When planning your events you want someone you can trust, someone who understands your vision and someone who has similar taste and style as you do. Sometimes this can be hard to find but take my advice, you can definitely find it if you look for these key things:
ORGANIZATION
You can tell a lot about a company just by looking at their website. If an event planner’s website is easy to navigate, has all the information you ever wanted and is eye catching, that is saying a lot. Organization in this business is key. There is a lot going on all the time, so look for signs that this person or company can keep all of your facts straight. One way to do that is by simply calling them up and telling them what you are looking for. If they are flustered and can’t seem to pay attention to what you are saying, then move on. But if they are attentive and interested in your thoughts on your desired event, asking you questions on what your vision is, then set up a meeting and investigate further.
VERSATILITY
This is important when it comes to events. Take a look at previous events that the event planner has done. This needs to show that the company or the planner can work on a wide range of events and themes. If you are seeing a lot of weddings with similar things or themes to them, that’s not a good sign. You need to see stuff that is different from each other. That means they are listening to the customer, doing exactly what their customer wants and most likely taking the vision for the event and running with it. Being able to work on a wide range of events is key to having an event planner work for you. You want them to be able to see and understand your ideas and make them come alive. You can also look for someone who specializes in the type of event that you want. Someone whose business is primarily weddings and a few random parties isn’t going to be the company you want working on your upcoming music festival fundraiser. So pay attention to the details and what the company is good at.
COMMUNICATION
This is key! The way a person communicates is going to make or break your partnership. The best way to feel this out without committing is by emailing them. See how long it takes for the planner to reply. If it takes a while, that’s a bad sign. Responses need to be quick so that you can get a good feel of how dedicated the planner is to the job that he or she is doing. From there, come up with some questions and give them a call. If they don’t answer your call, leave a message and see how long it takes for them to respond. This should be quick as well. When asking the questions, make sure the responses they give are clear, concise and to the point. If it’s a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, that’s not good. An event planner should be able to provide the best customer service possible because customers are whom they are aiming to please, so look for GREAT communication skills in all forms.
EXPERIENCE | KNOWLEDGE | DETAIL-ORIENTED
Do your research! Read reviews, look at their website from head-to-toe, and ask around! It’s important that a company or planner can show they have experience in the industry. That experience should show how they use their resources and partnerships. It should show their knowledge and capability to plan successful events. Once you have done your research, ask for examples of when things haven’t gone the way it was planned and what action was taken. It’s pretty obvious that their response should be calm, cool and collected. In event planning, there’s always going to be something that doesn’t happen as expected, so feeling out how someone problem solves is crucial to the success of your event. Pay attention to how they handle the little things. The little details, however small, can sometimes reflect on the big things. When reading reviews, pay attention to those details.
Kami