A simple and advantageous way to do this would be to always use an event booking/consultation form. This can also serve as a check-list to help you when you are preparing your quotes and invoices.
For this post, I have created a comprehensive Event Booking/Consultation Form. To be honest, I am a note-book scribbler, and probably one of the world's worst at obtaining all the relevant information when it comes to booking an event! I am now in the position where I rarely take on big events these days due to all my other work commitments, but I know for sure that if I would had of used a form such as this, it would have made my life a whole lot easier.
Let's start with the more practical, non-creative stuff, like event and client details. Getting all those relevant contact details is so important from the very beginning. And it should include not only not only the person who is booking you, but also the venue contact and the name of the person who is responsible for paying the invoice too!
If you are at the venue, this is also the perfect time to find out about parking, and other hotel/venue-related information. Many of my previous corporate events were located in central London and that alone brought many additional complications to a job. So standard things like parking are worth finding out about, as many hotels and venues will offer vendors free parking while they are onsite. It's worth noting; having a good relationship with the events manager at a venue can be worth it's weight in gold!
It's extremely important to know dates and times too! I like to be able to access a venue as early as possible on the day of an event to ensure that we can get a head start, and miss peak time traffic or anything else that may delay us.
You may not need to know about payment details at this point, but you may want to inform the person who is booking with you that you have payment terms, and keep them informed of those when you send in your quotation or proposals.
Type/ Name of Event | |||
Date of Event | Contact Details | ||
Event Location & Address | Company/Clients Name | ||
Event Start Time | Contact Name: Name of person responsible for payment of invoice if different from contact | ||
Event Finish Time | Contact Email | ||
Venue Access Time | Contact Phone | ||
Venue Parking & Parking cost if applicable | Postal Address | ||
Set-up location | Payment Details | ||
Strike/ Tear- Down Date & Time | Deposit Required | ||
Venue Contact & phone | Deposit Due Date | ||
Final Payment Required | |||
Final Payment Due Date | |||
Now let's look at design details and description of work.
Design Details & Description of work | |||
Theme | |||
Entrance/ Foyer | |||
Bar Areas | |||
Photo Backdrop | |||
Stage Backdrop | |||
Table Decor | |||
Other | |||
Sometimes clients have a good idea of decor they want at their events, while other times they have no preferences or ideas, giving you an opportunity to get very creative! I have given some key locations and decor that you can suggest while you are building your ideas.
I have worked directly with both clients and also with event organisers who are managing a big event, and to be honest, working with an events organiser has always been my preference as they can always see the bigger picture and know how to 'sell' to their clients. They often have an idea of the clients potential budget, which again can be very useful to know. I expect that the more experience you get, the easier it is to become a sales person as well as a creative director too!
So, now you have all this information and all your creative ideas and suggestions, you will be able to get back to your customer with a comprehensive quote. Do not leave this too long, as your client will be keen to get you booked! I would also make your quotes time-limited, like 30 days, to ensure that the client cannot come back to you months later and expect the same deal!
I like to make my quotes as visual as possible; in this instance pictures are much more impactful than words. The design below is a Sculptured Column that I proposed for an upcoming event for a client. I wanted the client to be able to visualise how the column would look without having to make up the design in balloons. I then use creative and descriptive words to accompany the picture!
Even showing a customer something as simple as how a logo will look on a balloon can really help to sell the idea or concept to a client.
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| This is an Arch that I designed for a New Years Party at the Savoy, London |
Don't present prices for your work to your clients in the same way as you cost your work. Remember, your customers are not buying balloons, fishing line, aluminium rod and helium. They are not even buying Arches, Columns, Balloons Walls and balloon displays, they are actually buying the wow factor and the atmosphere to create a great party or event. They are buying your experience, knowledge and expertise. Never be embarrassed to ask for the full value of your work.
I personally price balloon decor by the job, and not by each specific balloon design or creation. There are many elements that may need to be included into a job to ensure that you can fulfil it within the required time and location.
If a client asks for discount and you want to give it (maybe it's for a charity event that you want to support) ensure that you always present an invoice with the full amount and then take the discount off the bottom. If I ever offer discounts, I will only deduct from the net profit of the job, and never from the costs, to ensure that the job does not cost me money. Remember that even charity events pay for their venue, food, band, etc. They will always try to get discounts, but you also need to cover your costs at a minimum. I recommend that you choose any charities that you want to support at the start of the year, and if anyone asks you to support a charity not on the list, tell them that you have your charities for this year and if they want to be considered for next year, to put their request in writing.
Here is a full copy of the Event Booking/Consultation Form. If you right click on it you will be able to save it to your computer, or you can simply create your own form using some or all of the information that I have included.
Type/ Name of Event | |||
Date of Event | Contact Details | ||
Event Location & Address | Company/Clients Name | ||
Event Start Time | Contact Name: Name of person responsible for payment of invoice if different from contact | ||
Event Finish Time | Contact Email | ||
Venue Access Time | Contact Phone | ||
Venue Parking & Parking cost if applicable | Postal Address | ||
Set-up location | Payment Details | ||
Strike/ Tear- Down Date & Time | Deposit Required | ||
Venue Contact & phone | Deposit Due Date | ||
Final Payment Required | |||
Final Payment Due Date | |||
Design Details & Description of work | |||
Theme | |||
Entrance/ Foyer | |||
Bar Areas | |||
Photo Backdrop | |||
Stage Backdrop | |||
Table Decor | |||
Other | |||
I hope this has helped you to feel a little less overwhelmed in your event planning! Being organised and having all the information recorded is definitely the key to success and a smooth- running event!
Happy Ballooning!
Sue
Follow me @suebowler