Getting Executive Buy-In For Your Events Strategy
Planning
Getting Executive Buy-In For Your Events Strategy
BoomPop Team · 4/23/2025Navigating the event approval process can be daunting, but executive buy-in is key
Event planning can fall to so many different roles and departments within an organization. But whether you’re an executive assistant, Chief of Staff, or member of the HR, people, operations, admin, marketing team (or beyond!), there’s one thing you have in common. No matter who’s doing the planning or managing the event approval process, corporate events like offsites, high-stakes client summits, and internal team-building retreats require a critical step: executive buy-in and budget approval.
Navigating the executive approval process can feel daunting, but at its core, it’s about strategic communication and a deep understanding of your leadership team’s priorities.
So we sat down with BoomPop’s Head of Events, Tavar James, a seasoned leader with extensive experience guiding organizations to create impactful event strategies. As Tavar emphasized in a recent BoomPop blog post on making events strategic, smart event planning isn't just about logistics; it's about directly supporting what’s top of mind for your leadership team—from boosting morale and retention through team offsites to driving revenue with impactful customer events.
The Executive Assistant & Chief of Staff are Key
Tavar emphasizes the crucial role of EAs and Chiefs of Staff in navigating this initial phase of the event planning process. For those who need to navigate the event approvals process for their own teams, budgets, and strategies, working closely with your administrative team is key to the process of getting executive buy-in, so include them in early discussions to drive alignment, which is vital in a successful event approvals process.
His advice for those in administrative professional roles?
“A lot of the initial work of planning an event starts with you—the Chief of Staff or Executive Assistant. The path to executive buy-in and approvals is often through your desk, so don't underestimate your influence and access."
Now, let’s take a look at how to navigate the rest of the executive approval process with confidence.
Laying the Groundwork: Understanding Executive Priorities
Before you even draft an event proposal, take a step back. What keeps your executives up at night? What are the overarching strategic goals of the company? Successful event approval hinges on demonstrating a clear alignment between your event objectives and these broader priorities. Executives are laser-focused on ROI, strategic impact, and the efficient use of resources.
Consider developing "Executive Experience Profiles" that you can use in collaboration with others. These profiles offer invaluable context, helping internal colleagues navigate decision-making points and equipping an external team to understand your executives’ communication preferences, risk tolerance, and KPIs, ensuring event proposals are strategically tailored from the outset. An EA or Chief of Staff’s insider knowledge is invaluable here.
Your Strategic Toolkit for Gaining Executive Buy-in
Speak the Language of Your Exec Team & Focus on ROI: Translate your event goals into tangible, measurable impacts that resonate with your leadership team’s priorities. Use the numbers, terms, and KPIs your executives care about and use in their own presentations, decks, and updates. For example, these may focus on opportunities to fuel innovation and development, strengthen sales performance, bolster team buy-in and motivation, or improve employee morale and retention. Whatever your organization’s overarching goals are, clearly articulating each event’s impact on these goals and establishing a value proposition beyond the event itself is key.
Tailor, Vet & Strengthen Presentations & Talking Points: Make sure every event deck, presentation, pitch, or proposal is fine-tuned for your specific executive team, whether from colleagues, vendors, or providers. The details matter, and it’s worth your time to refine these messages to expedite executive approval!
Tavar advises that EAs and Chiefs of Staff: "Lead the witness. You know your executives' communication styles and potential pain points better than anyone. Use that insight to review presentations and help the event team refine their message for maximum impact."
Be the Informed Bridge: Set up regular, brief syncs with key internal stakeholders and utilize dedicated communication channels. Being proactive allows you to anticipate executive questions and present a united front.
Deliver Information in Bite-Sized Portions: Respect your executives' time by encouraging succinct approval documents and concise updates.
"I'm not a fan of buffet-sized information. Break it down into small bites so they feel like their time is valued. Focus on the 'what,' 'why,' and 'what's next' in brief formats," Tavar said.
Leverage Executive Attendance as Advocacy: Getting an executive to experience your event firsthand can be powerful. Their direct engagement often transforms them into advocates for your events strategy.
"Once you have them on site, they can now become an advocate for future events," Tavar said. Maximize this impact by ensuring key executives are not only invited to observe but fully integrated into your event, from customer chats and on-stage moments to experiences and meals, so they get the full flavor and impact of your event. Then, gather their feedback immediately post-event while the energy is high.
Plan for Post-Event Debriefs Proactively: Highlight your team’s accountability and a commitment to future success by scheduling post-event debrief meetings with key leaders before the event even takes place. Make sure you’ve got important stats from your initial pitch to underscore event success, or share your timeline and process for measuring the impact during these debrief sessions. Use these meetings to gather feedback, anecdotes, and observations you can use for bolstering upcoming events and in future event pitches as well.
The Fine Art of Getting to “Yes”
Navigating executive approval for your events strategy is certainly an art, and your team’s executive assistants and Chief of Staff are vital players. Their unique position allows them to bridge the gap between the event team's vision and the executive team's priorities, making them indispensable allies in securing that crucial "yes."
Tavar’s advice for navigating their role in the events process? "Feel empowered, because you can be the person between your executive team and a yes. You’re already in a position of trust and subject-matter expertise, uniquely positioned to champion events that drive real business value."
By tailoring your event planning communications to leadership and being hyper-focused on demonstrating tangible impact that aligns with overarching company goals, you’ll see quicker buy-in on future events.
Ready to elevate your corporate events and streamline the event approval process? Connect with BoomPop to explore how we can empower your team to create unforgettable and strategically-aligned offsite, client dinners, SKOs, conferences, and more.
