Somewhere between the pitch deck and the power handshake, between the final invoice and the late-night WhatsApp check-in, lies the real heart of what it means to be in commercial sales for the events industry.
It’s not always the glamour people assume it is. Yes, there are moments of spotlight – standing next to a brand you believed in before anyone else did, watching a packed activation come to life, or seeing a partner beam as they thank you for the business value they received.
But that’s maybe 10% of the job.The other 90%?
It’s a delicate dance – one that many of us in the trenches of eventing know all too well. At the start of the cycle, you’re selling a dream: often intangible, sometimes underdeveloped, and almost always under pressure. You’re the buffer between what the team believes is possible and what the client wants to see happen. And you’re doing it all with a smile and a spreadsheet.
Then comes the middle – the murky middle. Things are sold, but now they must be delivered. Timelines tighten. Expectations grow. You start to question your life choices at 2am while updating your deliverables tracker and gently nudging a client for logos…again.
The unexpected…
And just when you think you’ve reached a groove, something unexpected shows up – and no, I’m not just talking about missing branding on a truck or a last-minute exhibitor panic. I’m talking about the big ones. The world-shifting kind.Like COVID.
Being in the business of mass gatherings during a global pandemic is not an experience I’d recommend, but one I’m incredibly grateful for in hindsight. It stripped us down to the core of what we do – and why we do it. It reminded us that resilience is more than just a buzzword. We had to rebuild – some of us from scratch – not just our calendars and pipelines, but our belief in the power of people coming together.
And somehow, we did.
An unshakable tenacity
I look around now at the colleagues, partners, and fellow warriors in this space and I see an unshakable tenacity. There’s a quiet, unspoken pride in how we’ve carried on – how we’ve adapted, evolved, and grown. We’re not just pitching sponsorships anymore. We’re building ecosystems of value, co-creating experiences, and curating energy in ways that only those in the event world truly understand.
It’s less about the ‘sell’ and more about the sparkle
And here’s the truth no one tells you when you’re younger: the further along you get in this industry, the less it’s about the “sell” and the more it’s about the sparkle. The relationships you nurture, the reputation you protect, the community you uplift – that’s the real gold.
As a Commercial Manager, yes, my job is about targets and bottom lines. But the secret sauce? It’s in the connections. It’s in knowing who to call when you’re stuck. It’s in being the person someone can rely on to not only close the deal – but show up and deliver it with integrity.
So if you’re in this space and feeling the pressure, I see you. If you’re tired of spinning a hundred plates while still smiling through a partner call, I feel you. And if you’re somehow still here, still building, still dreaming – I’m standing with you.
Let’s keep showing up with grit, grace, and just enough glitter to make it all worth it.
Because in this wild, beautiful business of eventing – it’s not just about what we do.
It’s about who we become while doing it.
Keshni Reddy
