Since the rise of remote work, putting in-person events together is a challenge I’m all too familiar with. Especially difficult when courting the Fortune 500, my team and I created and operated a formula for these kinds of events that wound up delivering $25M in pipeline (yep, twenty-five million dollars) in a single year, and the results (below) speak for themselves. The draw back to events that deliver this kind of volume is that you need a *somewhat* big budget to make them happen.
To quote an esteemed CMO I once worked for: “the juice is worth the squeeze.” Here are the juicy details on how my team and I made sure of it.
Step 1: Pick the Right Geo
Step 2: Make It Irresistible
Let me repeat that: make it irresistible. Event budgets are easily squandered on a 4-hour executive workshop when only 2 or 3 under-qualified attendees bother to show up to the snooze-fest. If you want the juice to be worth the squeeze here, perceived entertainment value needs to be high.
I’m talking about premium sporting events, Michelin-rated private dining, and a hell of a landing page to pitch it and collect RSVPs with.
The content also matters. We’ve attempted long-winded workshops and there’s a time for that, but it’s not when you’re courting new business or schmoozing key accounts to move an engagement along. The better results almost always come from a loose agenda and the allure of “other like-minded executives to network with”. Get them in the room, get them another drink, and get them talking about what their biggest challenges are that you can provide solutions for.
Step 3: Profit?
One thing to remember about events like this is that they’re not huge lead generation machines. The upfront effort that gets the right few people in the room is what makes this approach actually work. It’s also important to note that events won’t always get a return. The occasional goose-egg shouldn’t deter from this strategy. We ran 14 of these events in a single year and, taken together, we got 66 opportunities and $25M in sales pipeline generated. A solid follow-up routine from those hosting and some SMEs are what finally moves the needle.
As to the actual cost? An average of $12K per event, making an average ROI of $1,785,714 in pipeline (and $1,142,857 in won business at the time of writing).
Seems like it’s worth the squeeze to me.