Business Development: Maximizing Your Event Sponsorship: A Guide to Success

Authors: Neil Barrow, RevOps Advisors & Bob Silvy, Level Four Business Consulting

Firms spend five to six figures a year for their professionals to go to conferences and events. High dollar professionals spend hours traveling and attending these events. Meanwhile, the amount of preparation and follow up leaves everyone asking the question ‘What is the ROI here?’ In this article we are exploring how to set goals for your event, tips for pre and post conference follow up and reporting for leadership on the event.

Let’s start by defining your goals and objectives. Consider these for your next event:

• Brand awareness
• Referral source development
• Lead generation

Brand Awareness

How do you define brand awareness? Is it a booth? Contacts generated? Newsletter sign ups? Social media impressions?

Referral Source Development

Over 70% of small firm revenue is generated by referrals and word of mouth. How can we leverage the conference or event to build these valuable relationships?

Lead Generation

If we are going to a conference, our ultimate outcome is to generate new clients for the firm.

Now that we have a few goals set, use this checklist to ensure you’ve set yourself up for success:

Pre-conference Planning

• Choose personable, outgoing team members who are comfortable engaging with visitors. Prepare your staff by sharing your sponsorship goals, event logistics and expectations. This is also an opportunity to brainstorm with your team and fine-tune your approach.
• Take full advantage of any attendee lists provided by the organizers. Research the companies, industries and roles of key participants and prioritize those you want to connect with.
• Personalized outreach to attendees ahead of the event can help lay the groundwork for meaningful connections. Whether it’s scheduling a coffee meeting or pointing them to your booth, early communication ensures your top prospects know how to find you.

Conference Time

• Make note of VIPs such as speakers, honorees or other sponsors, and assign someone from your team to monitor the registration area for easy identification.
• At the event, maximize your networking efforts by engaging attendees thoughtfully and taking notes after every meaningful conversation.
• A quick note about a personal detail or a business challenge can help you craft personalized follow-ups later.
• Be sure to collect business cards or contact information and organize these details promptly after the event. Input them into your CRM system while the information is fresh and refine your notes for clarity. This step is essential to ensuring effective post-event communication.

Post-conference Planning

• Once the event concludes, gather your team to debrief. Discuss what worked well and what could be improved and compare your initial results to the KPIs you established.
• Timing is critical for follow-up, so reach out to your new contacts within a week. Personalized emails referencing specific conversations can help you stand out and keep the relationship moving forward.
• For particularly strong connections, consider suggesting a next step, such as a meeting or a virtual introduction to someone in your network.
• For broader outreach, create a nurture campaign tailored to the event’s theme or audience. For instance, if the event celebrated women in business, highlight your team’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. These efforts help sustain the connection and reinforce your presence in their minds.
• Compile a detailed report for your leadership team, including metrics, anecdotes and examples of the sponsorship’s impact. A thorough report demonstrates ROI and increases the likelihood of gaining approval for future sponsorships.

Final Thoughts

Don’t let the momentum end with the event. Continue the conversation by sharing thought leadership pieces, creating social media content or even hosting a follow-up event. These actions keep your firm top-of-mind and solidify the relationships you worked hard to build. With a well-executed strategy, your event sponsorship can deliver meaningful connections and measurable results.