Event sales executive/manager — Lorna Crowder

Lorna stresses the importance of getting events experience during your degree to help you kickstart your career in events management. Find out more about her role and how it is has developed

What degree course did you study and where?

I studied for a BA Hons Event Management at Birmingham City University.

How did you get your job?

When I graduated, I applied to work at the Hinckley Island Hotel as part of their sales team. I gained valuable experience and knowledge about the industry and event sales there.

After this role, I was offered an event officer opportunity to support a company's events, including their annual conference, meet ups and exhibitions.

From there I applied for my current role at Eventurous, where I could use what I had learned in previous roles and enter the next stage of my career as a sales executive managing client events on the agency side.

What's a typical working day like?

• Loading and processing enquiries from clients, via  phone, emails or Teams. If possible, I like to speak to the client to fully understand their event needs so we can provide the best event solutions for them.
• Creating bespoke proposals and reaching out to suppliers.
• Processing contracts and invoices when a client confirms their event with us.
• Going through final details for upcoming events with clients to ensure a smooth-running event.
• Meetings with clients, venues and operations, etc.
• Finding venues for clients and ensuring they fit with their budget and activities.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My colleagues at Eventurous are supportive and helpful. We pride ourselves on a great internal culture, which we feel reflects onto our clients and their teams during events. We're always looking for new ways to push creative boundaries and I am always learning something new, whether that's figuring out new theming trends or sustainable alternatives for an event.

I also enjoy having the opportunity to work with a range of clients from different industries. It's a great way to meet and build relationships with fellow event professionals, including other agencies and venues, and a perk of the job is being invited to familiarisation trips at difference event spaces.

What are the challenges?

Sometimes it can get quite busy in the office, especially as we  host multiple events a day, every week. Making sure I balance new enquiries with finalising details for existing bookings and ensuring my clients are happy can sometimes be challenging but worth it.

How is your degree relevant?

My degree gave me a good understanding of the different stakeholders and paths  in the industry, including avenues such as marketing, event operations, client management, venue management and project management.

However, having experience is just as valuable. Working in events it is important to get a real sense of what it is like to be there on the day to see your final product.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience this due to Covid. A balance of learning in lectures and being on site is the best way to get a full overview of the industry.

How has your role developed and what are your career ambitions?

My path has allowed me to understand what’s needed operationally from both an agency and venue perspective, which is valuable to delivering excellence for our clients.

As my career progresses, I would love to dive deeper into the event management role by experiencing larger scale events

What advice can you give to others wanting to get into this job?

• Take the time during your studies to gain as much on-site event experience as possible. Most courses have connections where students are invited out onto jobs to help as part of their work experience.
• Get a LinkedIn profile and start your online brand. Connecting with alumni from your university who  studied your course is a great way to open up opportunities and connections online. Connecting with event professionals is also a great way to get a glimpse into the event industry, so you can  get an  idea of what to expect.
• Don't be afraid to get stuck into different roles. Gaining different perspectives, like working in a venue or helping out in operations, can give you a better idea of how things work behind the scenes.

Find out more

• Read all about being an events manager.
• Discover more about event management courses.