You’ve probably heard of the ubiquitous TV show Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy. On the show, children are forced to swap mothers and husbands must adjust to the Faustian contentions of a new “spouse”, often resulting in a resounding crescendo of disagreement and acrimony. What does this have to do with events you might ask? More than you can possibly imagine.
Often you have to rob Peter to pay Paul; in other words, you must ask one sponsor for one type of service and be adequately prepared to trade this service to another sponsor for what you actually want. An example of this would be asking a radio station for airtime and then turning around and selling that time to a retail store in exchange for sponsorship money. This is crucial to the success of any event: being flexible will help you get things done and in turn help you please your new mommy (the Goddess that is the event).
However, there is the alternative of not being cooperative and flexible with your new mommy. There will be a number of arguments as well as brothers and sisters (associate producers, publicists, hotel staff, exhibitors) getting in your face about what should be done. Without the proper sponsorship monies going to the correct places the end result can be summed up in one word: terrible. Letting the professionals deal with Mommy for you will save you time and aggravation, but expect to pay a steady commission in lieu of feeling the pain.
Good news is, professional event managers can often obtain additional sponsorship opportunities at far higher financial levels than you could negotiate on your own. It’s much like retaining a lawyer for a personal injury case—and just like lawyers, we can tango with Mommy and wind up still living and breathing on the other side. It’s like meeting the prototypical daddy, the only one that can keep Mommy and her charges, from exhibitors to registrants, in line.
Who’s your daddy? Well, we hope it’s CrowdConnect.