Event Planning Productivity

event, productivity, efficiency, dallas, houston, san antonio, austin, texas, atx event systemsAs an event planner or third party service provider, you’ve got a lot on your plate. From pitching new clients and leading sales efforts to planning event logistics and day-of to-dos, you’re constantly running from one thing to the next.

Sometimes it can feel like you’re on a hamster wheel. No matter how fast you cross things off of your to-do list it seems like five new items crop up in their place. This never-ending cycle can be disheartening and stressful. But if you can figure out how to be truly productive – meaning that you complete the tasks that move you closer to your end goals – you can learn to let go of some of the details while still running a successful business.

Take On Only What You Alone Can Do

What is the value that you bring to your business? This may seem like a silly question, but it’s actually quite an important one. Why are you the only one who can make your business what it is today? If you can start to identify the qualities and strengths that you possess that separate your business apart from the rest, then you’re well on your way to being more productive.

Let’s say you are great at sales pitches. You go into potential client meetings and you know exactly what to say and how to say it. You almost always land the clients that you want and you know how to get them onboard with your vision.

This type of trait is something that can’t be replicated by just anyone. Therefore, it should be your core focus of running your business. Make a list of all of the tasks you do each day and determine which ones fit within the area of sales and pitches and highlight them. These should become your primary focus.

Outsource What You Can’t Do

Now that you know what you bring to the table, you can begin the task of prioritizing and outsourcing. Start by dedicating a certain number of hours each week to your number one priority. In the example above, this may mean that you devote 25 hours each week to client pitches. This includes prep, meetings, and follow-up.

If you’ve set aside 40 hours for your workweek, now you have 15 hours left to dedicate to other tasks. This could include day-of event logistics, management, etc. If you still have your list of all of your daily/weekly/monthly tasks, then go back and see what’s left over. Even if they seem important (billing, resource management, etc), you can generally outsource these items to someone who has experience in these areas. Things such as billing and payroll can be outsourced to agencies who literally just handle billing and payroll. You can find an agency or person to outsource almost anything to – except that thing that sets you apart, your ability to close the sale.

Outsourcing does have its own set of drawbacks. It can be difficult to find the right people to take on your tasks and it’s hard to let go of things, especially if you’ve been running the show alone for a long period of time.

Letting go of full control is one of the only ways you’ll be able to scale your business though. If you want to maintain capacity with clients and you want to run your business successfully for any length of time, then it’s critical that you don’t burn yourself out on mundane tasks that just about anyone can do. Sure, they may not do it exactly as you wanted, but they can get the job done and move it off of your plate. Even if you have to review their work, it’s better than having to do it from scratch.