HIRE A STRATEGIC MARKETING EVENT PLANNER!
For 128 years, the first Monday in September has been designated as a Federal Holiday to celebrate and recognize the contributions of the American worker to the larger economy. As you make your Labor Day Plans for a last summer getaway or family barbeque, it may be a good moment to think about what your time is actually worth. You have a successful business or a successful career, so in order to maximize your hourly worth, you should never hire out when you could do the job yourself, right? No. Most assuredly no.
In his groundbreaking work, The Millionaire Mind, wealth researcher Thomas J. Stanley studied the choices and backgrounds of self-made millionaires. Stanley reports that above all, self-made millionaires know their hourly worth and frequently compute “lifetime costs and benefits of various activities that have some potential in saving money” (Stanley 278). For example. The average executive salary, as reported by salary.com, is between $188,839 and $241,794. Take the median – $213,258. Therefore, your hourly wage is approximately $102. Every hour you spend during the workday building your business you earn your $102. Every hour spent on tasks not directly related to your job, you potentially forfeit $102. In short, your time is valuable, and you need to calculate carefully the costs and benefits of activities.
And here’s the real point. Event planning for your business should not be a one-off occurrence. Think of specialized events as part of an overall marketing strategy to recruit and retain customers and clients. Depending on the complexity and scope of your events, you may be required to spend anywhere from 55 – 100 hours planning and implementing all the details. That’s a potential loss of $5,610 – $10,200 hourly wages for you each time you implement a strategic marketing event. So, the cost of trying to plan your own event is high, and overall benefits to you small. Using a professional strategic marketing event group, such as Nine88 Events, can offer you return on investment in as little as one contracted event.
Here are some other reasons, besides obvious cost savings, why you should hire a professional strategic marketing event company, such as Nine88 Events.
MONEY
We have already indicated the cost savings to you, as the business owner, of hiring an expert to plan your event. But the cost savings are more than just preserving your hourly wage. Event Planners have connections with venues, caterers, florists, photographers, and other various service providers. A professional Event Planner potentially has access to discounts and special pricing not available to outsiders. In addition, Event Planners know the basic cost of various aspects of an event and know when and where they can negotiate better pricing.
MEET
Event Planners meet a lot of people. A LOT of people. An Event Planner will not only know the best vendors to work with to create your signature event, perhaps more importantly, an Event Planner will know who NOT to work with. As a novice to the event planning universe, you will likely not know the reputation of the major players. But a qualified, experienced Event Planner will, and such an Event Planner will know which organizations deliver. Further, Event Planners will understand the best suppliers to choose within a particular category. For instance, you want a BBQ themed event. Many caterers can serve passable BBQ, but an Event Planner will know the caterers who specialize in BBQ and all the traditional side dishes thereby guaranteeing the best spread possible for your event.
MANAGEMENT
The day of the event requires coordination and supervision. You want your time freed up to spend with your clients, customers, and employees. An Event Planner will be the point of contact between you and the myriad of contractors a first-class occasion requires. Again, you want your time spent with your business interests not helping the bartender (who’s really Bob from Accounting) to restock the swizzle sticks and cocktail napkins.
Cost benefits analysis 101. Your time costs money. Spend your time growing your business or advancing your career. Though it may seem that planning your corporate marketing event yourself saves you money, in fact, your lost hourly wages add up. Further, the cost of a professional strategic marketing Event Planner, such as Nine88 Events is less than you might think. It’s worth a discussion. Contact Nine88 Events today to hear about all the services we offer to save you your money!
