Arm Yourself to Successfully Make the Case for a Bigger Event Budget
Are you receiving pushback as you work toward securing a budget for the return to live events? Have you been hearing the argument that your hybrid event shouldn’t cost more than a virtual event? Even with clients whose companies sailed through the rough waters of the past year, we are seeing a real shift in budget expectations and approval from leadership.
Investing the time and money required to pull off a large-scale event can send stakeholders running for the hills, or smaller bottom lines. Don’t be discouraged. Securing stakeholder buy-in can be a cakewalk given the proper preparation, fully baked ideas, and the fundamental fixings for a perfect event plan mixing.
Getting budget approval for the additional expenses involved will require more exact quantification and a dash of deliberation.
Have Leadership Define What Success Looks Like
The first step to getting buy-in on your budget is having leadership paint their picture of success. Getting the people who hold the purse strings excited about what the event can be and what it can accomplish for the company makes selling them on the cost infinitely easier. Once you get their vision and goals, you can set ROI metrics and show why the dollars need to be spent to achieve them. It will be a lot harder for them to say no to you if you’re delivering their vision. Having well-defined goals translates into measurable success. What are you hoping to gain and how will you measure it? This is music to your manager’s ears.
Present Your Ideas as Solutions to Business Needs
With everyone being forced online for so long, we know companies are suffering. Even for those whose stocks have soared, there is a strong urge to connect in person. Align your vision with the areas of the business that need your event more than ever. Illustrating an understanding of your company’s current state and serving up solutions to prevailing challenges will convert to quicker buy-in. Anticipate push-back and prepare yourself to counter by relying on the business objectives already in place.
Underline Both the Tangible and Intangible Benefits
Events have concrete, trackable metrics that can be attributed to their overall success. Direct revenue, customer acquisition, and attributed sales pipelines can take the guesswork out of goal actualization. Anyone with a vested interest in the financial component of your event may protest, but they can’t contest hard data.
Conceptual metrics such as brand equity, customer loyalty and testimonials, knowledge exchange, and training won’t be measurable per se but will be no less important in establishing the bountiful benefits that will build your brand.
Highlight Your Budget Breakdown
What does your budget buy them? Consider drafting two event budgets; one showing the full cost to bring their vision to life and a second that shows a paired-down version. If you have done the work of getting them excited about their own vision, they should be gravitating towards the full budget. Who wants to skimp on a headline speaker’s fee if that keynote was their idea to begin with? Clearly stating the costs associated with each event element will secure support by showcasing informed decision-making.
Break down misconceptions concerning cost. Do they want a flawless stage program? Let them know technology and equipment for virtual, hybrid, or live streamed events come with a price tag; this is not an iPhone production. Do they envision a VIP cocktail party before the conference begins? Pretzels and beer probably won’t be the impression they are striving for, and you’ll need to spell out what those dollars really translate into.
Need Help With Your Event Budget?
If you are stuck on where to save money or how to make the case for a bigger budget, give us a call. With our complimentary 30-minute consultation, we can help you bust through some of your budget roadblocks.
PAIGE BUCK
Paige Buck is the co-owner of Kennedy Events, a large-scale event management company based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. Our team creates stress-free conferences and events with a positive impact, which allows our clients to resonate with their audience. Kennedy Events specializes in producing flawless product launches, award ceremonies, fundraisers, and multi-day conferences while keeping our eye on retention and engagement goals.
About Kennedy Events
Kennedy Events began with one goal in mind—to produce high-level corporate events with just as much strategy as style. Maggie founded the company in 2000, found her match in Paige, and in 2011 the two became official partners. Since then, these two resourceful and brilliant creatives have pooled their strengths to build one one of the most the most sought after corporate event companies in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.
Services
Make sure that your event is as valuable to your company as it is meaningful to your attendee.
Projects
We’ve (nearly) done it all when it comes to large scale events.
Popular Posts
Topics
