How to maintain a good relationship with your providers

A provider is a qualified collaborator that can help you to make your event a success. It is important to pamper your client but your providers as well as they also have the same goal to want success for your event. Having a trusting relationship with your providers can increase the service quality that you give to your clients.

First contact
The first contact with your providers is important. First impression can says a lot: Was the meeting pleasant? Was the provider enthusiastic and willing to offer alternative solutions? Was he really interested to collaborate with you? Does he have the right qualification for the collaboration? Remember that maintaining a good relationship is important but collaborating with a good provider is just as important. Make sure while managing an event together, you organised both meetings on and off-site with them to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Smart negociation
Negotiation is not an easy task, but a pleasant approach helps to gain confidence from your provider to want to collaborate with you. When negotiating, make sure you communicate clearly that you are in a “partnership” with him on the event and what are the benefits he can get. Listen when he voices a problem and be understanding. When on a tight budget for example, insist that he delivers the most important things while forgoing the lesser ones. It is crucial to have a give-and-take approach.

Get feedback from your providers
Feedback helps to get the best continuous information about your business: where you can improve on and where you strength are.

Get feedback from the guests
Their opinion is valuable, as they have personally experienced the event and their impression can help to make the event better in the future. Take advantage of the Thank-you’s mail to include an evaluation survey. Based on their feedback, you can see how well you have done, if the objectives have been accomplished and where you can improve on for the next event. Share the relevant feedback to your providers too: give credit for the good ones and work on to avoid the same errors for the next event.

Take note of the errors
Prepare a report on the errors conducted and share it with your providers so that they too can learn from the experience and do a better job for the next event. Meet with them and analyse the errors and get solutions together.

Give credits when deserved
Send thank-you notes to your providers to show your appreciation and to share the success of your event together. It is important that they feel implicated as they will offer you even better or more services for the next event.

Your relationship with your providers is like any relationship with any other persons. It needs communication, motivation, and time and efforts to make it work.