Top 3 Questions People Ask Me as a Strategic Event Consultant (And the Answers!)

Top Event Management Questions:

This year, we’ve looked deeper into the intake forms that our Clients submit, recorded our most-asked questions during Catalyst Calls and other Client conversations, and analyzed the data. As a result, we’re able to serve our Clients better. Bonus? We’re sharing the answers with you today.

The Top 3 Event Management Questions we receive are:

1. What are the 5 foundational steps to successfully plan and manage a professional, multi-day event with multiple stakeholders?

2. How do I streamline event logistics to ensure that my team isn’t overwhelmed during a conference or summit?

3. How can I ensure my event delivers value to all participants and stakeholders?

What Are The Five Foundational Steps to Plan a Successful Multi-Day Event with Multiple Stakeholders?

Before general contractors and construction professionals begin the 3-dimensional building process, they lay a solid foundation. That is the aim of these exercises, without which your event will be lacking direction, focus and a plan for the stakeholders that matter most.

1. Determine your overarching goals and objectives.
   Clarify what success looks like for your multi-day event, whether it’s education, networking, revenue generation, brand awareness, or a combination of outcomes, so every decision aligns with a clear purpose.

2. Make a list of your stakeholders by type, including their individual goals and objectives.
   Identify groups such as attendees, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, internal teams, and leadership, then outline what each group hopes to gain or achieve through the event to ensure their needs are intentionally built into the plan.

3. Assess your available resources—budget, time, and team capacity.
   Take inventory of your financial limits, planning timeline, and staffing bandwidth early on so you can accurately gauge the event’s scope, avoid overextension, and allocate responsibilities effectively.

4. Determine the event’s business model.
   Decide whether your event will generate revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, exhibitor fees, or a combination, or whether it will function as a brand investment, and use that model to guide financial decisions and stakeholder expectations.

5. Create a detailed project plan to guide every phase of execution.
   Build a comprehensive timeline that includes key milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and ownership to keep all teams aligned and ensure the planning process stays on track from concept to post-event wrap-up.

How Do I Streamline Event Logistics and Prevent My Team from Overwhelm During the Event Management Process?

Resources, including time, team and budget, are high on the list of questions for both our long-term event planning Clients and Catalyst Call guests. I find that time is what trips organizations up the most, and prevents the foundation from being built internally. When starting to plan an event, conference or meeting, it’s critical to bring your team together to align on a clear project plan with defined milestones, deadlines, and assignments. Before anything is executed, establish the systems you’ll use to track progress and set a consistent cadence of check-ins to keep everyone informed and accountable. Using a system like Airtable, which I use, helps to identify roadblocks or competing priorities early. Finally, be honest about your full budget—including time, staffing, and resources—to keep the workload realistic and the team supported throughout the project timeline.

How Can I Ensure my Annual Event or Conference Delivers Value to All Stakeholders and Participants?

Since you’ve made it this far, you’ve obviously made a list of your stakeholder types and, using data, honed in on a few potential goals and objectives for each. Remember: just like sending a package in the mail, you can’t deliver value if you don’t know who you’re delivering it to. If you’re unsure for any reason, it’s okay to take time to gain their perspective before planning to understand what matters most to them. Surveys, focus groups and 1:1 conversations are great ways to strengthen the relationship and show that you are listening. From there, make a list in your Event Brief of the pain points you’re aiming to solve and the takeaways you want each group to walk away with. This should be used to inform your program planning and experiential strategy. Finally, keep the conversation going beyond the event (online and in person where possible) to reinforce value and strengthen long-term relationships.

The only silly questions are the ones that aren’t asked, especially when you have an expert at your disposal. If you want answers to your questions that are bespoke, unique to you and relevant to your current goals and objectives, book a call with me!