6 Ways to Drive Better Event Results Through Partnership with Sales
As most marketers have found over the course of their careers, the best results come when you socialize your ideas and programs with other teams prior to rollout and collaborate cross functionally. This is especially true of events, since sales is often asked to help drive attendees before the event, and follow up post-event. In this blog post, we share six ways to drive better event results through partnership with sales. Let’s get started!
1. Include sales reps in the event
Don’t just let your reps attend the events. Encourage them to engage. Salespeople are often the most extroverted members of a company. Leverage their socializing skills by having them actively participate. One powerful way to do this is to allow them to host their own breakout room and mix and lead the discussion with their prospects and customers.
2. Gamify the registration process
Nothing incentivizes sales people to push for event registrations like a contest. Send wines or spirits to the AE and/or SDR who drives the most registrations. Or, give them a hit list of dream accounts and personas that you would like to attend, and set them free. Make it easy for them to reach out by drafting email templates and call scripts.
Lisa Saltsman from RDA has had great results with this tactic. She says:
“In the past, we’ve gamified! We’ve created an internal email thread to see who can get the next rsvp. The winner receives a gift card and of course bragging rights! We predefine the ideal contact based on our ICP for each event. To ensure quality, the contact has to fit our ICP or it doesn’t count towards the contest.”
3. Have sales hype it up
Involve your AEs in ensuring that your most important guests show up to the event. Have them send emails or make calls a week before the event and the morning of the event to encourage them to show up. Guilt and ego are powerful drivers. A message as simple as, “Can't wait to spend time chatting with you today in a breakout room as we sip these fancy wines," can go a long way.
4. Include handwritten notes in the tasting set
Event attendees get excited when wine, beer or elegant spirits are delivered. Make it extra special by having reps write handwritten notes to their top prospects. It’s a nice touch and it goes a long way towards driving goodwill and attendance. And, we have seen first-hand that the extra effort pays off.
5. Ensure all attendees can enjoy the shared experience
When your attendees go to taste their first glass of wine, spirit or gourmet bite, make sure that everyone on the call has something in front of them. Don’t skip your AEs. While it will add a bit to the budget, having everyone engaged on the call is best practice for effective virtual events. Ensuring that sales enjoys the wine also allows them to continue the conversation after the event, by using the wines as an icebreaker when they call to follow up.
6. Fund a post-event gifting surprise for sales
Just when event attendees think they have seen your best, surprise them with a little something extra to keep the great conversations going. You can send another bottle of wine or some cheeses or chocolates with a handwritten note from the AE thanking the participant for coming and commenting on how they led to the event’s success. For example:
“I am so happy you were on the call to share your thoughts about the wine. While others were shy, your enthusiasm helped get everyone talking!”
It’s much easier to get a meeting scheduled with the double-whammy of a tasting event followed by a surprise gift from an AE a few days later.
As you think through how to plan your next successful event, please feel free to reach out to purple cork for ideas and suggestions. With thousands of successful events under our belt, we can help you go from ho-hum to hum-dinger while ensuring that your entire company, from BDR to CEO, is on board and driving successful business outcomes.
