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FALL 2013
29
W
e’ve all experienced a
situation where a service
ends up costing more,
sometimes considerably
more, than we were told up-front:
home improvement, construction, auto
repair, legal services, etc. Relative to
events services, how can professional
event planners budget properly and
protect themselves (and their clients)
from cost overruns and unforeseen
final charges?
Events requiring audio-visual services,
and the results our clients seek, are
very individualized and very subjective.
Open communication and a willingness
to strategically set aside time for
meetings or conference calls with your
potential suppliers in advance can
make all the difference when it comes
to developing a budget figure that can
actually be met. There are an endless
set of questions and discussion items
that can be found in any seemingly
complete RFP or conference schedule.
Would you hire a contractor to work on
your house without speaking to them?
Would you reasonably expect them
to deliver an accurate proposal for
services based on a paper RFP? Would
you send him an RFP and then not take
his phone calls if he had questions?
Before you connect with any of your
potential suppliers, begin your process
by fully developing your vision for the
event, taking into account locations,
dates, room utilization and daily
schedule. Be sure to validate room and
date info for your suppliers. Discuss the
potential for negative repercussions of
conflicts with other groups using the
venue both before and after your event.
The perceived savings of not taking a
room on 24-hour hold can easily be
squandered on the additional labor (at
overtime rates) required to dismantle
and reset a particular room.
Take a moment to seriously consider
the results you are seeking, and
share as much information with your
potential supplier(s) as possible. What
must happen during the course of the
event as a measure of its success?
What needs to happen to ensure that
you uphold your duties to your internal
clients, stakeholders, and managers?
What would be nice to have beyond
the basics? What have you experienced
in the past that CANNOT happen? It
is appropriate to consider budget as
a range, rather than a static number,
a range that gives an option to cover
what you’d “like to have” and have a
fall-back position that covers what you
must have to execute your event.
It is advisable to NOT task
inexperienced subordinates, interns
or volunteers with representing your
interests in these discussions. That
is, unless they are able to demonstrate
command of the vision you have created.
Often, such individuals are not able
to address our questions, directly or
indirectly, and may even have difficulty
articulating our question back to you
to be properly addressed.
Lastly, as your budget develops in
earnest, consider incorporating a
contingency fee which would exist only
to offset unforeseen cost overruns.
When utilized, this fee is generally
10% of the subtotal, and any unused
portion of these funds is credited back
to your account as billing is finalized.
Clients like coming in under budget,
wouldn’t you agree?
Aaron Cole is National Account
Manager for CCR Solutions, Inc.
and can be reached at
Audio Visual Staging & Production:
Communication As The Key To Developing A Realistic Budget
<< Services
By Aaron Cole
National Account Manager, CCR Solutions, Inc.
