6 Skills All Event Planners Need to Be Successful
Thinking of becoming an event planner? Want to know if you have what it takes!? Do you have what it takes?!!
Okay, enough intensity from my end. Everyone can be an event planner, but perfecting your skills on the following will help things run smoothly and the more prepared in understanding what's coming your way, the better.
You don’t need a background in event planning to get started, but having the qualities of a good event planner doesn’t hurt. Here is our list of the top skills you should possess to ensure pure perfection at your event!
Organizational skills
Well, this is a given. Update your calendar, and keep up with the demanding emails, vendor requests, invoices, and so much more! Don’t let the stress get to you, start off organized and keep it that way. Things are going to be a little hectic of course; you’re planning an event. That's why I also recommend planning ahead, as far forward as you can without looking like a crazy person!
Don’t wait until the last minute to have all your affairs in order; give yourself a chance to breathe. The farther in advance, the more time to get things organized, work out a day-of schedule, do your color coding, and all the little things you couldn’t do.
Here is a complete list of the top Event Planning Tool Softwares recommended by Capterra to take your organizational skills to the next level.
Flexibility
Change might not always be a good thing, but guess what … it’s going to happen. A lot. It’s time you start getting more familiar with change and able to adapt to whatever comes your way. Everyone deals with this a little differently.
Maybe work out a backup plan, and another one after that one in case all fails. No matter if the odds of that happening is far-fetched, plan for it. Because in my experience, everything is possible when it comes to event planning.
Customer Service With a Smile
Did you think you were an event planner? Ha nope! You are also a customer service representative, and you are taking care of all the needs of your clients, AND vendors, AND guests, AND everyone else.
Your job is to make everyone happy to have a smooth event. So customer service experience is another critical skill to have to produce a happy event. You are who they turn to for their problems and concerns. A good customer service rep will have or appear to have, all the answers to keep their clients happy and stress-free.
Time Management Skills
The time I believe is everyone's enemy, but it doesn’t have to be if you can learn how to manage it correctly. Stop tracking your time, but change how you use it; event planning comes with so many checklists and so little time.
The first step is to analyze how you spend your time and change it to be the most efficient.
Second, start with the hardest thing on your checklist or else you will be avoiding it all day. “Eat That Frog!” is a favorite book for anyone dealing with time management problems as it walks you through how to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time.
Thinking on your feet
It’s the day of your event, your registration check-in system went offline, it started raining, and it is an outdoor venue, one of the food trucks went to the wrong address, and everything is going wrong.
The first thing you need to do is RELAX, nothing good comes from a stressful environment. Collect yourself and stay calm, this is the only way for your brain to think correctly. Take a breath, and think positively.
Think of your options. Maybe you indeed created a backup plan for all of this, or perhaps you didn’t. Think of the resources your venue can offer you, and any volunteers you might have on hand, it might not be ideal, but it’s a start.
Be confident. You don’t have time to second guess yourself. This is about fast decisions, and making it happen without a thought because time is out the window, the event is now.
Budgeting
Know your budget and stick to it. The easiest way to stay on track is to take advantage of the free budget templates online or create your own. Capterra has selected the top 7 Event Budget Templates to help make planning your event finances easier.
