10 Questions to Ask Your Event Management Company Before You Sign

Choosing the right corporate events partner is one of the more consequential decisions you’ll make for your business calendar. The wrong choice costs time, money, and — if it goes wrong on the night — your professional reputation. Knowing the right questions to ask your event management company before you commit can save you all three.

The questions to ask your event management company — and what good answers look like

Here are the ten questions to ask your event management company before you sign anything.

1. Who will be my main point of contact?

Some agencies sell you on a senior name, then hand you to a junior coordinator you’ve never met. Ask specifically who you’ll be dealing with from brief to delivery — and whether that person will be on-site on the day. At Meji Media, the person you speak to at the start is the person in the room when it matters.

2. Have you delivered events at this scale before?

A company that’s brilliant at 50-person dinners may not be the right fit for a 400-delegate conference — and vice versa. Ask for examples at your specific scale, not just a portfolio of everything they’ve ever done. Numbers and venue names matter here. Vague answers don’t.

3. What venues do you have established relationships with?

Agency relationships with venues mean better rates, better access, and fewer surprises. An agency that’s delivered events at the ICC Birmingham, the London Palladium, or venues in your target city will know exactly what those spaces can and can’t do. That knowledge is worth a lot when you’re planning something that has to go right.

4. How do you handle last-minute changes on the day?

Things change. Speakers pull out, AV fails, guest numbers shift. What you’re really asking is: how does this team perform under pressure, and do they have the relationships and experience to solve problems fast? Ask for a specific example of something that went wrong and how they dealt with it. An agency that’s never had anything go wrong hasn’t done enough events. An agency that can’t tell you how they fixed it isn’t one you want running yours.

5. How is your pricing structured — and are there supplier markups?

Some agencies charge a flat management fee. Others take a percentage of total spend, or mark up supplier costs significantly. Neither model is inherently wrong, but you should understand exactly what you’re paying for before you sign anything. Ask for a breakdown, not just a total.

6. Can you share case studies from similar events?

Not testimonials — case studies. Specifically: what was the brief, what did they deliver, and what was the outcome? Any agency worth working with should be able to show you real examples with real detail. If they can only offer generic quotes, that tells you something.

7. How will you manage logistics on the night?

Event management on the day is a different skill set from pre-event planning. Ask who’s running the floor, how they communicate with venue staff and suppliers, and what the escalation process is if something goes wrong mid-event. You want to know that someone is in charge and accountable — not just coordinating emails from an office. On-the-night delivery is where reputations are made or lost. The best agencies treat the day itself as the main event, not the finish line.

8. What does your planning process look like from brief to delivery?

A good agency should be able to walk you through exactly how they work: how they handle the initial brief, how they keep you updated, how decisions get made, and how they ensure nothing gets missed. Look for a process that’s clear, structured and transparent — regular check-ins, shared documentation, and someone who’s accountable at every stage. If the answer is vague or they’re winging it in the meeting, that’s probably how they run events too.

9. How do you approach AV, production, and technical delivery?

AV and production are where a lot of events fall apart — and where a lot of agencies outsource without taking proper ownership. Ask whether they manage AV in-house or through trusted suppliers, whether they do a technical run-through in advance, and who is responsible if something fails. The answer should be unambiguous.

10. What happens if something goes wrong?

This is the question most people don’t ask, and the one that tells you the most. A confident, experienced agency will have a clear answer: a contingency plan, a track record of problem-solving, and a direct line of responsibility. If the answer is evasive, you’ve found something important before you’ve signed anything.

These are the questions to ask your event management company before you commit to anything — and the right agency should be able to answer every one of them without hesitation, and with specifics, not generalities. If they can’t, keep looking.

At Meji Media, we’ve delivered corporate events from 20-person leadership days to 400-delegate international conferences — and we’re happy to answer all ten of these questions in a conversation before you commit to anything.

Wondering if we’re the right fit? Let’s have a conversation →