Selecting the right event production partner is critical. The questions you ask not only clarify a partner's capabilities and expertise but also establish the groundwork for a successful collaboration.
At SEQ, we always prioritize a collaborative experience that meets the specific needs of your event and brand. We view our relationship with clients as an extension of their teams, bringing specialized expertise, fresh perspectives, and a commitment to ease your planning process.
Regardless of who you’re working with, here are 10 crucial questions to ask potential event partners during your initial meetings and RFPs:
- Why should I hire an external event team?
The truth is, many companies assign event planning duties to employees with other primary roles—leading to a planning process that can be more stressful and time-consuming than it needs to be. External event teams like SEQ bring extensive, diverse experience from across the industry, which translates into creative ideas, established vendor relationships, and logistical efficiencies that significantly enhance the success of your event. - What’s your experience with companies like ours and events like this, and can you share successful case studies?
It’s crucial to know whether a potential partner has a track record of success with companies and events like yours. Any agency you meet with should be ready to share case studies that not only demonstrate their capabilities, but also provide concrete examples of how they’ve successfully managed similar events—giving you peace of mind that they can deliver on our promises. - Tell us about your process.
We love this question so much, we wrote a whole blog series about it! (Check out parts one, two, and three here.) In our case, we’re a proudly a strategy-first agency, which means that everything we do is seen through the lens of “why?”—why this event and why now? That means our process involves asking a LOT of questions of a lot of stakeholders! A clear understanding of an event agency’s planning process and stakeholder management strategies ensures that our methods align with your expectations and needs. - What’s your communication style?
Effective communication is essential, especially when dealing with something as dynamic as event planning. Knowing how an event team communicates, both internally and with clients, can help you gauge how responsive and transparent they are. Do they use tools like Slack, Google Suite, or Monday.com that you’re familiar with? Do they have experience working across timezones? These questions are important to ensure communication styles and personalities mesh well! - Can you describe a challenging event situation you’ve managed?
Every event agency wants to brag about their problem-solving skills. In SEQ’s 14 years in business, for example, we’ve encountered just about every challenge in the book, and learned a great deal about what to do (and what not to do!). Even the most well-planned events face the inevitable curveballs, whether it's unexpected weather, security issues, missing deliveries, you name it. An event partner’s ability to adapt under pressure is crucial. - How do you cultivate vendor relationships? Are you familiar with vendors in our market?
Events are a team sport, and building a robust network of reliable vendors—from florists and photographers to caterers and audiovisual experts—is crucial. Knowing how your event partner manages these relationships can indicate their ability to negotiate the best terms and ensure seamless event execution. Questions about where the agency has worked, how they handle events in markets other than their own, ways they cultivate industry connections, and more are crucial here. - How do you ensure the event stays within budget?
While it's exciting to dream big, the best event professionals know how to balance visionary ideas with the practical realities of budget constraints. At SEQ, our budgeting process begins with the comprehensive discovery phase. We discuss what’s essential and what’s optional with our clients, helping them make informed decisions about decor, venue, programming, and more, all while adhering to their budget. - How do you measure the success of an event?
Knowing how an event partner measures success is essential to ensuring that your objectives are aligned and that you can expect tangible outcomes from your event. This is also a great opportunity for you to share your own markers of success. Does the agency use surveys, and/or build in ways to track metrics throughout the experience? How do they work to tie these metrics back to company objectives? - Are you open to an ongoing partnership?
While it’s not always possible, we believe some of the best results come from ongoing collaborations. At SEQ, we’re proud to plan multiple events per year for clients like GumGum, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Fund Finance Association, and many more. Being integrated into your year-round marketing strategy allows an event partner to design and produce events that are not just memorable stand-alone occurrences but pivotal moments that enhance your overall brand strategy. - What sets your team apart from other event production companies?
Ah, the all-important “it” factor! We’d love to tell you about what makes us unique—our approach to creativity, our commitment to sustainability, our dedicated team, and so much more. These initial conversations are a key place to tell your event partner all the things that are most important to you, and make sure you align in your values and passions.
Choosing the right event production partner is about ensuring a fit not just in capabilities, but also in collaborative chemistry and shared values. Want to see if SEQ is the right for your next project? Let’s connect.