Key takeaways
- The corporate calendar decides when to call, so map each target's year.
- Different events have different owners: marketing, HR, internal comms or sales leadership.
- A company that ran an event last year will probably run one again.
- Preferred supplier lists and clients' hospitality policies are the gates to pass.
Who books corporate events
Corporate events are booked by whoever owns the event's purpose. A dedicated event manager or head of events books in larger companies. Elsewhere, marketing operations or field marketing books conferences and launches, the people team books internal events and parties, internal communications books town halls, and sales leadership books the kick-off.
Executive assistants often organise leadership offsites and have more say than their title suggests. Procurement controls the preferred supplier list.
How does the corporate calendar drive timing
The corporate calendar drives timing because each event is planned months before it happens. A sales kick-off at the start of the financial year is planned in the previous quarter; a year-end party venue is often chosen in the summer.
Map each target's year. The financial year end, published in its accounts, tells you when the kick-off falls. Last year's posts and photos tell you which events it runs and roughly when.
Which event management leads are worth chasing
The event management leads worth chasing are companies with recurring events and a reason to change supplier. Recurring events give repeat work; a one-off rarely does.
- Companies that publicly ran a kick-off, conference or party last year
- Companies whose headcount has grown enough to outgrow last year's venue
- A new office opening or a milestone worth marking
- A new event manager or head of internal communications
- A merger that brings two teams together for the first time
How to get corporate event clients onto a preferred supplier list
Getting onto a preferred supplier list means passing procurement's onboarding before the next brief goes out. Expect requests for public liability insurance, health and safety documents, sustainability practices and how you handle attendee data, which you often process on the client's behalf.
Be careful with hospitality during the sale. Many companies have gifts and hospitality policies, written with bribery law in mind, that limit what their staff can accept, so offer prospects a visit to an event you are running rather than lavish tickets. Confirm the detail with your adviser.
How an event company finds corporate clients, step by step
Work a few months ahead of the events you want to win.
- Choose the event types you deliver best, such as sales kick-offs or year-end parties.
- List companies that ran those events last year or are growing fast.
- Work out each company's planning window from its financial year and past events.
- Name the person who owns that event: events, HR, internal comms or sales leadership.
- Contact them before the planning window with one idea for their next event.
- Start procurement onboarding early so you can bid when the brief arrives.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityResearch & analysisAsk an assistant to read a company's news and public posts about past events and set out its likely calendar, with numbered citations.
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsUse Find fresh leads for event managers, people leads or internal communications heads at up to ten named companies in a location.
- CapabilityOutreach contentPlan a multi-touch campaign of up to seven touches; each email is saved as a draft in your connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox and you send it when the date arrives.
Common questions
When should you pitch a year-end party?
Well before the autumn, because popular venues and dates go early. Many companies choose their venue in the summer.
Do event agencies need to be on preferred supplier lists?
For larger companies, usually yes. Start onboarding before a brief arrives, because it can take weeks.
Is offering free event tickets to prospects a good idea?
Check first. Many companies limit the hospitality their staff can accept, so an invitation to see your work in action is often the safer offer.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
