requires last-minute changes. Besides, no matter how prepared they are, the unexpected happens faster than one thinks.
The event planner must be resourceful and imaginative to overcome these obstacles. It also applies to the new methods and innovations which continue to flow into this fast-moving industry. You could compare event planners to a chameleon, capable of adapting quickly to circumstances and its continually changing environment.
Organization and Time Management
The event industry is based around organizational skills, period. As far as traits for success are concerned, an absolute non-negotiable is the need to be organized. Now, working in the event industry requires having an overall view, while keeping an eye on a series of small details. Organization and timing are key factors and planners are required to multitask and do 100 things at a time to execute a successful event. There are a lot of tasks flying around, and everything needs to be aligned at a single point in time. The best organizers have a flawless plan of action, detailed to-do lists, and helpful technological tools.
In conclusion, event planning is a very specific job depending upon a wide range of skills and experience. Only the best event planners can take the stress and frustration of organizing an event away from you. Therefore, having an event planner is a sure-fire way to allow you to relax and enjoy the event.