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Prices seem to increase every year, the best quality speakers, acts or entertainment cost a bomb and unexpected expenses seem to arise everywhere. The smart event organiser will be making cost savings at every opportunity, so here are a few money saving tips to help you make the most out of your event budget.

Ordering in bulk

When you’re organising more than one event at a time, it’s wise to first create a full list of the equipment, food and other items you will be using at each event. It’s likely that there will be some crossover between what’s needed at each event, so this is a great opportunity to benefit from bulk discounts. By seeking out specific corporate suppliers, you are more likely to find a supplier that offers a bulk discount, so make sure you do your research first. You can then order everything you need for each event in one, large order, increasing the likelihood of a bulk order reduction in price. If your events are quite spaced out throughout the year, see if you can order everything you need in one go but with two separate delivery dates (for food items and other perishables).

Negotiating price

Something event organisers are all too afraid of is negotiating the price of goods and services purchased for their events. The culture in the UK is not known for its powers of price haggling and negotiation, however those who are brave enough to attempt it will reap the rewards. Most suppliers have some flexibility within their pricing strategy, especially when they are dealing with someone who organises multiple events as this will mean repeat business for them. Here are a few ways in which successful negotiators get the price they want:

• Develop a reasonable argument before starting negotiations
• Back up your argument with logic
• Adopt a positive approach – this isn’t an argument, it’s a negotiation
• Listen to the person you are negotiating with and find common ground
• Tactfully challenge the objections/opposing opinions of the supplier
• Compromise to find a solution which benefits both parties
• Know when your negotiations are failing and don’t force the issue

By using these strategies within your negotiations, you will find that you have much more success. You need to be realistic in what you’re asking for – the supplier still needs to make a profit – so don’t get put off if you ask for the world and don’t get it.

Sponsorships

Another great way to save money is to share the burden of expenditure with a sponsor. Corporate sponsors will pay a specified fee in order to publicise their own brand, product or service at your event. What’s important though is to attract the right sponsors to your event – one’s that compliment your events’ theme well and have the same brand values as you do. The best way to attract likeminded sponsors is to put together a sponsorship pack which outlines what you are looking for and how the sponsor will benefit. For those organising multiple events, you have an advantage in that you can offer sponsors the opportunity to get their brand in front of several different audiences at different locations.

Multiple Event Insurance

It’s not just food and equipment that can be booked in bulk; multiple event insurance policies provide you with discounted premiums so that you can insure all of your events at a lower cost. This not only helps you to keep within your event budget, it also provides an organised and structured way to insure all of your events, with all the documents being stored in a central location. Multiple event insurance is becoming increasingly popular as people become more aware of the implications of not insuring your event and how much money it can cost if something were to go wrong without insurance.

Organisers of multiple events are at an advantage when it comes to saving money as there are plenty of opportunities available to those willing to seek out the best deal. To find out more about our multiple event insurance policies, contact us today.