How to Secure Annual Corporate Events
How to Secure Annual Corporate Events
Business and employers are always on the lookout for adding excitement to their annual corporate events. These annual events are all about having a good year-end party or Christmas party. A good annual party not only helps the employees feel appreciated for a year of hard work, but also raises staff morale and improves the productivity of the business. No one wants to sit through hours and hours of speeches, figures charts and dull PowerPoint presentations during a year end party. This is where you as an entertainer have a responsibility to make the event fun, interactive and memorable.
This is also where trivia comes in. Working in the corporate sector and hosting annual events, or at least being a part of the events, is an ideal way for you to make a good (in some cases very good) living from Trivia. Ask any trivia host and they would tell you that if they could secure an annual corporate event every Friday and Saturday during the months of December, January and early February it would result in a very profitable business indeed. The problem therefore is that as a trivia host you have competition for these events so today’s subject on the blog is going to look at how to secure annual corporate events and how to ensure that out of all the trivia hosts available, you are the one that gets hired.
Before you even begin to consider this line of work there is some preparation need. Preparation is the key to ensuring that you are ready to approach even the biggest of companies and be able to confidently sell yourself. You need to make sure your major marketing resources are updated and up to scratch.
- Invest in a good website (if a corporation takes a look at a shabby website you made 10 years ago it is not going to be impressed) and make sure that website mentions your corporate trivia events.
- Get the materials and samples to hand and make sure you have a rough idea of how you would go about running an event and what you hand in mind.
- Be prepared: You will likely be asked during the initial approach what is going to be involved, what trivia games are you going to play and how you will get players involved, etc.
- Start early. Companies start planning for their year-end parties typically in September or October. So, if you put it off because you are busy with weddings and school dances, then you will be too late to approach businesses in November to offer your service. By November the company will have already secured entertainment for the event.
The initial approach is crucial. First impressions count and if we are looking at how to secure an annual corporate event then this a major stumbling block for most. Think about how you are going to contact businesses. If you send out a mass email then you have to make sure it is personal and that everything is professional and looks right. Professional email templates are freely available online and rather than just type in text and hope for a reply, if you put the time and effort in to creating an appealing initial approach with pictures, quotes and examples of trivia then you might just catch the eye of the company. Remember business is all about professionalism and you need to be professional from the off. I would try and get the contact details of the decision makers, pop them an email, address a letter to them….you don’t want to get caught by a receptionist sifting through the mail.
Face to face could be the key. Even in the world of modern technology a lot of businesses prefer to deal with human beings, particularly at the highest level. Try and get a meeting with the decision maker, which is usually someone in HR…even if you have to wait weeks it may be worth the wait. Call into companies and ask to see the HR gal/manager/decision makers and when you meet one, start the pitch. Even if you visit 20 companies in one day and only 2 get to see you, that’s a result.
During this face to face dealing though you need to remain confident, calm and professional. Don’t rush in all guns blazing, have a simple and clear pitch worked out. Have your marketing tools with you, samples and technology ideas and make sure its all well presented and focused. Convince them, sell yourself and sell your product! If you are going to use wireless buzzers at the party, why not bring one or 2 for them to play with, touch, feel, and see it ok with a software game.
The corporate organizers are going to want to know how you can enhance their event and this is where you can start embracing the trivia technology available. As a Trivia host you should at least be aware of the technology you can use and what is available, you may even have some. Mention it, sell it and make sure you speak of how great it is. Systems like Clobber, trivia towers and wireless buzzers are going to appeal much more than proposing a pen and paper trivia game at a company party. You also can think about mentioning the likes of the Custom Trivia Systems produced by DigiGames which can bring the favorite TV shows of the employees into the corporate room.
Assure the business how your trivia can help them with the answers to these questions.
- How is your entertainment service unique/different?
- What effect is it going to have on Employee morale?
- How are you going to ensure everyone is involved and leaves happy?
- What experience do you have?
These are the questions you need to consider since this is not necessarily your usual trivia occasions. It is about generating business and improving productivity. It will look bad on the company if they hire you and you don’t deliver, so they are going to want to know these kinds of detail.
In essence therefore, if we are discussing how to secure an annual corporate event then you need look no further than one word….professionalism. From the moment you contact the customer to the moment you end the trivia itself you need to ensure you are being professional as this will increase their confidence in you and ultimately lead to you being hired. The minute they have doubts, the minute they don’t think you are up to the job or the minute you show weakness they are going to look elsewhere. If you approach them with confidence and effort, if you have clever marketing idea and a clear strategy and set of ideas on how you are going to provide them with an entertaining event and above all else if you remind them how the night will benefit them then you will see your bookings rise and you will be ready to enter the lucrative world of annual corporate events.
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