How to get corporate clients for your AV or production company
Corporate buyers don’t pick the cheapest production company. They pick the one that looks safest to put in front of their executives. Here’s how to become that company.
Devon Race
3 min read
To get corporate clients, a production company has to look, sell and deliver like a vendor a corporation can safely hire: a professional brand and website that shows comparable work, a named contact who answers fast, proposals written for the people who approve budgets, and a delivery process that makes the event planner look good. Corporate buyers rarely choose on price alone. They choose on risk.
I’ve sold and managed work for Fortune 500 clients, and the companies that win that work aren’t always the biggest or the best equipped. They’re the ones that made the buyer feel the show was handled before it started.
Understand who is actually buying
A corporate event usually has more than one buyer. There’s the event or meetings manager who finds you, a department head or executive who cares how the stage looks, procurement who cares about terms and insurance, and sometimes an agency in the middle. Each one needs something different from you.
The planner needs confidence that nothing will go wrong and that you’ll make their job easier. The executive needs the room to look like the brand. Procurement needs clean paperwork. If your sales process only speaks to one of them, the deal stalls with the others.
Look like the company they want to hire
Before anyone calls you, they look you up. A corporate buyer judges your company by your website and your proposal long before they see your gear. A dated site, phone photos and a one-line quote tell them you’re a rental counter, not a production partner.
Show real corporate work: general sessions, executive stages, breakouts, awards shows. Write about the problems you solve for planners, not only the equipment you own. Make it obvious what you do, where you work and how to start a conversation.
Sell the outcome, then the equipment
Most production proposals are equipment lists with prices. Corporate buyers read them and can’t tell two vendors apart, so they compare totals. A proposal that wins explains the outcome first: what the attendees will see and hear, how the run of show will work, who will be on site and what happens if something fails.
Then the line items. Clear, grouped by area, with labor, trucking and anything else that will show up on the invoice included up front. Surprises on the final bill are the fastest way to lose a corporate account.
Make the planner look good
The real competition for corporate work happens after the first event. Planners rebook the vendor who made their week easier: responsive before the show, calm on site, quick with the final invoice and the paperwork. That’s how one event becomes an annual program, then introductions to other departments.
Build that into how you work. A named project manager, a pre-event call, a written plan, a post-event check-in and a reason to talk again before next year’s budget is set.
Go after accounts on purpose
Waiting for corporate inquiries to arrive is how most companies stay mostly social and small-event. Growing companies build a short target list of accounts, venues, hotels and planners in their market, and work it every quarter.
- The venues and hotels where corporate events in your market happen
- The planners and agencies who book those rooms
- Companies headquartered near you that hold annual meetings, sales kickoffs and customer events
- Past clients who could introduce you to another department or region
Common questions
- Do I need more equipment to win corporate work?
- Usually not first. Most companies can win corporate events with the inventory they have and subrent the rest. What usually holds them back is how they present the company, how they write proposals and how they follow up.
- How do I get on a corporation’s approved vendor list?
- Start with the people who book events there and the venues they use. Deliver one event well, have your insurance and paperwork ready, and ask the planner what their procurement team needs. Vendor lists usually follow a good first event.
- Should I lower my price to win the first corporate job?
- No. Corporate buyers expect professional pricing and are wary of quotes that look too low. Win on clarity and confidence instead, and keep your price so the second event isn’t a fight.
