In 2017, Forbes released their list of the 10 most stressful jobs in America. Event coordinators landed in the number five spot—just behind police officers. This is largely due to the amount of organizing, multi-tasking, and hurdle-jumping required to execute a flawless event.

How do event professionals deal with all the pressure? Constant support from their industry peers.

At Opus, we host Peer Connect events nearly every month as a platform for event professionals to discuss exciting trends, obstacles we face, and offer professional (and personal!) support. I want to share the most talked-about pain points from the most recent Peer Connect—can you relate?

Dealing with internal change . C-level leaders can greatly affect where and how marketing dollars are spent. Event marketing teams face the challenge of establishing trust with newly hired executives or leads, and in some cases, convincing them of the value of event marketing.

Staying Consistent Across Teams Event managers are not always executive-level positons, making it difficult for event teams to be completely aligned with executive teams. Fostering close relationships and aligning marketing goals with executive team members and other leaders in the organization is imperative for internal event professionals.

Emphasizing the importance of portfolio planning and strategic thinking . Event marketing teams are looking to infuse more strategic thinking into their positions. Instead of executing event after event, they’re taking a step back and evaluating their portfolio of events. Don’t throw an event just to throw an event, take a hard look at what events make sense for your brand and business model.

Doing more with less . What do you do when the visions and ideas you have for your event don’t fit the budget? Event planners are asking for larger event budgets, or becoming more creative with cost-savings tactics in order to make their fixed budget work for their events.

Engaging appropriate entertainment and speakers . Booking event speakers and entertainers can be a tricky task. Deciding which influential guest you want at your event is the hardest part, and it’s easy to miss the mark. Event professionals must find a speaker who is both entertaining and relevant to their audience. In spite of his popularity, you shouldn’t be booking Justin Bieber for your closing party if his message and product won’t resonate with your attendees.

Finding the right event technology platform. There are a myriad of event technology platforms for meeting planners to choose from. The process of elimination is daunting; not only do event pros need to weigh the features and functionality of an event platform, but also price points and user-friendliness. Some platforms may work for one event in their portfolio, but not another. Many event agencies (including Opus!) are moving towards the system-integrator model in order to make this process easier for their clients.

As an event or marketing professional, what are some challenges you face at work? Be sure to keep your eyes open for the next Opus Peer Connect.