Questions to Ask a Corporate Event Entertainment Vendor

I recently booked an event with a new client, and it’s going to be a big one: 300 people for a gala trivia fund raiser, featuring fully-customized questions and emceed by celebrity comedian and TrivWorks “Special Host” Christian Finnegan! The event is a pretty big deal for the client producing it – not only will they be expecting it to be attended by their core constituency and key stakeholders, but it is representing an extremely proud, well-known organization. I was tremendously honored when they approached me to help be a part of it, and elated when they gave the final “green light” – however, before doing so they had some questions to ask of me… and understandably so.

Any event which you produce – be it employee team building, NYC corporate entertainment, brand engagement or fundraiser such as this – requires that you, the organizer, do your due diligence. Is the gig important to you? Do the attendees hold a certain level of expectation? If so, then the planner MUST take care to be exhaustive in their vendor search, and thorough in their vetting; especially when the audience will include loyal clients, high-performing employees and/or valued donors, you want to ensure that the program and its content reflects well on you, your bosses, and the organization as a whole. Click here for a list of questions to ask your prospective event entertainment vendor before bringing them on-board.

During the exploratory phase of the aforementioned gala, the person who initially found/made contact asked if I would speak with another of the decision makers – a 2^nd interview, if you will. They both sounded extremely excited with the possibilities, as was I, but naturally there were some more queries to be asked. I’m used to this, of course – professional trivia hosting isn’t exactly part of the cannon of traditional group activities, and even though it may look great on paper (or screen), unless the person making the final determination has actually experienced what I do firsthand, signing up with non-conventional vendor like TrivWorks can sometimes feel like taking a bit of a risk.

Again, I am well versed in this, having had innumerable iterations of what is basically the same handful of questions time and again since hanging out my shingle in 2009. What it typically boils down to is:

• What exactly will you be doing?
• How customized will it be?
• Is it like a game show?
• What kind of trivia questions will you be asking?
• How inclusive/engaging is it?

Delving a bit deeper, what people REALLY want to know is:

• Will it be FUN?
• Can I trust you in front of my group?
• Is this the right fit for my group/culture?
• Will you reflect well on me, my boss and my company?

In my conversations with prospective clients, I assuage their concerns quickly. I addition to a thorough overview of exactly what the can expect once they retain my services, I also share my list of distinguished clients whom I have had the honor of working with over the years, testimonials from people who have had a positive experience with me, and favorable press coverage in top-tier media including The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Entrepreneur, Successful Meetings, BizBash and more. I am also more than happy to provide references from satisfied clients within the same field, in order to provide additional assurance that they are in good hands.

This client of which I speak, I gave them all of this – and the decision maker was ALMOST put at ease. However, she had one final question for me before moving forward, which I thought was so clever and smart that I have devoted an entire blog post (with this long-winded lead-up) to it:

“What feedback have you received from past clients about how things could have been done differently?”

I truly appreciated this question, which I let her know right upfront before answering. And I meant it. Why? Because it’s incredibly easy for me to say to a prospect, “everything goes perfectly,” “I’ve never had any problems,” “my clients love me,” “look at all this great press/brands I’ve worked with,” etc. However, here’s someone whom I haven’t even rendered my services for, asking me to give her the perspective of a discerning past client.

That’s really smart.

What did I tell her, you’re wondering? I said that the one area of feedback I’ve received over the years with a fair degree of consistency has been from repeat clients, who wished to see a diversity of offerings TrivWorks can bring to their groups. My response to this has been to add a variety of new hosts and experiences to our trivia events, including not just Christian, but magician Ryan Oakes, NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan and former Double Dare host Marc Summers, as well as our new trivia/mixology and trivia/karaoke experiences.

I honestly think this is the best question an inquiring client has ever asked me, since it not only shows prescience and an interest in long-term commitment (which of course I am interested in as well), but because it forced me to pause and think: “what HAVE I been asked to do differently from those who have already hired me, who want an even MORE enjoyable and memorable experience next time?”

To learn more about how we create fun and memorable experiences for corporate groups of all types, follow this link!