VIP Guest Handling Procedures

Love this campaign by Stella. "Worth it" ✨ Playing off a familiar scene we all know. That claustrophobic bar. Enter "Claustrobar" You're crammed shoulder to shoulder... Getting bumped left and right. Then you get your first sip. Makes it all worth it. 👀 Or does it...? We're seeing the OPPOSITE trend for B2B events. Marketers want smaller more niche events. Think dinners with 15 to 25 people. ONLY the exact ICP they want. We just did our Q1 retro at The Alliance 🧵 NEW Q1 EVENT DATA FOR YOU: Dinners under 25 people drove 3.4 times higher average pipeline per attendee than 200+ person field events Sponsor satisfaction scores were 27 points higher for private dinners vs traditional happy hours Events with personalized pre invite cadences had a 35 percent average acceptance rate among ICP targets Renewal rates on sponsor programs anchored around curated dinners hit 82 percent, compared to 58 percent for "open bar" events Thats why we're doubling down on niche events. Dinners and intimate VIP exeperiences. Why they worked so well: Step 1: ICP first targeting Every attendee list starts with sponsor aligned ICP firmographic filters: Company size, role seniority, industry fit, existing buying intent. Step 2: Personalized outreach Dedicated in house teams send direct invites framed around relevance. We track weekly acceptance rates and optimize touchpoints if we fall below 30 percent. Step 3: Pre event intel Sponsors get attendee insights two weeks before the dinner. They know which companies and titles are coming so they can plan the content PRECISELY for that audience to make it hyper relevant. Step 4: Structured conversations No loud music. No random crowds. Strategic seating charts and guided conversation topics aligned to the topics attendees and sponsors care about. This makes the experiences great for BOTH the company sponsoring and the attendees. Ends in a win win for everyone. Example for you: At our Austin dinner for a sponsor in Jan - 17 handpicked senior leaders attended - 76 percent of attendees booked follow up demos within 21 days - The sponsor sourced $3.2 million in net new pipeline which was 3.1 times their original goal TLDR Invest in more dinners ✌️ 

Are you an Old‑School Event Marketer or a New‑School Event Marketer? Old‑School: - “Bigger booth, bigger budget” = strategy - Swag splurges & steak‑house dinners with zero ROI math - Measures success by registrations instead of pipeline - Treats the conference as a one‑day stunt, then closes the spreadsheet - No persona segmentation, same agenda for prospects, customers, & partners - Relies on badge scans, fishbowls, and luck for lead capture - Ignores virtual or hybrid formats (“We’re an in‑person company!”) - Engagement stops when the lights go off, no post‑event nurture track - Decisions made on gut feel, not unit economics or understanding the P&L New‑School: - Begins with ICP clarity and a revenue‑backwards event brief - Maps the entire attendee journey: pre‑event teasers → in‑event moments → post‑event campaigns - Uses AI for smart matchmaking, personalized agendas, on‑site coaching, and post‑show enrichment - Integrates every touch into CRM & RevOps dashboards: CAC, payback, influenced ARR, CLTV - Collaborates with Sales & CS to find expansion opps with customers, not just hand-offs - Blends formats: micro‑webinars, community roundtables, regional pop‑ups, to lower CAC and widen reach - Scores success on quality meetings, pipeline velocity, and expansion revenue - Runs Calendar & Capacity tests to right‑size staffing before adding headcount - Partners with the CFO, budget tied to strategic KPIs, not vanity metrics - Knows why the event hit (or missed) the number and evolves assumptions quarter‑to‑quarter Event marketers can’t win on their own. The best know how to involve each team throughout the process. It’s not just execution. It’s communication, evaluation, and impact. In conclusion, new-school event marketers are strategy partners. Not task rabbits. New-School event marketers pick modern event tech. Check out Accelevents --> https://hubs.la/Q03fjrP30

I do dozens of interviews with top CMOs every year. I always ask what the best performing marketing channel is. And right now everyone is saying events. Post COVID events are back, but also now in an AI world, I think there's a stronger appetite to get out and connect with real people vs. just getting answers from ChatGPT. But: like anything in marketing, running events just because everyone else is doing them is a great way to set money on fire (and still not drive any incremental business). Whether it's a booth at a trade show. A VIP dinner. A 500-person conference. They can all work. They can all flop. The difference: having a real plan and strategy for that event going in. Why do it in the first place? (which continues to be the most important lesson in marketing - what's in it for me? what's the hook? why should people come to our thing?) We talked to two event experts on the Exit Five pod recently Stephanie Christensen and Kristina DeBrito — and here are 5 keys they shared for B2B event success: 1. Pick the right format. Not all events do the same job. Big splash? Go flagship. Want pipeline? Try VIP roundtables. Tiny budget? Host micro-events around existing conferences. Set real goals. 2. “Leads” are not enough anymore. Are you driving awareness? Accelerating deals? Generating pipeline? Define this upfront—or you’ll waste time measuring the wrong stuff. There are more metrics than just "did we get leads from this event" and in today's world leads are tablestalkes. 3. Align your team, bro. Sales and marketing must move in lockstep. Slack alerts for registrations. Sales meeting updates. Leaderboards. It all matters. This is a team effort. 4. Make it memorable. People forget panels. They remember custom pancakes and great venues. Was the food good? Did the WiFi work? Did Oprah show up? Just kidding. Making sure you'r reading. But think surprise and delight, not branded frisbees. 5. Put the work in on the follow up. Events don't close deals - follow-up does. Segment attendees. Create custom offers. Babysit the handoff to sales like your job depends on it. Because it does. You just went shopping and got all these fresh groceries - dont let them spoil. B2B buyers want real connection again. Events can create that. Are you feeling this desire for events? Are you doing events in your business right now? Let me know...

Hosting 2 exec dinners back to back reminded me that you don’t need a DJ booth and branded tumblers to build pipeline. You need proximity. It's 2025 and there's still this lingering belief that the bigger the event, the bigger the impact. The logo wall, the glitzy booth, the team dinner that cost more than a quarter’s marketing budget. IMO conferences are great for visibility, but they’re terrible for real conversations. You scan 300 badges. You remember 3 faces. And the best interaction you had? A random intro in the hotel bar. That’s not so much a strategy as it is simply gambling with your marketing budget. IMO the best way to do this is to go small, which ironically, will allow you to win big. We’re talking: 1. Executive roundtables with 20-30 handpicked guests (like the ones Sales Assembly does every month). 2. Working sessions tailored to a real, shared problem. 3. Dinners where the customer does 90% of the talking. 4. Field events where every attendee is pre-qualified and mapped to pipeline. Why it works: - You control the guest list. No wasted conversations. - You control the environment. No distractions. - You control the follow up. No getting buried in a sea of booth emails. These aren’t “networking events.” They’re high-trust conversion machines. Because when the room is small, the stakes get higher, the conversations get deeper, and the pipeline gets real. If you want to win business, don’t just go where everyone is. Go where real conversations happen. Or create those environments yourself. Thanks as always to Nooks, Capchase, and TigerEye for their continued partnership in creating these types of environments, including this one last night in Salt Lake City!

Many B2B marketers I talk to limit their events strategy to webinars. But that's just one tactic in a much bigger playbook. With AI slop flooding every channel, audiences will crave for genuine human connection even more now. And events happen to be one of the few ways to build brand, community, and genuine trust with enterprise buyers. Beyond webinars, there are many other options marketers don't often consider like: → Applying to speak at industry events → Hosting a customer dinner for top accounts → Organizing satellite meetups around major conferences → Leading a roundtable at an event → Sponsoring a community meetup → Recording a live podcast at a conference → Running a hackathon or customer awards night → Building your own user conference on your terms Each event type can support a different GTM motion. Ex: if you're running ABM, think executive dinners and curated experiences. Or if you're creating mindshare with marketing-led growth, build thought leadership on stage or show up at community meetups with high ICP density. Another issue I hear is people think events are a luxury only accessible to rich companies. But you don't need to drop $100K to exhibit at events. There are always more economical options. You just need to know which events to participate in. More importantly, you need to have a strong pre-event and post-event game to get real pipeline mileage that makes your investment worthwhile. Ex: vFairs attended 4 major events in their industry last year and hosted several dinners. Result: 6-figure pipelines + few solid expansion deals. So, no, events aren't fluff. You need a wider lens on what counts as an event. I'm breaking this down in more detail in Maja Voje's GTM Strategist newsletter going live this Friday. Keep an eye out on her Substack.

20 things I learned putting people first in field and event marketing: 1. Partner events convert 3x better than solo ones. When their customers see your customers in the room, trust transfers instantly. 2. VIP experiences beat volume plays. 8 executives at a private dinner drove more pipeline than 800 people at our user conference. 3. Webinar engagement dies after minute 23. Unless a customer is talking. Then they'll stay for an hour. 4. The pre-event is the real event. Send personalized video invites. Call each attendee. Half your pipeline comes from pre-event touchpoints. 5. Micro events in tier 2 cities outperform major markets. Nashville beats NYC. Austin beats SF. People actually show up. 6. Your customer advisory board is your best event list. They'll bring the right prospects. Give them invite codes and get out of the way. 7. Event ROI takes 6-9 months to measure. That Q4 deal came from your Q1 dinner. Stop checking pipeline after 30 days. 8. Workshop format beats presentation format. Make them do something. Passive listening creates zero pipeline. 9. Regional field marketers should own the P&L. They know their market. Stop making them beg HQ for budget approval. 10. Partner with customers, not just vendors. Customer co-hosts bring qualified prospects. Vendor co-hosts bring whoever. 11. The 30/70 rule never fails. 30% customers, 70% prospects. Perfect mix for social proof. 12. Breakout rooms are where deals happen. Main stage is theater. Small rooms are sales. 13. Member communities 10x event attendance. Build the community first. Events become the reward. 14. Personalization at scale actually works. Custom landing pages. Role-specific agendas. Generic events are dead. 15. First-party data beats third-party intent. Track who engages with your content. Stop buying lists of strangers. 16. Executive sponsors matter only if they stay. Flying in for the keynote doesn't count. Dinner conversations close deals. 17. Follow up in 48 hours or don't bother. Day 1-2: 72% response rate. Day 14: You're forgotten. 18. Virtual events need 3x the production value. Bad audio killed more pipeline than bad content ever did. 19. Customer stories beat product demos. They care about people like them solving problems like theirs. 20. Word-of-mouth drives 60% of quality registrations. Focus on experience, not just attendance. Spent a decade learning that events aren't about gathering people. They're about connecting the right people. The companies winning at event-led growth don't chase attendance metrics. They obsess over the quality of connections made. But try explaining that when leadership wants to see "cost per lead." Make your GTM more people-first and that means designing for relationships, not registrations. Most companies are still shipping branded stress balls to convention centers wondering why nobody remembers them.