A perfectly planned event appears effortless, but it is anything but that. Whether you are organizing an important proposal meeting, convention, workshop, incentive, professional development, or other special event, it’s crucial to get it right the first time. There are no second chances, so it’s always best to prepare for the unexpected. It’s important to create and follow an event planning checklist.

The failure of even a small event can have a huge impact on morale. Many years ago, a former colleague of mine planned a golf outing as an incentive for his sales team. What should have been a positive, morale-booster turned into a disaster. Bad weather, poor customer service, and a cheesy resort made the team feel undervalued instead of rewarded. Of course this mistake had a ripple effect on the entire team, driving sales down for months to come. The moral of the story is plan, plan, plan. Use this event planning checklist to ensure your next event is perfect from start to finish:

Here are some additional event planning resources:

• Event Planning Checklist: What I Learned from a Gambler

• Detailed Event Planning Checklist

• Generic Event Planning Checklist

1. Audience and Objectives

Before you can move forward with your event, you need to understand both your audience and objective. Who is the event for and what is the purpose? This is where we can learn another lesson from the golf scenario. Guess what? Only about half his sales team played golf. The other half were either bored or just plain annoyed to be dragged along on this “incentive” trip.

2.  Budget and Scope

Now it’s time to determine how much money you can spend on the event. Even the smallest event requires some sort of financial commitment. You may decide that you can’t afford to put on your event at this time. It’s better to wait than to stage a low quality event on a shoestring budget. If money is not an obstacle, you must establish ahead of time how much you can spend, and plan the event to fit the budget.

3. Guest List

The next step in your event planning checklist is to create a guest list (if applicable). Some events may be open invite in which case you will need to estimate approximately how many people you expect. If you’re event is an open invite, it’s best to overestimate the head count.

4. Location

Similarly to real estate, the mantra “location, location, location” is just as important to successful event planning. While many overzealous companies seem to think that choosing the right venue is simply a matter of finding the fanciest, most expensive location, savvy event planners know that the location must meet the specific needs of your event and audience. For example, a small sushi bar might be just right for an exclusive client get-together, but the same venue is probably a poor choice for a boisterous product launch party.

5. Make it Shine

Even modest events with the smallest budgets can still make guests feel special. Brainstorm a few creative touches that will make for a memorable event. For example, personalization can be done cheaply, but create a big impacts. Adding name tags or simple personalized goody bags are both great ways to make guests feel a little more special.

6. Promotion

It’s hardly worth putting the work into planning your event, if no one will attend. Promoting your event is the last step event planning checklist and almost as important as going through the planning process. In addition to traditional print promotion, take advantage of email campaigns, social media, as well as advertising on your website.

In the end, your event is for your guests–not for you. Don’t fall into the trap of planning what you would like. Your event will be exponentially better if you put your guests first. Even if the event doesn’t go quite as planned, you can always measure your success by the happiness of your guests. Follow this event planning checklist and you’re bound to delight your guests at every event.

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After working on a real estate marketing program with some Dallas ad agencies I flew to Tampa to present a healthcare marketing plan to a client. Next to me was a man who showed me no matter how many times I shuffled the cards, he could deal any hand he wanted to and look legit. But, the most valuable lesson he taught me is something I use today when planning events or instore programs.

Here are some practical examples of event planning checklists to keep you organized.

Detailed Event Planning Checklist
Generic Event Planning Checklist

EVENT PLANNING CHECKLIST:

If you’re looking for a quick traditional list, look above for the typical event planning checklist that will keep you on track. My list may not include some of the traditional checklist items (permits, fundraising, etc.) that you would expect from an event planner. A traditional event planning checklist is important and some of those items are included. However, your list should include ways to make an event memorable, worth sharing with others. 

1. Appeal to the Senses: Water, Fresh Cookies, and Hasselhoff

My gambling friend told me that water is the key to keeping people at a casino longer. Waterfalls provide tranquility. Maybe if patrons hear the sound of a waterfall they won’t be so troubled by the money they are losing. Water can be used just about anywhere when planning an indoor or outdoor venue. Venue is key; set up is even more important.

A friend of mine who used to manage a rock station in Dallas told me he once used a life size cutout of David Hasselhoff to attract grocery store customers to the back of the store. Just like putting milk in the back corner, store marketers know the more time you spend in the store, the more money you will spend. It is not that much different for an event or fundraiser; the longer they are there and more enjoyable the experience, the more effective your event should be.

Try bringing in fresh baked cookies. The smell and taste will help lock in the effects of a positive event and make an average one a little more pleasing. While these ideas may seem a little deceiving or slight-of-hand, my hope is that you will use these ideas to help create something memorable, not manipulated.

2. Questions to Ask Before Setting a Budget

• How important is the event? Seems obvious, but does this event have the potential to bring in new customers or donors or serve people in a way that can generate over $100,000 or $1,000,000. Or, is this just a quarterly off-site event that is not a revenue generator?
• Does the event need to be advertised and how? Printing expenses?
• Can securing a more expensive guest bring in more money?
• Marriott has a few useful planning checklists.

3. Securing the Best Speakers

• Maybe a better heading is ‘Securing the Most Appropriate Speakers’ – (Does the speaker fit the venue?). Ask the speaker about some of their recent events.
• Finding an effective speaker is easy, there are many touring. However, if you choose a speaker who is currently promoting a book, it might be easier to leverage the publicity you can provide with an opportunity for them to plug their new book without detracting from the event.
• If you are organizing a charity event or are willing to tie a charity into the event, chances are there is an effective speaker or celebrity who is vested in your success or the success of their charity. Don’t expect FREE, but communicate with their publicity manager on making it a win-win for the event and the speaker.
• Leverage the speakers’ online platforms. Do they have a following of 10K plus on Twitter? Are they willing to promote the event on their platforms?

4. Leverage Social Media

Use all the tools available to pre-sell, save-the-date, and cross promote with all partners involved. Sometimes even bringing in little known partners who have loyal online fans can help spur their advocates to adopt your cause.

The primary focus should be on creating an event that is worth speaking about. No matter how much promoting or advertising is thrown at an event, people will choose to talk about it or not. See ‘Word of Mouse’.

EVENT PLANNING EXPERT?

The key to becoming an event planning expert is learning from other events, proper planning and rehearsal, surrounding yourself with experts, and a little common sense. For outdoor events, look at the typical weather for that time of the year. Is the location and time convenient for your target market?

And ask ‘is this an event that is worth sharing with others’? Working in radio for over 20 years, events were almost a weekly occurrence. If you need advice of how to create a compeling radio remote, I’d be happy to help. I’ve had my share of flops. At the least, I can help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made.

What is one thing you’ve learned from events you’ve attended in the past?

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