5 Elements of a Winning Event Proposal
A good event proposal is easily digestible, well-organized, and concise. Your client may need to share your proposal with multiple people and present it at meetings with other key members of their organization. You want to make sure anyone who sees it can grasp your vision and find the critical information they need. Most importantly, your proposal should showcase the stunning and meticulous work you can carry out.
Whatever you do, make sure your proposals are not cluttered, busy, or overly complicated. Here are five elements you need to include in your event proposal to make a lasting impression.
1. Presentation Matters
You know not to judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to event proposals, you probably should, and your clients definitely will! It's a good idea to put a little effort into the presentation of your proposal. On the cover, make sure you include important information, such as:
- Your Company Name
- Proposal Date
- Client Name
- Event Date
- Event Venue/Location
These details will help you and the client stay organized. It’s easy to get caught up in the glitz and excitement of presenting your event vision, but do not neglect the cover of your proposal. Consider it your first impression — you want it to count!
2. Get Creative
This is where you can really show off your creative event-planning prowess. Try to add as many visuals as possible to help your clients see your overall event design and vision. Half of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing, and at least 65% of people are visual learners.
Of course, you should also include a written summary or storyboard of the event design (or at least a bulleted list of highlights and points), but when it comes to something like a large-scale event, you really need to show rather than tell.
Taking the time to craft a visually appealing and clean presentation of their event on paper will help instill trust that you can deliver on the event day. And let’s face it — explaining event layouts can be confusing. Including a layout diagram showing where these wonderful design elements will be in the event space is a nice touch to help the client visualize everything.
3. What’s This Going to Cost?
You have a few options when it comes to laying out the pricing information. You can break down everything into line items, bundle your costs into sections, or simply list a single total event price. However, putting all of your pricing details into writing is a good practice.
Having this information to reference later will help prevent any misunderstandings or disagreements over the final cost. Plus, clients like to know where their money is going, and keeping pricing information transparent prevents them from feeling like they are being misled or overcharged.
4. Disclaimers
This section of your proposal lays out the important disclaimers up front. You should include information about music licensing and taxes here. There is no need to go into too much detail — your event contract will cover more of the nitty-gritty regarding terms and conditions and other legalese. However, you do want to include anything that could factor into the client’s decision-making process.
5. Personalize It
Once you’ve covered all of the event-specific details, you can include a bit more information about you, your team, or your company. Put in photos of your core team — especially anyone who will be working closely with the client during the execution of the event. Adding some personalization will go a long way toward developing and fostering that all-important connection with your clients. But remember, your clients are busy people. Don’t overwhelm them with too much extraneous information.
Outstanding Event Proposals Win Clients
The more inclusive and succinct a proposal is, the less back and forth you will have to deal with. Once the client has your proposal in hand, try to schedule a follow-up phone call to fully explain your vision and answer any questions they may have.
You never know what will be the deciding factor that makes a client choose you over another event company —- a strong proposal could be your chance to get an edge on your competition.
