The end of the summer holidays is approaching slowly but surely. To approach returning to work with optimal preparation, what could be better than a little reading? We have everything you need to gently immerse yourself in the organisation of your professional events – whether you organise afterwork events, conferences, fairs, trade shows or exhibitions. Reflect on the past 12 months, consider your strengths and weaknesses and discover what you need to fine-tune them.
Contents
- Schedule with great care
- Set the right price
- A tidy budget
- Exciting speakers
- THE perfect date
- Ticketing is your new friend
- A checklist to organise a trade show
1. Schedule with great care
The earlier you prepare your schedule, the more you can spread out your tasks over time. This will prevent you from ending up rushing things at the last minute. The important thing when creating your event planning schedule is to start from the final deadline, i.e. the date of the event. Than move backwards to plan the tasks that need to be done right before the event so that it can run smoothly – e.g. briefing security staff for instance. Then keep going until you have reached the first steps of your planning. Ask yourself the following question: which task must be completed before I can complete the next one and how long will it take?
At the end of this process, you will have an idea of how long your event planning will take. Optimise the time required for each task but remain realistic. Your assessment must be close to reality even if there will inevitably be some surprises.
Regardless of the format your event schedule takes – Excel spreadsheet, Google Sheets, specialist software – the important thing is to follow this backwards scheduling method.
2. Set the right price
What did your participants think of your ticket prices last year? Have you kept their comments on a document? It’s almost time to get back to work but you still have some time to take a step back and consider your events’ prices. Ask yourself the following questions: :
- Is my event interesting enough for me to raise prices?
- If I lower the prices to attract more people, won’t they feel that the event is less interesting than last year?
- Would it make sense to lower the price of tickets to sell more products during the event?
Many aspects have an impact on the price. This article can help you get a clearer view: How to set the ticket price for your event?.
3. A tidy budget
What could be more comfortable than to think about your budget when you are not yet in a hurry due to the time and demands around you? Review your budget from last year, analyse your revenues and expenses, and start planning your budget for the coming year. Read our article on the basic rules for budgeting your event to make sure you don’t forget anything.
4. Exciting speakers
The people likely to speak at your events are probably on holiday or at least in an open and warm state of mind. This is the perfect time to invite them to speak at your events. If it is not necessarily their habit, they may be less familiar with the exercise, but their experience and stories will be no less exciting. They will also be in a better position to accept new challenges during this slow period. Offer them topics that are different from the ordinary, that allow them to consider the start of the school year with new professional and personal goals.
5. THE perfect date
Choosing the perfect date for your event is always a headache. So, take the time to observe all the other events and externalities that could disrupt your planning depending on the date chosen. By chance – or not – we wrote an article entitled How to choose the right date for your event – This is too good an opportunity for you to miss.
6. Ticketing is your new friend
Trying a new online ticketing solution is easier when you can take your time. Discover each feature, test things, find out about the possibilities offered to you. You have plenty of time to become a ticketing expert, at your own pace. It’s the holidays, after all!
7. A checklist to organise a trade show
Are you organising a trade show? Read our checklist to successfully organise a trade show. An essential to keep with you at all times. An oversight is quick to happen, but it is now a thing of the past..
We could talk to you about organising professional events for hours, but there comes a time when you have to take action. Discover all the features of our online ticketing and registration, access control and cashless payment solutions by clicking below:
