The art of negotiating event contracts

At times, securing event contracts can sometimes feel like a high-stakes poker game.

Whether it’s negotiating better venue rates, managing tight budgets, or aligning stakeholder expectations, the challenges are numerous and complex.

But effective negotiation skills are crucial for any event organizer.

Join us as we delve into the traditional hurdles faced in event management and discover how mastering negotiation can lead to seamless, successful events.

The role of virtual cards in negotiation

Virtual cards are like digital versions of your regular credit or debit cards, specifically designed for certain purchases or short-term use.

They provide a secure, convenient, and flexible way to handle payments for businesses across many industries.

When it comes to negotiating event contracts, virtual cards truly shine by simplifying the payment process and relieving the burden of tedious admin tasks.

Here are the ways virtual cards can help in negotiations:

• Immediate payment
  Virtual cards let you pay vendors and suppliers instantly, making transactions swift, smooth and hassle-free. This instant payment feature is a big plus when negotiating contracts - showing you're reliable, and building trust with your partner network.
  
  
• Heightened security
  Virtual cards provide an added layer of security by generating unique card numbers for each transaction. This reduces the risk of fraud and unauthorized use, which is particularly important when dealing with multiple vendors and large sums of money.
  
  
• Simplified reconciliation
  With virtual cards, tracking expenses and reconciling payments become more manageable. Each transaction is easily traceable, helping event organizers maintain accurate financial records and streamline the auditing process.
  
  
• Flexible spending limits
  Virtual cards can be tailored with specific spending limits for each transaction. This ensures budget control and prevents overspending, which is crucial for maintaining financial discipline in event management.
  
  
• Automated reporting
  Virtual cards often come with advanced reporting features that automatically categorize expenses and generate detailed reports. This automation reduces the administrative burden on event organizers, allowing them to focus on core tasks rather than manual financial tracking.
  
  

Virtual cards: Masters of data collection

In today's world, having detailed data is your secret weapon – especially when it comes to event negotiation.

Here’s how:

• Better expense tracking and transparency
  
  Virtual cards give you a clear and detailed record of every payment, including the amount, date, and who got paid.
  
  This makes tracking expenses and staying transparent simple. You’ll have a complete picture of where your money is going, which is essential for accurate accounting. Plus, it helps you quickly spot any discrepancies or unusual spending, so you can address them right away.

• More accurate spend data
  
  With virtual cards, you get precise data on your spending habits, which is a game-changer for negotiations.
  
  Knowing exactly how much you’ve spent on things like catering, transportation, and venues means you can spot where to save money and use your spending power to get better deals.
  
  This detailed spending information gives you the upper hand when discussing prices and terms with suppliers, helping you secure the best possible deals and optimize your budget.

Case study: Reducing catering costs with virtual card data

Here’s an example of data and virtual cards in action:

Imagine you run a mid-sized consultancy firm that regularly hosts internal and client meetings, and you’re dealing with high catering costs. By using virtual cards, you gather detailed transaction data over the last six months. This data shows spending patterns like frequent orders for weekly team meetings, monthly management meetings, and quarterly client workshops.

The challenge

From your detailed data, you can see that there is high spending on monthly management meetings, which consistently rack up lunch costs.

Certain vendors are used repeatedly for their reliable service and quality. The data collected includes transaction amounts, showing how much is spent per event and per vendor. It also covers purchase dates, vendor information detailing which vendors are used and how often, and categories of spending that specify the types of food and services purchased.

When you analyze the data, you notice that the monthly management meetings alone account for 30% of the total catering budget, with each meeting costing about €1,200 for lunch. Plus, a significant amount is spent on premium options that might not be necessary for every meeting.

The solution

Armed with this detailed data, you approach your primary catering supplier. You highlight the consistent business you provide and suggest a few ways to optimize costs.

First, you propose negotiating a bulk discount for ordering a month’s worth of meetings at once, given your regular orders.

Next, you choose more cost-effective menu options for internal meetings, reserving premium choices for client-facing events.

Finally, you propose setting up a long-term contract with the supplier in exchange for reduced rates.

The outcome

Thanks to this data-driven approach, you successfully negotiate a 15% reduction in catering costs. This saves you €180 per monthly meeting, totaling €2,160 annually.

Not only does this cut costs, but it also strengthens your relationship with the supplier, making them more invested in providing quality service.

AirPlus solutions for optimizing contract negotiations

AirPlus has a range of solutions to make contract negotiations easier and more effective for event organizers.

By focusing on centralized and secure payments along with data-driven insights, our payment solutions will help you negotiate with confidence.

Here’s how we can help you:

• Centralized and secure payments
  
  AirPlus makes sure all your payments are centralized and secure, ensuring they’re always on time. This reliability helps you build stronger relationships with your suppliers.
  
  When your suppliers trust that they’ll be paid on time, they’re more likely to offer you better terms. This could mean priority service, exclusive deals, or more favorable contract conditions.
  
  

• Data-driven insights
  
  AirPlus also gives you detailed billing data to help with smarter negotiations. This data shows you exactly where your money is going, making it easier to find ways to save.
  
  For example, if you notice a big chunk of your budget is spent on one thing, you can focus on negotiating better rates for that.
  
  Knowing your spending patterns also lets you come up with creative negotiation ideas, like bundling services together or setting up long-term contracts that work well for both you and your suppliers.

Virtual cards and data: the answer to your negotiation challenges?

Virtual cards and detailed data are key to improving your negotiation outcomes. 

You’ll bring timely payments, clear insights into spending patterns, and cost-saving opportunities to your processes, which, in turn, will strengthen your supplier relationships.

Want to speak in more depth about your negotiation challenges? Get in touch with an expert team to talk it through.