By Peter Ward, CEO and co-founder of WeTrack

You’re a busy event organiser but you cannot afford to skimp on hiring the best contractors to manage vital aspects of your event!

(Or perhaps you’re a potential contractor wishing to be judged favourably…)

There are so many different aspects to an event with so many different departments involved. Timescales, budgets and patience are all working to tight restrictions. Your event is precious to you, but those who you contract will make it or break it. So how do you know who to use?

This article lists eight ways by which you can judge these possible contractors before committing a huge part of your event to them!

  1. Reputation

It is always reassuring when you have already heard of a company!

Having a sense of what a company has done previously allows you to gauge what you might expect from them in the future.

This could be tangible – say, online reviews – or it could simply be a name you’ve heard around a few times before.

  1. Brand

Humans are impulsive, and led by the visual – something as simple as a really sharp logo and professional-sounding name can make a difference.

As an event planner, you want to think ‘yes, I am happy to be associated with this company’ – and a huge part of that is the company’s image.

You want your event to be slick and professional, so choose companies that embody those attributes throughout their brand.

  1. Marketing

I mean, you need to know of a company’s existence before you can begin to consider using them…

Marketing is closely aligned to Brand. If you see their ad on Google, or the company appears at the top of a Google search, or they have a professional social media setup, you should definitely feel more inclined to use them!

  1. Contact

They come recommended – surely the best case scenario!

Of course, you can and should do your own due diligence on any company you might end up contracting – but this can give you a real nudge in the right direction.

  1. Website

This is so important here. You need to know exactly what services a potential contractor might provide you.

There is plenty of other information to find; the website is perhaps the best way to garner an overall impression of a company. Find out a company’s way of working, maybe research some previous clients, view staff profiles – all of this can give you an idea of whether this is a company you want to trust with a facet of your event.

  1. Repeat Business

Ahh the beauty of experience… Well, this would make your life easier.

You might have been 100% satisfied with a company the first time, maybe 90% satisfied, 75%…there is a judgement to be made over whether to stick or twist!

Remember, they should improve with experience of your event too…

  1. First impressions

It’s a cliché, but it’s true – those first conversations will form a huge part of your impression of a company and whether you would trust to work with them for your event.

You’re looking for professionalism and confidence. You want to feel like you are talking to a company that knows exactly what to do and how to do it, and one with which you can have a constructive and flourishing working relationship for the duration of the organisation of your event.

Trust is about the company but it’s also about the individuals you deal with – these are the individuals who will ultimately be tasked with running part of your event. You must feel comfortable and confident working with them.

  1. Quality of application

You might run a tender application for all or some aspects of your event. This application would really need to characterise all of the above: professionalism, confidence, experience, skill.

You want a company who knows exactly how it can serve your event and fulfil your demands – let a company convince you!

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So there are WeTrack’s eight tools for judging whether you can trust a contractor to serve you with your event!

The bigger the event, the more important the selection!

Follow the facts and follow your best instincts and you’ll end up with some great companies organising and operating a wonderful event.


By Peter Ward, CEO and co-founder of WeTrack

Adam Parry
Author: Adam Parry

Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.