Jill Langman, vice president of corporate events for the account management group of the investment firm BlackRock Inc., plans more than 100 events a year, ranging from small dinners to out-of-town conferences. "My attitude is it doesn't hurt to ask. I'll just say, 'Is your price negotiable?' So many times a vendor says, 'OK'—they've already padded it. It's shocking to me the number of times that people just say, 'OK.' Even if I can't get them to bring down their price, I'll ask, 'What else can I get for that price?' I'll ask for a food and beverage upgrade or longer hours of service—it depends on the type of vendor. For food, I might see if they will add sushi, upgrade the meat, or give two choices of entrée. For the bar, maybe they will add specialty drinks such as martinis or cosmopolitans. For other vendors, I might ask for another half-hour of their time."
Trey Moynihan is the corporate membership program manager at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. "Sometimes I negotiate better rates with vendors by promising them work on a larger event with a larger budget in the future. This can be a formal and contractual arrangement, or a more casual kind of reciprocity—like I might recommend them for work on other events going on at our venue. If you know ahead of time the kinds of events you're doing in a given year and you can contract for a number of them at once, you are likely to get a better deal. It may be crucial for a vendor's budget that he knows about all that work ahead of time. In general, you've got to be straight with people and have integrity—people in this business have long memories."
Kristall Lutz oversees negotiations for more than 50 events ranging from small seminars to industry conferences for the Magazine Publishers of America, where she is the senior meeting manager. "Good negotiating comes down to experience. Every time I order something—whether it's an event space, premiums, or an event-related service—I learn something new that is essential in negotiating that particular type of contract. For instance, it's important to know that a conference center operates differently from a hotel. When you purchase premiums, you have to understand that a vendor will include an over/underrun [margin of error] in the contract—that's when a vendor makes a little more or less than you need. A standard figure in my experience has been 3 or 4 percent. Recently I received a contract for staff apparel with 10 percent over/underrun. That was completely unacceptable—I needed a certain number of shirts for my event staff—and after we talked about it, the vendor agreed. Make sure you fully understand the contract you are signing, question anything that seems unfair, and remember that everything is negotiable."
Mia Klassy plans more than 200 events as director of creative services at Evins Communications, a branding, PR, and marketing agency where she works with hospitality, food, spirits, fashion, and travel clients. "The relationships that you make with everyone you come in contact with—whether it's the caterer or the person who delivers the glasses—are really important. The people who work in a company for a long time usually move up, and the person that you treat well at the bottom remembers that when he or she moves up. The individuals who treated me nicely when I was at the bottom I call now, and I give them a lot of business."
Gayle Jackson Menk was an in-house planner at Blue Cross Blue Shield, and now has her own business, Enchanted Events. "When it comes to booking hotels for meetings and larger conferences in advance, you always want to be sure to secure this year's pricing on rooms, and especially on food and beverage. Most conferences book at least six months in advance or more to secure great rates and space, but if, in the meantime, the year rolls over to the next, hotels often upgrade their menu pricing to adjust to rising food costs. Be sure to negotiate into the contract that you will receive the current year's pricing."
Candace Purdie Montgomery is the director of special events for Essence magazine, and plans about 25 events each year. "Essence is part of a larger organization [Time Inc. owns Essence Communications Inc.], so we have a lot of sister publications, and we have an internal organization called our events council. If we bring vendors into our council meetings, often they'll give us better deals on our bills because they know there's a lot of business involved—more than just one event. Anyone can do this: you can bring a vendor into a meeting to present to a larger group made up of event managers and production people. You might do this at a meeting for a professional association of event planners, for example. You're putting a vendor in front of other people who have the power to book contracts, and that gives you leverage."
H. Tony Berger, president of the event marketing and production firm Relevent, produces more than 50 events per year, including film premieres, fashion shows, and cocktail parties. "In this business, so much comes down to relationships—those with clients, as well as with vendors. The trick is learning how to balance the interests of my clients, which is always the best service at the best price, while also maintaining my relationships with vendors and protecting their right to make a living and a profit. It's a delicate balancing act. But when I do it well, vendors are more inclined to give me a fair price, especially when there has been repeat business, and I pass those cost efficiencies on to the client."
Rachel McQueen is an account director at First Protocol, a firm that plans events, meetings, and conferences. "We tend to work with the same vendors and have really built relationships with them over the years, so they're more willing to work within a budget and cut prices because they know more business is coming. Also, it's good to know a lot about what vendors' real costs are. On our staff we have someone from the design industry and someone from the catering industry, so that helps us know what fair prices are. You know that sometimes the markup is 50 percent or even 100 percent. If I'm meeting with a new vendor, and I know there's a markup, I'll ask, what do they need to make a profit, and how can we cut back on that? It's knowing the industry and knowing what you can pull off."
—Alesandra Dubin & Chad Kaydo
Posted 07.05.05
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Trey Moynihan is the corporate membership program manager at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. "Sometimes I negotiate better rates with vendors by promising them work on a larger event with a larger budget in the future. This can be a formal and contractual arrangement, or a more casual kind of reciprocity—like I might recommend them for work on other events going on at our venue. If you know ahead of time the kinds of events you're doing in a given year and you can contract for a number of them at once, you are likely to get a better deal. It may be crucial for a vendor's budget that he knows about all that work ahead of time. In general, you've got to be straight with people and have integrity—people in this business have long memories."
Kristall Lutz oversees negotiations for more than 50 events ranging from small seminars to industry conferences for the Magazine Publishers of America, where she is the senior meeting manager. "Good negotiating comes down to experience. Every time I order something—whether it's an event space, premiums, or an event-related service—I learn something new that is essential in negotiating that particular type of contract. For instance, it's important to know that a conference center operates differently from a hotel. When you purchase premiums, you have to understand that a vendor will include an over/underrun [margin of error] in the contract—that's when a vendor makes a little more or less than you need. A standard figure in my experience has been 3 or 4 percent. Recently I received a contract for staff apparel with 10 percent over/underrun. That was completely unacceptable—I needed a certain number of shirts for my event staff—and after we talked about it, the vendor agreed. Make sure you fully understand the contract you are signing, question anything that seems unfair, and remember that everything is negotiable."
Mia Klassy plans more than 200 events as director of creative services at Evins Communications, a branding, PR, and marketing agency where she works with hospitality, food, spirits, fashion, and travel clients. "The relationships that you make with everyone you come in contact with—whether it's the caterer or the person who delivers the glasses—are really important. The people who work in a company for a long time usually move up, and the person that you treat well at the bottom remembers that when he or she moves up. The individuals who treated me nicely when I was at the bottom I call now, and I give them a lot of business."
Gayle Jackson Menk was an in-house planner at Blue Cross Blue Shield, and now has her own business, Enchanted Events. "When it comes to booking hotels for meetings and larger conferences in advance, you always want to be sure to secure this year's pricing on rooms, and especially on food and beverage. Most conferences book at least six months in advance or more to secure great rates and space, but if, in the meantime, the year rolls over to the next, hotels often upgrade their menu pricing to adjust to rising food costs. Be sure to negotiate into the contract that you will receive the current year's pricing."
Candace Purdie Montgomery is the director of special events for Essence magazine, and plans about 25 events each year. "Essence is part of a larger organization [Time Inc. owns Essence Communications Inc.], so we have a lot of sister publications, and we have an internal organization called our events council. If we bring vendors into our council meetings, often they'll give us better deals on our bills because they know there's a lot of business involved—more than just one event. Anyone can do this: you can bring a vendor into a meeting to present to a larger group made up of event managers and production people. You might do this at a meeting for a professional association of event planners, for example. You're putting a vendor in front of other people who have the power to book contracts, and that gives you leverage."
H. Tony Berger, president of the event marketing and production firm Relevent, produces more than 50 events per year, including film premieres, fashion shows, and cocktail parties. "In this business, so much comes down to relationships—those with clients, as well as with vendors. The trick is learning how to balance the interests of my clients, which is always the best service at the best price, while also maintaining my relationships with vendors and protecting their right to make a living and a profit. It's a delicate balancing act. But when I do it well, vendors are more inclined to give me a fair price, especially when there has been repeat business, and I pass those cost efficiencies on to the client."
Rachel McQueen is an account director at First Protocol, a firm that plans events, meetings, and conferences. "We tend to work with the same vendors and have really built relationships with them over the years, so they're more willing to work within a budget and cut prices because they know more business is coming. Also, it's good to know a lot about what vendors' real costs are. On our staff we have someone from the design industry and someone from the catering industry, so that helps us know what fair prices are. You know that sometimes the markup is 50 percent or even 100 percent. If I'm meeting with a new vendor, and I know there's a markup, I'll ask, what do they need to make a profit, and how can we cut back on that? It's knowing the industry and knowing what you can pull off."
—Alesandra Dubin & Chad Kaydo
Posted 07.05.05
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
