Your Complete Roadmap to Event Success [INFOGRAPHIC]

Reach new heights with 5 game-changing productivity tools.

These 5 incredible productivity tools help you do just that, putting you well on the road to event success.

The Event Success Roadmap

All the productivity tools in our Event Success Roadmap have been designed by experienced event professionals, especially for Event Managers. They’re specific to our industry, so they’re intuitive, easy and ready to use straight away.

Pick and choose your favourites from the Event Success Roadmap, or download the whole set here.

Invest in Yourself and Reap the Rewards

When you’re flat out busy it seems easier to keep doing things the same old way, treading the well worn path that’s always worked. Who has time to try out new stuff, like planning and budgeting systems?

Actually, you’ll gain more time when you take time out for process improvement. Think of it as an investment in yourself and how to work smarter – not harder – for even more brilliant results.

Step 1. Learn the Lingo

Event professionals use a truckload of jargon as ‘quick speak’ to communicate quickly and clearly about a gazillion things while they dart from start to finish of every event. Events are by nature detailed projects, having so many facets to manage and suppliers to liaise with, for:

The rise of technology keep bringing a whole swag of new terms to learn, which makes it important for all event managers, from novice to experienced, to stay up to date with the lingo.

Save yourself the time searching definitions from unknown sources, and get your hands on the ultimate Glossary of Event Terms already!

Step 2. Plan for Success

Sticky notes, loose sheets of paper and exercise books, be gone! Like a rusted old car, these can’t be trusted for a smooth, hassle-free trip to event success.

Little bingles – like the no-longer-sticky note that fell out of your diary causing you to forget to secure the only suitable venue – can turn into big problems.

With so many components to manage you can’t afford to miss a thing, so we strongly recommend using a professional event planning tool.

This incredible event planner is pre-filled with virtually every project task – whether it’s a small event or a larger, more complex production. You save chunks of time by not having to reinvent the wheel every time. Not to mention it’s a cinch to use and can be customised for specific needs.

For complete instructions, check out the Event Plan Template Step-by-Step

Because the Event Planner is pre-loaded with virtually all elements, you free up less time on admin so you can focus on being creative to and make your event a huge success. It’s perfect for event managers at any level of experience, AND it’s available in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.

Step 3. Make Every Dollar Count

If there was a stereotypical event manager, she might be:

Getting bogged down in numbers because they don’t have what they need at their fingertips would be a source of major frustration, right?

Enter the budgeting tool you always wished you’d had. Budget management that’s:

AND saves your precious time by enabling you to track and communicate:

• Estimated costs
• Agreed costs from suppliers
• Variances (minor additional charges)
• Final vs planned expenditure

Just enter the amounts and, thanks very much, it’s all calculated for you. It also prompts you take a strategic approach to where you spend your money, especially for the bigger ticket items:

• Catering – include food & beverages, wait staff
• Keynote speakers
• Masters of Ceremonies
• Entertainment: comedians, bands, magicians, roving performers
• Travel – flights and accommodation for interstate/overseas staff and VIPs

There’s one sheet to input the data in clearly marked cells, and another sheet to give a quick, at-a-glance summary of how your budget is tracking. A traffic light system alerts you to any overspend to help avoid the dreaded budget blowout!

The Budgeting Tool helps you Plan, Control and Evaluate all event expenditure. Planning an event is like planning a road trip. You need to know how much fuel it’ll cost to get from A to B, and not run out half way!

We also have a handy step-by-step on using the Budget Tool

Step 4. MC Mastery

You’ve probably heard the saying, ‘Entertainment can make or break an event.’ All true, and it relates as much to keynote speakers, musicians, comedians and stilt-walkers as it does to the Master of Ceremonies (MC).

The MC plays a crucial role in the overall success of the event, so it’s a game-changer to choose the right person for the job.

Your MC is fundamental because they have huge power to:

• Hook the audience from the get-go and set up the tone for the whole event
• Keep the audience focused with light relief between segments
• Create flow between different topics or speakers
• Work the room to encourage donations or help convey a desired messages
• Keep the event running smoothly and on time

That’s a whole lot sitting in the MC’s hands, so you want to get it right!

Step 5. Success on the Night

This is it. Event night. Or day, whichever the case may be. You’ve made it this far along the road, with immaculate planning, budgeting and talent selection.

Don’t run out of fuel so close to the finish line! You need a fabulous run sheet, that’s all, then you’re home and hosed, ready to hear all that glowing feedback.

A great run sheet lists all tasks in sequence, and can be readily shared with all stakeholders to ensure everyone’s on the same page. It helps you stay on track when the pressure mounts and everyone wants to ask you something (Where to put the flowers? The mic is faulty! The speaker wants to see you for a minute. We’re 20 minutes behind! What do you want to do with entree?)

Check the run sheet, all your timings and contacts are at your fingertips. Totally cool and in control.

This our favourite run sheet because:

• It’s a cinch to communicate simultaneously with all stakeholders: venue staff, technicians, your manager, co-workers and talent instead of meetings or individual conversations.
• Have all contacts and event schedules in one place, avoiding the need to hunt for it in the heat of the moment
• Keep yourself on track, especially when time is running out and the pressure’s on

Remember the Run Sheet is designed for collaboration, so don’t forget to email it or store it in your organisation’s document sharing location.

Destination: Event Excellence

As an Event Manager, you want the smoothest path to event excellence. The pro tools in this planning roadmap are as close as you’ll get to cruise control in such a fast-paced, high-pressure career. Onwards, forwards and upwards!

Next steps

• If you haven’t already, download the 5 must-have event productivity tools now. You’ll be glad you did.
• All this planning enough to give you heart palpitations? Here’s how to not sweat it on event night.
• If you’re ready to level-up your events game, here are 8 easy steps to becoming an event superhero.