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One of the signature traits of event planners is their ability to negotiate. While common, everyday setbacks might put most people into a tailspin, event planners have a knack for handling mini-crises easily. That’s because they’ve faced similar situations on the job, and have come out on top – all through their power of negotiation.

Have AV quotes bamboozled you before? You’re not alone there. And if you don’t understand the quote, it can be tricky to know how to negotiate on the price, or if you hold any power to negotiate whatsoever! The good news is, you do have that power. And all you need to put it into action is a little knowledge, which we’re about to arm you with.

Venue costs represent a sizeable chunk of your event budget… if only there was a way to cut them down without making sacrifices. There is! These 10 top tips will help you negotiate a better deal with venues. Learn how to get discounts and value-adds that will make your chosen venue both more affordable and better value for money. Negotiating like a pro could save you thousands of pounds so never book a venue again without deploying these canny tactics.

At some time in your life you are likely to have been in conflict with someone else – and it can feel really bad can’t it? You probably felt frustrated with the person / people in question, perhaps hard done by and misunderstood. Well what if I was to tell you that psychologists have found that asking yourself a simple question can help you feel better?

Working in corporate events can be a challenge, especially when the senior management team expects magic. Here are a few tips to help you set expectations early and look like a rock star.

Most garden-variety force majeure clauses specify that both parties to a contract can cancel without invoking damages if unanticipated occurrences outside the control of either party make it illegal or impossible to go forward with the event. But that’s not enough in today’s environment, says attorney Joshua Grimes, president of Grimes Law Offices LLC. With today’s 24/7 news cycle and a growing national obsession with the Weather Channel, more attendees are getting spooked by potential events—anything from a hurricane bearing down on Houston to a service workers strike that threatens to shut down an airport—and deciding to skip the meeting several days ahead of time.

If event planners could always handpick our teams, life would be a giant meadow full of frolicking unicorns. But sometimes we get stuck. We get stuck with a crew we don’t get along with or a vendor who doesn’t share our vision. Sometimes, we even have a client who is less than cooperative. But one of the hardest to deal with is a difficult venue. The venue affects every area of our event so it’s hard to ignore differences. Plus, because it has such a huge effect on your event, having a bad relationship with the venue personnel will make it very difficult to have a successful outcome. Here are a few tips to help you improve your relationship with the venue and increase your event’s chances for success.

Social media influencers can be a big driver of sales for your event — if done properly. Here's how to build an influencer program that drives results.

Everyone loses when speakers run long. It’s up to you to rein them in.

Without a clear identification of company values, the phrase “cultural fit” rings hollow. You must define what type of culture you want to take part in.

Speakers are the core of your meeting or conference. Carefully select a speaker to ensure they will engage participants and boost the quality of your event. Here are some tips to developing a positive, mutually beneficial relationship with your speakers.

In this new video, we’re talking about speaker management at conferences.

If there’s one thing that’ll set a meeting professional’s teeth on edge, it’s a costly surprise—especially when it’s one that could have been addressed in the contract up front, and even more especially when it comes to costly attrition. While there are any number of ways to approach attrition in negotiations, here are some strategies that attorney, speaker, and College of Coastal Georgia professor Tyra Hilliard, Esq., PhD, CMP, outlined in a recent MeetingsNet Master Class webinar that can help you negotiate an attrition clause that’s fair to both parties.

Meeting professionals who plan events for international audiences will invariably find themselves having multiple phone conversations with their planning partne

For many event planners, negotiating with venues is just slightly more enjoyable than a root canal. But to make these events happen – especially in a seller’s market – negotiations is a key strategy to getting the venue and budget you need to pull it off. Hotel negotiations don’t have to be difficult, as long as you know the landscape. Here are four tactics to take to the bargaining table that will help you negotiate a killer deal.

Culture differences impact how effective we are as leaders. In our emerging global society, we need to understand how we lead affects those cultures

Budgets are growing for some but not others. You need to show how you can drive money back to pockets. Here are 7 ways to negotiate a bigger events budget.

Here are some event rental savings tips that can help you get what you need without sacrificing your relationship with the party you are negotiating with.