A word of advice one of the planners brought to my attention...when going to these websites that ask you for information and what information you want, many professionals will not answer many of the requests with responses such as "just researching," "looking around," "getting quotes" or any of those. The reason you may be wondering why there may not be many professionals responding to these requests are that they cost money! As much as we would like to purchase all these leads, we may not always be able to due to various reasons:
-Incomplete information
-The information may not be valid
-The information given may be duplicated from another site you registered on
-Some leads rovided could cost anywhere upwards of $20 each!
And more...
One of the things we mention is try one website first that seems to be more of one of the popular sites(weddingmall.com, sanantonioweddings.com; your local convention visitors bureau, etc...) or the local area you're in. Google and Yahoo searches are always popular as well, but you may not find the professional you're looking for as only about 10% of planning professionals are able to advertise for whatever reason. This does not always mean quality, it could just mean that the professional is always booked and could actually mean they are more expensive than others.
Wait a few days or even a week or so and see who responds. As a professional opinion, I would say you want at least 5 choices from each area. This gives you a good idea of the ability and where the price range should be. It gives you a better idea of the market pricing so you know that any price you get in this range is fair.
If you do not receive the amount of quotes you want, try another site a few days later and always enter the same information! Never change your mind or the information about your event in hopes of getting different vendors to call you. This could open the door to vendors who are not in your league and waste time on both ends.
Want a good reason why you should always have a planner on your side?...Remember, who does more business and who can give more business to other businesses...the planner! A planner will almost always be able to get a better deal just beacuse the vendor wants repeat business from the planner. Whether your planner decides to mark this up(which about 90% do) is up to them and the agreement you have(CRE8AD8 doesn't do this).
Always be honest about your budget as well when entering these sites! As it is in a marriage and being up front and honest about your finances, this must also be true for the professionals working on your event. We want to shoot for the right stuff in the right price range in the right way all the time. If you give us a low budget, well find the budget professionals which may not be what you want. If you give us a high budget, we'll find the high-end professionals(which could be one-in-the-same) to give it to you. Our goals as event professionals should always be your best interest. It should not be what our vision is...it should be what you want. A great planner will always tell you how it is and how it needs to be. it may not be fun to hear, but this is why you brought us on board...to give you what you want for the price you want!
If you want the professionals to contact you by E-mail, remember...check your spam box! It's amazing how much e-mail goes to spam these days. We really want to reach out to you as soon as possible and if you don't know that we've done so...it could change the outcome of your event! We always like phone as well and don't be afraid to reach out to our e-mails first as well. It shows you mean business, are serious about planning smart and we're always more inclined to move you to the top of our lists since you took the time to research us!
Always remember, no matter the title(s), testimonials, certifications, position on a website, age, flashy website, etc...it all comes down to personality and experience! A good mix is always preferred and easy to work with. Testimonials are not always accurate and sometimes paid for by the planner. A referral is always the best route and references are always good. The higher reference the better. It builds credibility and you know they have experience with large budgets and money management of funds.
Remember, quantity does not equal quality!
Greg
-CRE8AD8.com
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