Getting Started :

Gathering Information
CHAPTER 5

By: Joveelyn Carreon

Donnafe Ytac
 Introduction
Now that you know the fundamentals of event management as an
industry, you know the
industry players, your roles as a manager, and ethical concerns in
executing events, we'll move on to
first thing that we need to do, assuming that we already have the
client, the gathering of data
pertinent to the occasion. This chapter will enable us to learn how
to gather information from the
client and will therefore train us on the basic skills that we need to
have: communication.
Where to get the Right
Information
 So we are now knowledgeable on what to
do since we have a background already of what
an events management is. Because we already
have a client (as we have assumed), the next step
is to get the information so that it will be turned
into concept. The question is, where are we
going to get the right information?
Or would it be right to say,
from whom are we going to
get the right information?
Translating that, the most
important is, we have the
right and exact information,
from the right
sources.
The Client- the client is the right person to talk to about an event. He
or she exactly knows what he/she needs from you.

Event Committee - as we have learned from the previous

chapters, one of the players in event management is the event committee.
Should the client created a committee, they are also key people to be
asked on how the event would look like.

All you need to do is to set up a meeting with any of them as instructed to

ask the necessary questions for you to develop the concept of the event.
What to Know from
the Prospect
Before going into the set time for your meeting with the
prospect, make sure that you are ready with questions written
in a clean paper for you to write their responses. One way also
to ensure that everything was carefully recorded is by
bringing with y you a voice recorder. But the question here is,
what are those questions that we need to ask that will ensure
all the details will be covered? To remember them, use the 5
W's and H questions.
The following will guide you on what to ask from the prospects:

The WHY question - first thing that you need to know is why is
it that the client wants to hold a particular event? Get the main
objectives and reasons for holding such event. In this way, you would
be able to conceptualize something that will fit to the objectives of the
event.
The WHO question - next is to know the invited guests or
the attendees. They are the most important people in the event, so
make sure that you get to know them. For some clients, there is no
definite number yet of attendees known. This is not a problem; wait
until such confirmation is done. Know the profiles of the attendees.
It can also affect on the concept of the event that you are going to
develop. Know who they are what they do, and other important
details that will help you decide on the overall concept of the event.
The WHAT question after knowing the participants
of the event, it would be significant to ask what the
attendees will need, what are their expectations, what
can delight them, what can satisfy them, and what do
they want from our services. ?
The WHEN question - once you know what the attendees will need
that could delight them, we need to know when the event will
happen. The time and date are very important details that we need to
know because it will allow us to evaluate if the number of days or
months prior to the event proper will be feasible for your preparation.
Be realistic. Never say you can when you think it is impossible to
achieve.
Events of various types have timeframe of preparation,
Unless you want to compromise the quality of the
output, an event can be planned in just a week (except if
it is just a simple meeting). But this is not the case; we
need to satisfy our clients. Should the date given is not
feasible; ask if you can move it. State your reasons.
However, make sure not to ask if a date can be moved if
we are talking here about wedding anniversary and
birthday celebrations.
The WHERE question- once the date and time is confirmed, ask for the
venue of the event if they have in their mind. However, once you know
everything about the occasion,
you will be able to identify where this should be best celebrated. Just go
back on the information you gathered and consider suggesting a venue
should you think their
preferred location is not matching to the purpose of the event and the
profile of their
invited guests.
The HOW question - this will allow you to know how much time is
needed to stage an event. Also, this is the time to verify from the host
on how much he would be willing to
spend for this event. Be polite when asking about this. This is
normal; we can only work around with our concept when we know
how much is budgeted for this. Know if they want to earn on this
event (except of course
for birthdays, weddings, and the likes). For conventions attended by
different professionals around the country. they can consider earning from
various sources such as sponsorship, advertising fees, merchandise sales,
supplier discounts, donations and even on ticket sales.

Aside from these revenue sources, it is also important that the possible
expenses be discussed with the client Some of these are accommodation,
overall ambiance of the area, site rental, signages, speakers' fees and
honoraria and many others.
What Other
Information to Ask
Aside from the questions asked, it is also helpful to ask for the history
(should there be) of the event to be executed. You can benchmark on
this especially on the negative
comments from the client to ensure that it won't happen again. Meet if
not exceed expectation on the positive comments. Again, we have to
remember that what we are going to execute should satisfy the
expectations of the people involved in an event.
Info.

Dealing with the Event Objectives

Now that we have the information we need to conceptualize the event,

we need to
deal with the objectives of having this event incorporating the
expectations of the client. An
event objective should be SMARTER (Salvador, 2009, pages 40-41):
Specific - the objectives of the event must be clear, concrete and well-
defined with an obvious outcome and its effect. It should be able to
answer the questions such as how the people involved would feel or
react after the event and how this feeling and reaction would affect to
them as a result of their attendance to that event.
Measurable the objectives should be measurable as it is on this way that
it can be evaluated. Using of parameters that can be used in measuring
performance in concrete
terms will be best for it. Examples of this are attendance, sales volume,
ticket. sales, recorded feedbacks, and audience size among others. As
mentioned in the previous
discussions, history of the event can be used as a benchmark for the
present event; similarly, the history can be measured by comparing the
results of the two.
Attainable- the objectives must also be attainable. This means
that whatever you want to be achieved in this event should be
possible to be achieved so that stakeholders will be motivated
on it. There is no use of objectives that are impossible to be
attained, so as a manager, be sure that everything is attainable.
Realistic objectives must also be realistic. Realistic in
the same manner that it is attainable, using the resources
available such as the manpower, the time, and the
money.
Time-bound - there should be a specific time as to
when the objectives should be attained. This is another
measure for performance that can happen either in
during the event, immediately after the event, or even
after how many days the event was executed.
Exciting- for the event team to be fully
motivated to attain all the objectives, it must be
exciting. There should be an indicator that the
difficulty in putting all the elements of the event
plan is overcome by the excitement of the team.
Responsible - the objectives must not be centered on earning
profits only. They should be responsible to the environment or
to the community. Some companies as part of their corporate
social responsibility, they satisfy the needs of their people,
their planet or environment and the profit became the last
priority (though to some, this may be
impossible).
 After understanding the characteristics of the objectives,
the next thing to do is to draft your vision for the event. This
should define what kind of event you want to be executed based
on objectives set and taking into consideration the data gathered
by the interview questions.
Thank You.