How to pitch an event at your next budget meeting

However, with marketing and HR budgets being asked to work harder than ever, what is the best way to pitch an event strategy at your next budget meeting? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back…

1. Have a solid idea and set a clear business purpose

If you are excited about the opportunity presented by events, other people will be too. Don’t go into your meeting with a half-baked idea, really think through the concept and link your plan to the company’s broader objectives. Whether the focus is on increasing brand awareness, lead generation, or customer retention, make sure your event aligns with what you know is important to the business this year. When the decision maker sees that your plan supports the company’s mission and goals, they’ll be more inclined to support your budget request and you can get to planning.

2. Fail to plan, plan to fail

Come prepared with a detailed breakdown of your strategy. Include aspects like the event theme, location, targeted audience, marketing tactics, and a comprehensive timeline. Make use of visuals where possible—a well-designed presentation can make a world of difference. Clarity and organisation not only make your plan more understandable but also demonstrate your enthusiasm and commitment to making it happen in a realistic way.

3. Explain how you’ll increase team morale and purpose

People want to know that their role and hard work have a purpose, not just a pay cheque. A well planned and timely event can increase morale across the team, and offers the opportunity to share and celebrate everyone’s hard work, reiterating the essential role that everyone plays in achieving the overall vision for the organisation. Well executed events with a clear purpose serve as a platform for brainstorming and innovation. For instance, hackathons or brainstorming sessions during retreats can give you valuable insights and foster collaborative thinking. By creating opportunities to collaborate in an informal setting, businesses can inspire idea generation that may not have a chance to surface during typical office hours.

4. Show how events bolster collaboration, culture, and connection

Events are an amazing way to bring people together and help colleagues connect, especially if you have a remote team or offices that span different cities or countries. Creating moments for meaningful connection leads to more innovation, lower levels of burnout, and increased attraction and retention of talent, all things that business leaders will be keeping a close eye on in 2025.

5. Display cost vs impact

Here comes the crucial part – conveying value. Provide a detailed breakdown of anticipated expenses and highlight areas where you can save costs. Be prepared to justify every line item and highlight what the return on investment will be. Focus on how your event will reduce employee turnover, increase productivity, attract bright new team members, establish your brand in new or key markets, create a network or add value to existing stakeholders, generating revenue, make memories, and give you great content for your socials! Transparency is key. If your event plan is well thought through and isn’t just a vanity project, your pitch will be more likely to be backed.

6. Focus on learning and development potential

Thriving teams are productive, innovative, and dedicated – and they all have one thing in common; they are focused on growth through learning. Events offer a unique opportunity to be inspired by and learn from external speakers while gaining knowledge from colleagues in the business who you might not interact with day to day. Team up with the ‘Learning and Development’ lead for your business to present the opportunity that investing in events could bring to the organisation across the coming year.

7. Discuss risk management

Show that you’ve thought through any potential challenges and your strategies to mitigate them. Showing that you’ve considered possible hurdles and have backup plans will boost confidence in your approach and it will be more likely that you’ll get the go-ahead over a riskier proposal.

8. Know your numbers

Understand the financial metrics of previous events. Gather data on costs, revenues, attendance, and ROI. Having a clear understanding of the numbers shows you’re serious about planning events that are not only fun but financially sound. Get in touch with the team and we’ll be more than happy to have a chat about your vision and work with you to develop a quote to guide you through where we can offer support, as well as establish figures around external costs like venues and catering, where there is opportunity to save money, and the internal time and resource needed internally to make it happen. Going in armed with all the facts will make everyone around the table feel much more confident that there will be no nasty surprises along the way.

After you’ve talked through your idea be ready for questions. Decision makers may ask more detailed questions about ROI, previous event success, or specific budget lines, all of which we are happy to support you in answering in advance so you go in fully prepared with all the info you need. Answer confidently, and don’t be afraid to admit if you don’t have an immediate answer, offer to find the information and follow up promptly after the meeting.

If you are planning on building events into your 2025 strategy, we would love to discuss your ideas in more detail. To speak to our team contact info@beaconhouse-events.co.uk or call 0191 691 3456.