What to cover in a first corporate event planning meeting

A first planning meeting for a corporate event should leave you with a clear brief: why the event exists, who it's for, how many people, the budget and who signs it off, the date window, the format, and any constraints. Ask who the decision makers are, what success looks like, and what went well or badly at previous editions. End with a first timeline and the next decision to take, and send a written summary the same week.

A seminar to align a team, a launch to impress clients, an annual party to thank staff and a conference to sell all need different choices. Ask what the company wants participants to think, feel or do after the event, and how it will judge whether it worked. Everything else — venue, programme, catering, budget split — follows from this answer.

If some participants will follow remotely, ask how many, which parts of the programme they need, and how they should take part: watching, asking questions, joining workshops. Remote participation changes the venue requirements, the technical crew and the budget, so it belongs in the brief from the start.

Ask for the budget early, even as a range, and what it includes: venue, catering, travel, accommodation, speakers, production, your fee. Find out who approves the budget and the main choices, and how long approval takes. The person in the meeting is not always the one who decides; knowing the chain of approval avoids surprises when a venue option expires.

If the event has happened before, ask for the feedback, the attendance, the budget and what the organisers would change. Ask for the previous programme and suppliers. You'll avoid repeating what didn't work and keep what participants liked.

Work back from the event date and mark the decisions the client must take at each stage. Venues and popular suppliers book up; a late decision can cost the best option.

Ask what could disrupt the event: an outdoor part in uncertain weather, a key speaker with a busy diary, transport strikes, a launch date that might move. Note each risk with a fallback and its cost. A client who sees you've thought about plan B trusts you more with plan A.

Send a written brief within a few days: objective, audience, format, dates, budget range, constraints, decision makers and the timeline. Ask the client to confirm or correct it. This document becomes the reference for every choice that follows and protects both sides when priorities shift later in the project.

Follow the brief with a proposal: two or three venue options with costs, a draft programme, and your fee and what it covers. Book the next meeting to review it while the project is still fresh.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a "First event planning meeting" service, in person or by video, with slots long enough for a full brief. Companies book with their name, email and phone and can write the type of event, the date window and the number of guests in the optional note, which you read in your new-booking email. In the description, list what to prepare: objectives, budget range, previous edition feedback.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. If you need to move a meeting, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.