“You need to understand, from a planner’s perspective, what fees will remain unchanged, even if the number of attendees fluctuates, unless there’s a significant increase in your workload,” says May Yeo Silvers. In this episode, she addresses a common dilemma for event planners: whether to reduce fees when a client’s guest count changes. Drawing on her experience, May explains that while tangible costs like food and decor may fluctuate with the number of attendees, the essential planning tasks—such as venue sourcing, contract negotiations, and vendor coordination—remain constant, regardless of event size.
She emphasizes the importance of educating clients about this distinction, helping them understand that the time and expertise involved in planning an event are consistent, whether it’s for 10 or 1,000 people. By doing so, planners can ensure their fees reflect the true value of their work, avoiding the pitfall of reducing prices when the workload hasn’t changed. May encourages event professionals to confidently stand by their pricing, while also being transparent about when adjustments may be justified for specific, tangible services.
Quotes
• “If you need me to source for a venue, the work of sourcing the venue is still the same. It doesn’t matter whether I’m sourcing for 10 people or 1,000 people.” (03:02 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “Your fee in terms of planning and designing will not go down because these are intangible services. That means they can’t really see an actual product. It’s a service that you provide.” (03:56 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “The only thing that the numbers will fluctuate will be the actual product. The food and beverage cost will go down because you’re feeding less people.” (05:15 | May Yeo Silvers)
• “You need to understand, from a planner’s perspective, what fees will remain unchanged, even if the number of attendees fluctuates, unless there’s a significant increase in your workload.” (07:26 | May Yeo Silvers)
Make sure you go to the show notes and follow me on social media to learn more strategies about how to thrive in the competitive events industry!
Links
Connect with May at: [email protected]
Website: www.mayyeosilvers.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayyeosilvers/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayyeosilvers
IG: www.instagram.com/mayyeosilvers
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mayyeosilversofficial
FB private group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/events4anyone
