 What
is an appropriate budget for conference
and event expenses? This is a question
many in the finance area have difficulty
answering. Once you know your event's
goals and needs an appropriate budget
can be set. But whatever budgeting
is done beforehand is simply a forecast
and may be flawed unless your event
planner understands the nuances of
negotiating and managing the conference
process.
Oftentimes,
management delegates the planning
of meetings, conferences and incentive
programs to administrative personnel
who have little or no experience in
event organization and negotiation.
The manager may feel it is a perk
for the employee, but what is it really
costing the company? Imagine asking
the comptroller to close an important
sale or expecting the IT people to
manage the company's books. Why give
substantial financial responsibility
to someone who does not have the understanding
of what is negotiable and where savings
can be found while maintaining the
program's quality? What may be even
more fiscally irresponsible is turning
an entire event over to an outside
planning company without having someone
within your organization who understands
the conference process. |
Next time you review your firm's event
budgets ask who handled the event's
negotiations and what his or her experience
is within this field. When you review
the contracts ask yourself what was
the starting point to the negotiations
- comparing the final contracts with
the originals. That is where you will
see the value added that your negotiator
brought to the table.
Many feel that once
the contract is signed the savings
are locked in. Far from it! This is
where the spending begins. Watch vendors
carefully throughout the planning
and implementation process. Whether
dealing directly with the hotel's
sales and catering staff, offsite
venues, transportation companies,
etc. or working through an event planning
company, costs will be directly affected
by your staff's judgment. Simple decisions,
such as whether to pay on a consumption
basis or per person, what the guarantees
will be, and the accuracy of your
rooming list may not necessarily bring
you over budget but may reduce any
savings you have experienced.
Many factors can reduce
an organization's conference expenses.
Remember, a quality event should be
cost effective as well.
Mark
K. Kustwan is the owner of OnTheMark,
a conference consulting and management
company located in East Longmeadow,
MA. He can be reached at
(413) 526-8900 or at:
info@onthemarkevents.com
|
