Where do you start? What can you do to ensure a successful event? How do you know you are making the right decision?

It is questions like these that prompted me to write this report. Having been in the entertainment industry since 1977, I have dealt with a plethora of event planners. The good ones do all the right planning BEFORE the day of the event!

What follows is my list of the top ten things you can do to ensure you hire a quality entertainer, of ANY kind for ANY event!!!

1) Begin with someone you have already seen or someone that has been recommended to you. This is your number one resource by far! If you haven’t personally seen an entertainer that meets your needs, ask your friends, colleagues and family. It is much better to get someone you can trust right from the start. If the entertainer has a promotional video of them in action with a live audience, that will help assure you of their competence; you'll feel confident after seeing them perform.

2) Ask for references and call them! If the performer wasn’t personally recommended to you, by all means do your research! Ask them for references. If they can’t provide you with some or have some excuse as to why they can’t give out names or something ridiculous like that, DO NOT engage this entertainer. Call their references and ask some questions.

3) The next step beyond references is experience. Think of yourself as a Human Resource Director. After all, you are considering hiring this person, even if for a short time. Where have they performed before? What awards or accolades have they received? Are they a beginner or a seasoned professional?

4) Is it age appropriate? This is a question that rarely gets asked but is supremely important! Is the entertainer used to working with your type of audience? Example: He/She may be a wonderful magician and did a great job at little Johnny’s 4th Birthday Party, but this material will not work for your corporate clients. And visa-versa, let’s say he is a great sleight-of-hand artist but if he doesn’t have any experience entertaining children, they will eat him alive! One other HUGE pet peeve of mine is the use of “blue” material. Honestly, this is never appropriate, regardless of the age of the audience. What makes it worse though is the entertainer that thinks it’s OK to throw in some stuff just for the “big kids” that is absolutely inappropriate for children to hear, whether they understand it or not. Ask your prospective entertainer about this and voice your concerns. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this happen and it amazes me at the total disregard some entertainers have for their audiences. We live in a politically correct environment and entertainers need to step up to the times! (Okay, okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now.)

5) What type of set-up is needed? I hate to tell you but, most of this falls on the event planner. It amazes me at how many events I‘ve been to where the planner has paid BIG bucks on entertainment, food, drink, etc. Everything is top-notch but they drop the ball on simple coordination. I’ve seen sound systems not big enough for the room, improper lighting and staging mistakes that seriously distracted from the event. Granted, a true entertainment professional should be able to guide you in the right direction for their needs and what will work best for the facility. Take their advice. A very common problem is to have a stage on one side of the room, the audience on the other and a large dance floor separating the two. This separation will kill a show! There will be no interaction possible and the entertainer will have to come down from the stage to relate with the audience. This will severely hurt timing as well as sight lines for those in the back. A great idea is to have the event staff bring chairs to the dance floor and set-up and theater-type setting. They can quickly be moved back after the show for dessert, awards, dancing etc. Another very common mistake is to not have a stage. **Rule-of-Thumb ** - If you are expecting more than 50 guests, you will need at least a riser. Many more than that, and a stage will be needed. Ask your potential entertainer what they need, what they supply, what they expect and, very importantly, what they think will be needed to make it the best event possible!

6) What do you charge? This is a pretty obvious one. It may be the first thing you ask a prospective entertainer. Be certain to find out if that is the total fee! Some entertainers charge mileage, hotel room, meals and more which is fine, just so long as you know about it in advance and are prepared for it. Nothing will make your accounting department angrier than getting a bill for an expense account they knew nothing about and you unknowingly signed-off on. Worse yet, you end up paying for it. To avoid this type of nightmare, make sure you are fully aware of the charges. **Additional tip ** - Many entertainers offer discounts for local events, multiple bookings, non-profit groups, package deals, etc. It never hurts to ask! You may save your organization some money and end up getting more service in the form of a package. Which brings us to…

7) Do you have any package specials? Most professional entertainers will offer different entertainment packages. Every event is very different and this gives you a chance to match the entertainment to best suit your needs. Whether it be mingling entertainment during the “opening” hour, special gifts from the performer for the attendees, or whatever; ask your entertainer what they can package together to make your event EXTRA special!

8) Hiring an entertainer on price alone. OK, this may not be a question for you to necessarily ask, but it is a MAJOR tip for you in your planning. Every event has a budget. You need to stay within it and meet your needs. But, hiring an entertainer based solely on them being the lowest priced can lead to a disaster. There is an old adage that is very true in this situation and that is, “You get what you pay for!” Sure, some may be over-priced, some under-priced, but it should NOT be your only consideration. If you ask the questions contained here, you should be able to judge whether it is a fair price or not.

9) Do you offer any guarantee? If a performer presents a quality presentation and has enough experience, they should absolutely guarantee their services. Why wouldn’t they? As with any product, the producer should stand behind it! Ask them what they guarantee!

10) And finally, The Top Ten Biggest Decision Event Planners Make When Booking Entertainment is this… call me first for a free event planning consultation! I have been in the business of making events amazingly successful since 1977 and I know what it takes to make it GREAT! I understand how important it is and the pressures you are facing. My job is to put you at ease and present a program that will make you look great – GUARANTEED!!! I realize that every event has different needs and if I am not right for you, I’ll tell you. If you’d like, I will recommend someone that is. Call or email today for your FREE consultation, there is absolutely NO OBLIGATION!