When a client says it is just a small event, experienced planners hear a warning. Here is how to protect yourself.
There are few phrases in this industry as quietly dangerous as it is just a small event. It is usually said to make the job sound easy, the budget sound reasonable, and your price sound negotiable. Every experienced Nigerian planner has been humbled by these four words at least once.
What small often turns out to mean
Small rarely describes the guest list. In practice, it often means the budget is small, but the expectations are not. The fifty-guest intimate dinner becomes a one hundred and twenty guest affair when the extended family hears. The simple gathering needs the same planning, the same vendors, and the same twelve-hour day as a big one, just with less money to do it.
Small usually describes the budget, never the expectations. That gap is where planners get hurt.
Why it happens
It is not always manipulation. Clients genuinely do not know what an event costs to run properly. They see the pretty result, not the logistics, the contingencies, the hours. When they say small, they are describing their mental picture, not the actual scope of work. Your job is to gently close the gap between the two before you agree to anything.
How to protect yourself
- Never quote from the word small. Quote from the actual details: guest count, venue, services, hours.
- Ask the specific questions that reveal true scope. How many guests, realistically, if everyone comes. What exactly do you want handled.
- Put the scope in writing, so small cannot quietly expand after you have agreed a price.
- Price the work, not the label. A small event with big expectations is a big event with a marketing problem.
You are not being difficult by asking questions. You are being professional. The planner who clarifies scope upfront is the one who is still smiling on event day.
The kind no
Sometimes the honest move is to say this is achievable, but not at that budget, and here is why. Some clients will adjust. Some will leave. Both outcomes are better than delivering a big event for small money and resenting every hour of it.
The Proposal That Closes
The proposal system that makes corporate clients say yes at your price.
See the The →Suggested caption: It is just a small event. Four words that have humbled every Nigerian planner at least once. New on The Diary: what they really mean, and how to protect yourself.