The Top Ten Biggest Mistakes Event Planners Make When Booking Entertainment and How To Avoid Them
Booking entertainment for your event can be a daunting task! You want it to be fun for everyone, extra special and stay within your budget.
Where do you start? What can you do to ensure a successful event? How do you know you are making the right decision?
It is questions like these that prompted me to write this report. Having been in the entertainment industry since 1994, I have seen event planners make MAJOR mistakes. The good news is that these problems can be easily been avoided by asking a few simple questions upfront before the day of the event!
Below are the top 10 things you should check before hiring entertainment.
- Start with someone you have already seen or someone who has been recommended to you. This is your number one resource. If you haven’t personally seen an entertainer that meets your needs, ask your friends, colleagues and family. It is much better to get someone you can trust right from the start.
- Ask for references. If the performer wasn’t personally recommended to you, then you’ll need to do some research. Ask around, check their website to see who they have worked with and read recent testimonials.
- Have they performed for similar organizations and events? Where have they performed before? What awards or accolades have they received? Are they a beginner or a seasoned full time professional?
- Is it age appropriate? This is a question that rarely gets asked but is supremely important! Is the entertainer used to working with your type of audience? One other HUGE pet peeve of mine is the use of crude language or suggestive material. Honestly it’s never appropriate regardless of the age of the audience. Ask your prospective entertainer about this and voice your concerns.
- What type of set-up is needed? I hate to tell you but, most of this falls on the event planner. It amazes me at how many events I‘ve been to where the planner has paid BIG bucks on entertainment, audio equipment, food, etc. Everything is top-notch but they drop the ball on simple coordination. I’ve seen sound systems not big enough for the venue, no loading area, and staging mistakes that seriously distracted from the event. A true entertainment professional should be able to guide you in the right direction for their needs and will work best for the facility. Take their advice. Ask your potential entertainer what they need, what they supply, what they expect and, very importantly, what they think will be needed to make it the best event possible!
- What do they charge? This is a pretty obvious one. It may be the first thing you ask a prospective entertainer. Be certain to find out if that is the total fee! Some entertainers charge mileage, hotel room, meals and more which is fine, just so long as you know about it in advance and are prepared for it. Nothing will make your accounting department angrier than getting a bill for an expense account they knew nothing about and you unknowingly signed-off on. Worse yet, you end up paying for it. To avoid this type of nightmare, make sure you are fully aware of the charges. Which brings us to…
- Do they have any package specials? Most professional entertainers will offer different entertainment packages. Every event is very different and this gives you a chance to match the entertainment to best suit your needs. Whether it be mingling entertainment, special gifts from the performer for the attendees, or whatever; ask your entertainer what they can package together to make your event EXTRA special!
- Hiring an entertainer on price alone. OK, this may not be a question for you to necessarily ask, but it is a MAJOR tip for you in your planning. Every event has a budget. You need to stay within it and meet your needs. But, hiring an entertainer based solely on them being the lowest priced can lead to a disaster. There is an old adage that is very true in this situation and that is, “You get what you pay for!” Sure, some may be over-priced, some under-priced, but it should NOT be your only consideration. If you ask the questions contained here, you should be able to judge whether it is a fair price or not.
- Do they offer any guarantee? If a performer presents a quality presentation and has enough experience, they should guarantee their service. Why wouldn’t they? As with any product, the producer should stand behind it. Ask them what they guarantee!
- And finally, The Top Ten Biggest Mistakes Event Planners Make When Booking Entertainment is this…not calling Leif David first for a free event planning consultation! I have been in the business of making events amazingly successful since 1994 and I know what it takes to make it GREAT! I understand how important it is and the pressures you are facing. My job is to put you at ease and present a program that will make you look great – GUARANTEED!!! Every event has different needs and if I’m not right for you, I’ll tell you. If you’d like, I will recommend someone that is. Call or email today for your FREE consultation, there is absolutely NO OBLIGATION!
Magician Leif David
Ali K. Zam Productions – Magical Entertainment