sell3r

GTM

Conference Advice

Hey everyone,

I'll be attending a tech conference in almost 4 years (last time it was when I was still a BDR). We are a super small company, so I need to be as creative as possible to get people interested and generate leads.

Any advice on what to do before and during to maximize our time at the conference?

Thanks

🏫 Conferences

13 comments

Sort by:

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Get the list of attendees from the conference as soon as you can. Sometimes they only will send you the list of companies and maybe the title/role of the attendee, but you’ll have to work with what you get. Reach out to those companies that are attending that are targets, and invite them to visit you, and give them a compelling reason why. If you have a booth and/or a meeting room, you can try to line up meetings in advance. I’ve found that having some flexibility with on the fly meetings is best; you can schedule with them on the spot if they want to know more and are interested in spending some time.

Alcohol or truly awesome snacks are a great way to bring interested people to you. Not everyone drinks, so be willing to provide premium n/a alternatives.

A drawing for a great item that you can ship for them if large is also a way to get attendees to engage. You’ll get a fair amount of contacts to sort through. They will not all have value, if it works to get them to you and to get some excitement around what you are doing. Comfortable shoes so you’re not grimacing at them, and have a good time.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

@Sunbunny31summed it up perfectly.

I also find any networking/lunch/cocktail sessions are the best if you don't have pre-set meetings.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Nothing more to add, this is phenomenon adv

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Thanks! I'm sure there are some additional things I've forgotten...it's been a while since I've worked a conference.

tightlines

Politicker

Account Executive

We hired a magician that worked out pretty well

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Ooh I love magic!

Mobi85

Politicker

Regional Sales Manager

Not sure this can be done but alcohol in the booth and they must drop a business card or something before they could be served anything.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

These work well when put in something creative.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Do you have a booth?

IndianaShep

Politicker

Director of Sales and Marketing

What are the attendees looking for? I would be curious to find out what the expected ROI is for booths (assuming you have one) and what your product is.

Also, assuming you are saying "attending a tech conference for the first time in 4 years," or did I misunderstand?

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

Have your booth close to the natural inclination of eyeballs. Adjacent to entrance / staircase perhaps?

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

At a conference right now - hot item is T-shirts. The two booths with shirts are by far the busiest. Try not to run out of M or L too soon!

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Get an attendee list if possible and call off of that.
If you can't get a list for this year, try to use one from a prior year.
If you can't get any list, then you need to hit up every breakout session and speak with presenters and moderators. Network extensively with them.

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

Press Careers

If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.

sell3r

Conference Advice

13 comments

Related posts

Paddy's big conference - advice and banter (day 1)

First time on a conference panel, any tips?

Conference Protocol