Geek out over these 10 details to leverage your events

The Geek Squad arrived right on time. When they walked into our loft, the two so-called geeks appeared to better described as two cool dudes. 

While I pondered the branding of “Geek Squad,” the Cool Dudes got busy disconnecting the water line of our broken refrigerator so they could wheel it out and bring in the new one.

They worked efficiently, thoughtfully, and carefully, paying attention to every detail. The two men were uber fit, with cool black shoes, tattoos, and perfectly shaped hair.

“Nope,” I thought to myself, “they don’t seem like geeks.”

Just two guys proudly doing their jobs.

Then, all of a sudden, out came the straps and levers.

They simultaneously donned 6-inch-wide black straps with giant slide buckles over their necks. Next, they slipped a separate strap under the old frig and slid their respective ends into their buckles. 

Then they blew us away: they lifted the refrigerator a foot off the ground, carried it out the door, and returned with the new one aboard the strap, gently placing it down.

That, my friend, is the power of a lever.

And how I knew we did actually have the Geek Squad.

So, what does this have to do with you?

Way back in early March, I described how you can convert your events into assets and urged you to create SLURP events: successful, leveraged, and unrestricted-revenue (or non-dues revenue) producing.

We talked about how to design successful events. We talked about  the importance of marketing so you attract the right people. And about sponsorship so your events are profitable.

Today, we’re talking about how to leverage your events.

Too often organizations (pre-pandemic) cranked out events as if obligated. Rather than see them as assets, they were expectations.

Consequently, many organizations were in—what one nonprofit leader said to me—the food, entertainment, and sports (golf) business. And those are not the businesses you want to be in.

Instead, you want to see your event as a treasure that can fulfill multiple objectives and is a lever for something greater.

Here are ten ways to use your event as a lever. Because of your event and the lever you create, you are able to:

1. Build a platform
2. Build relationships
3. Generate revenue
4. Create urgency around a topic
5. Expand promotional value if used in a sequence
6. Build anticipation around an announcement
7. Tell richer stories, in three dimensions
8. Expand your community
9. Create a brand experience
10. Fulfill your mission

Or some combination of these elements.

One of my clients created an event to serve two purposes: raise awareness of their work so they could launch an individual giving effort. In short order, the event:

• earned them nearly annual publicity in their city’s major newspaper,
• provided networking and relationship-building opportunities for key funders, influencers, government leaders, and collaborators (plus donors),
• generated a 300% or more return on their investment,
• engaged their board members,
• became the ‘must-attend’ event in the sub-sector, and
• became a heartfelt celebration of their work and that of their field.

And that allowed them to continue achieve new results for greater mission impact.

Where could your organization’s events expand through better levers? 

You don’t need the Geek Squad. Just the focus and strategy to apply the physics of leverage to your events.