We all face challenges.
For some of us, it happens daily. For others, it happens weekly. But at the end of the day, challenges are what help us grow as individuals.
As an event organizer, you face many challenges. From organizing to planning, coordinating, networking, booking, and beyond, you work through some stressful situations to deliver an event worth talking about for years.
Below are some of the most common challenges you may face on a regular basis. Read on to learn some ideas on how to lean into the challenge and keep moving forward.
5 Challenges Event Organizers Face
As you read through these challenges, see if they apply to your own experience organizing events.
#1. Data Collection
Data is one of the most important currencies in event organization. It helps you:
- Plan ahead
- Get ahead
- Stay ahead
You can plan ahead based on the type of attendees coming to your event. Once you know who they are, you can accommodate their needs as professionals to deliver a great event.
You can get ahead of any known pitfalls. Data helps you see in real time what’s happening with your event.
You can stay ahead of your attendees. For example, monitor social and make decisions on the fly to level up your event through direct feedback.
#2. Time Allocation
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. But you’re trying to fit 36 hours of work into your 24 hours. This can get stressful for you.
A great way to fit more work into less time is to organize. Make a checklist of action items that need to get done. And then delegate. This can mean you partner with a speakers agency to find the best keynote for your event. Think of other ways you can organize, plan, and delegate.
#3. Attendance
You’ve probably had an event flop once or twice. Not enough attendees show up. Now you’re in the hole financially, and your event is less than successful. It’s a tough reality you and other event organizers must face early and often to remedy it.
Get effective marketing into place so that you can boost your attendance. Many event organizers lean heavily on email marketing to fill their seats. You may also want to check out a CRM to collect and organize attendee contact information.
#4. Cancellations
You get a call a couple months before your event. Your keynote speaker has to cancel. And you already have the marketing assets and content lined up to promote the event.
What do you do?
Take a deep breath. There are speakers agencies that can help. In fact, your network of professionals can probably help too. But the most important part is to not panic, entirely. You need some urgency, but you’ll figure this out.
A great way to prevent cancellations is to work through an agency so that you have someone in your corner keeping the speakers accountable. It’s about more than money when it comes to these events. It’s about reputation. And an agency, alongside speakers, will uphold their end of the bargain to the best of their ability to maintain face and keep their speakers booked. A great side effect to this drive? You get a great speaker for your event.
#5. Budget
If you spend and assess without a budget, you probably experience a lot of financial strife when organizing, planning, and executing your event. It’s uncommon for the spend and assess model to relieve stress, come in under budget, and help you achieve success.
A great way to shift your thinking around event budgeting is to put a budget into place before you start organizing your event. In fact, you can probably find some event budget partners to help you do this.
Get a budget in place, and you’ll be better off coming in under your financial ceiling, which is a win for everyone.
Takeaways
Did these challenges resonate with you? What are some other challenges that you face as an event organizer? Comment below.
Here are the 5 challenges event organizers face, again:
- Data Collection
- Time Allocation
- Attendance
- Cancellations
- Budget
Are you struggling with finding and booking speakers for your event? Tired of doing it all yourself? Let Platinum Speakers Agency know. We keep a roster full of talented, impactful speakers so that you can deliver an event attendees will love. Contact us today to start the conversation.