"Don't Go it Alone!" Top 5 Reasons Finding an Events Partner is Strategic
Individuals and companies the event business often immediately associate the word "partnership" with thoughts of less money, too many cooks in the kitchen, more headaches, loss of control, etc.
Isn’t that a bit selfish though?
...And not selfish toward the other company, but selfish to your own organization. It is not what you are LOSING, it is what you are GAINING and that is more business and revenue.
We are not talking formal mergers here. Think of it more as a buddy system that helps all the parties involved.
1. Geographic Bandwidth - You Can't be Everywhere!
You can't be everywhere at once! We've tried! Finding a trusted partner that can help extend your footprint isn't just good for your bandwidth, but it is also good for growing your capabilities. Let's say you have two conflicting requests: one in California the other in Boston... what do you do? Skip the less profitable one and potentially miss future opportunities with that client and in that region? By not finding and engaging with a trusted partner you may lose out on more than just that, it could mean the difference between mistakes that hurt your next opportunity with this client or a vast knowledge of their area to retain them. If you feel that too often you have been in the situation to pick and choose what events you can produce due to lack of resources or geography... then it is time to start considering an event partner.
2. Idea Sharing - Two Heads are Better than One!
Perhaps your organization has been doing things the same way for years. More often than not, that is the reason why your clients trust you and are loyal. They appreciate all your help in problem-solving and helping their vision take flight. Sometimes you need to refresh those solutions from other people in the industry or another perspective. You might be working on a particularly challenging project and seem to not be quite hitting it out of the park like you'd like to. This is a classic example of two heads being better than one. In having a sales background for over 20 years, I can say that this is classic matching. While running sales teams with Fortune 500 clients, all the personalities sometimes did not jive. So I would shuffle the deck so to speak, with salespeople and account executives that I felt would better connect with the account or the client. A different perspective, point of view, and ideas, and it worked. Two event companies collaborating on ideas and personnel can work the same exact way. It is all about making a connection to gain a new client and keep them happy for years.
3. Market Niche and Prowess - Not Everyone can be a "One Stop Shop"
Most event management companies execute their craft very well, or they would not have the clients they have. Clients conduct business with you be use they trust, like, and respect you, but mostly because you do great work for them and exceed all of their needs. However, you cannot be an expert in everything. So why not provide your clients with the very best of all areas of the event world when needed. Let’s say, for example, your team excels at choosing venues, negotiating rates, F&B, conference space, handling registrations, microsites, but then when it comes to A/V, branding, theming, and production it might not be your strong areas. Doesn’t it make sense to partner up with an expert in those fields to make sure that a true EXPERIENCE is created and not just someone managing a bunch of wires? That is when it is time to take a step outside of your comfort zone and enlist a partner who might specialize in that very thing. Our team at Blackstone Productions can speak first hand to these valuable partnerships because we have hand-picked the top talent to deliver a once in a lifetime experience for our partner's clients. The most important thing is putting aside ego and being strategic in what partnerships can help you synergistically achieve your goals.. As the primary event manager it's strategic to relinquish some control to an expert to make sure you deliver to the client the best experience and event possible. Remember, your partner is there to do what they do best, and not have any responsibilities other than impress both the partner and the client equally.
4. Client Sharing - Strength in Numbers
This touches more upon the above topics of discussion, such as geography, niche, expertise, and matching. Perhaps you have acquired clients over the years whose needs and deliverables have changed with regards to budget, personnel, taste, brand, location, etc. You realize that they may not be as good of a fit as they once used to be. Now imagine if you had partners. Maybe their brand, strengths, and capabilities match better with your client's needs and vice versa. It no longer means a possible parting of the ways, but instead a transition within your network so that the client is better served and everyone is still keeping a piece of the revenue.
5. Expansion - Strategic Growth
Success and a path towards it often mean growing your business, your capabilities, and organization. Eventually, your organization will grow. You will have more offices, you will want to travel further to obtain and service more clients and to manage more events. The most strategic way to reach this goal of growth and expansion is through finding and securing trusted partners who can help you synergistically strengthen your capabilities and geographical footprint. Maybe that is when two great companies combine their resources into one. Or maybe they are just still coexisting and keeping more and more clients happy than they ever thought was possible.
Everything that has been discussed is all based off real-life situations that the team at Blackstone Productions have been a part of throughout our own journey. We attribute a large part of our success to these strong relationships we have forged over the last 15 years. If we would not have sought out the strength in partnership, we would have missed out on a large part of business opportunities and vice versa with our partners.
We would be happy to share our stories of some of these real relationships and scenarios from over years. Feel free to reach out to me directly at my contact information listed below as I would welcome the opportunity to speak freely without an agenda on these very relationships. You can also peruse our testimonials elsewhere on our site.
Tony Patete, tony@getblackstone.com, 781-724-7564