6 Ways to Utterly Destroy Your Party Planner Career
When it comes to becoming a party planner, there are times when you’re ready to throw in the towel. If you get a bad client, it can be a huge drag on your week. Why should you have to deal with someone who’s ungrateful for your skills?
So what can you do to make them regret ever hiring you? Follow QC’s guide on how to destroy your party planner career, and you’ll be chasing clients away left and right!
1. Pretend you’re an expert
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t earned your party planning certification. One you’ve decided to start a party planning business, go on an advertising blitz! Competition is fierce out there and absolutely everyone lies on their resume. Since it’s already an industry expectation, you’re free to lie extensively about your party planning experience without consequence.
Your potential clients don’t need to know that you have virtually no experience. Say you have 3 solid years behind you and we guarantee you’ll land the event planner job. Don’t worry—you can figure out the rest of the tasks along the way.
2. Fight with your clients
Who do they think they are, leaving negative comments on your website? If they really had a problem with you, they should have told you. You’re not a mind-reader. Besides, the client consultation is when they lay out everything they want from you. They really shouldn’t go about changing their minds after you’ve already got the ball rolling. No take backsies!
You don’t want them or their referrals coming to you, anyways. You’re way better off showing them who’s boss than trying to apologize for their experience. You need to stand up for yourself and send that attitude right back at them. Give them hell!
3. Plan a little not a lot
Why lose sleep fighting to get all the details sorted before the big day? Sticking to the planning budget is hard! If they think it’s so easy, why aren’t they doing it themselves? And if they really wanted that breakfast buffet, they would have come to you with a more flexible budget. They aren’t paying you to haggle with your vendors to get them competitive prices, and you certainly aren’t a magician who can pull money out of thin air.
Going above and beyond for your clients is so 2003. Thankfully, the vague contract you drew up allows you to do the bare minimum of work. After the initial setup, you’re free to coast until you get your check in the mail!
4. Badmouth your vendors
Speaking of vendors, they aren’t always angels either! Sometimes they’re just too much to deal with. It’s not your fault that the florist showed up with a hundred fewer flowers than your clients wanted. And who better to blow off some steam and rant in front of than your clients? They know all about the extent of your hard work and all those involved in the conflict. And once your party planning clients hear your side of the story, there’s no doubt that they’ll be understanding. After all, they’re the reason you have to deal with these annoying vendors anyways.
Plus, due to planner-client confidentiality, they basically can’t tell other industry professionals what you’ve said. So gossip freely—your secrets are safe with them!
5. Show up late
Take our word for it: be fashionably late. Doing so proves that you’re a busy planner who’s super in-demand. If you show up late to every single one of your meetings, they’ll know exactly where they stand on your list of priorities. They say the best way to get new clients is through word-of-mouth. Once they see how popular you are, they’ll give a glowing recommendation of you to all their friends.
Don’t forget that at this point, your clients are basically your friends, anyway. You’re throwing them a party for crying out loud! They understand that a professional like you needs to eat. So take that scenic route and grab a cheeseburger—they can wait.
6. Do the same thing every time.
You’ve probably heard this phrase floating around in the art world: art isn’t original anymore. As an artist in your own right, you shouldn’t be expected to churn out original event after original event. Every one of your clients is the same and wants the same things. They sought you out after hearing about your previous work. This obviously means they loved your old work.
Why stray from tried and true tactics? Recycling the exact same themes, catering, venue, and decor between parties is a great way to save yourself time and effort while still getting paid. Since you’ve successfully executed the event before, it means that it works. Don’t fix anything that isn’t broken.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in a comment!
