Booking sales meetings around a conference

How the B2B Sales work group plans, invites and follows up around an event.

Updated October 13, 2026

Choose the accounts and people first, give each one a specific reason, time and place to meet, and book the next conversation before the event ends.

Pick the people before the conference. Kyle Poyar would plan meetings before buying the pass and filter events by the target accounts the team can name. Peter Kazanjy starts a month out with the attendee list, sends specific meeting asks and uses the last two weeks for confirmations.
Give them a reason to meet. At Dreamforce, Andy Mowat posted the days he was free and the side events he would attend. Kyle cites Memo's dinners of 10 to 15 buyers, after which roughly 80% took a sales meeting, as one company's reported result rather than a benchmark.
Spend on accounts with a signal. Guillaume Cabane would hand reps accounts with a current signal, such as a new executive hire. Kris Rudeegraap saves physical invites, like custom golf balls for an executive golf event, for the people the team most wants to meet.
Book the follow-up on site and measure it. Peter has someone book the next meeting while the buyer is there, and follows up within 48 hours. Kris would track meetings held and opportunities created per dollar, and Kyle compares an event's cost with other ways to reach the same accounts.

Group chat with Kyle, Peter, Andy, Kris, Guillaume — the B2B Sales work group

Question:

How do you book meetings around conferences and events?

Andy MowatCMO at Inflection.io. Former VP of Revenue Operations at Carta

I start with the people I want to see, then share where I'll actually be. At Dreamforce, I posted my Tuesday + Wednesday availability and named two side events, the Revenue Roadshow and Revenue Leader Forum, so people in my network could pick a real place to meet.

A friend asked, "Which events are you at? Let's meet up." That question pushed me to add event-sharing to Whispered Events.

LinkedIn For sales outreach, I'd use the same pattern: pick a side event your buyer is likely to attend, send a personal note with the event + a specific time to connect, and confirm a meeting place before the conference week fills up. The event creates the reason to reach out; the named time and place make it a meeting.

Kyle PoyarFounder of Growth Unhinged. Former Operating Partner at OpenView

I’d plan the meetings before buying the conference pass. Pick the target accounts and people first, then offer a specific reason to meet nearby: a small dinner with relevant peers, a customer conversation, or a discussion of a problem they’re working on. Send personal invites through the account owner, and follow up with a clear meeting ask after the event.

In a pipeline piece I put together with GTMfund, Carta’s CRO described 17 small events over six months, with executives, sales, BD and marketing working together on personal invites and on-site execution. Memo’s VP of Sales reported that its dinners hosted 10 to 15 prospective buyers; roughly 80% of attendees took a sales meeting afterward. Those are their reported results, rather than a benchmark for every event.

Substack

For a conference, I’d use the event as the reason to convene a tightly chosen group and reserve the follow-up slot while the conversation is fresh.

Peter KazanjyFounder of Founder-Led Sales Factory. Co-founder of Atrium and author of Founding Sales

Founders: Start booking a month before the conference. Pull the attendee list, pick the people who fit your ICP and have the pain you solve, and send a specific meeting ask. Use the final two weeks for personal follow-ups and confirmations. Show up with a calendar, a target list with photos, and a team that knows whom to find.

LinkedIn+1

Make the trip bigger than the conference floor. Meet local prospects before it starts, work the floor during it, and hold time for follow-up meetings afterward. A small dinner for buyers who share a role or problem gives you another way to get the right people together.

LinkedIn+1

When someone describes a live pain point, book the next conversation while you're together. Within 48 hours, follow up first with those who showed clear intent; treat a casual badge scan differently.

LinkedIn+1

Kyle PoyarFounder of Growth Unhinged. Former Operating Partner at OpenView

I’d choose the side event by buyer role and account priority. Miro’s head of global sales told me they mapped each event to target personas and seniority, then built outreach around a specific strategic initiative at each account. Their mix included conferences, local dinners, partner events and customer experience days, with 15 to 20 events per quarter.

Substack

That suggests a simple filter before committing to a conference: Which target accounts can we name, who owns each invitation, and what problem gives that person a reason to meet? A packed calendar with the wrong buyers still leaves you with a thin pipeline.

Guillaume "G" CabaneCo-founder of HyperGrowth Partners. Former VP of Growth at Segment

The account list needs timing signals as well as persona fit. In my public talk on intent data, I described identifying the right people and signals, then inviting them to private gatherings around a conference. Those invitations produced strong conversion for us as part of a multi-touch sales process.

YouTube

I would hand each rep a short list of accounts with a current signal, the reason each buyer belongs at that gathering, and two possible meeting times. That gives the outreach a specific reason beyond shared attendance.

Peter KazanjyFounder of Founder-Led Sales Factory. Co-founder of Atrium and author of Founding Sales

Train the team before they reach the venue. I recommend drilling the opening and qualification conversation 20 to 50 times, including buyers with different company sizes and objections. On a crowded floor, the rep needs to recognize a target, get to the pain point, and make a clear ask without practicing on the buyer.

LinkedIn Assign someone to book the follow-up meeting on site; a list of names with no next step gives your team another week of chasing people.

Kyle PoyarFounder of Growth Unhinged. Former Operating Partner at OpenView

I’d measure the side event against meetings that turn into sales opportunities, then compare its cost with other ways to reach those accounts. In the pipeline survey I published with GTMfund, Jellyfish CMO Kyle Lacy reported a 28x cost-to-pipeline return for their virtual conference, against a 10 to 15x target for their marketing channels. His example is a useful check on the assumption that travel is required to get people into a valuable event.

Substack

If buyers are spread across cities, a focused virtual session can create the same opening for a personal follow-up. I’d still track which attendees accepted a meeting and which meetings produced opportunities, since registrations alone tell us little about pipeline.

Question:

Kris, Kyle cites small dinners that led to follow-up meetings, while Peter starts outreach a month before the conference. When would you send a physical invite to help book a specific meeting, and what would you measure? Please cite public sources.

Kris RudeegraapCo-CEO and co-founder of Sendoso. Former Senior Account Executive at Talkdesk

I’d send the physical invite early enough to land while the buyer can still choose a meeting time, then have the account owner follow up with a specific slot. Peter’s month-out planning gives you a useful window; shipping speed determines when the invite actually goes out. For a small dinner or golf gathering, I’d reserve that spend for the people the team most wants to meet. I’ve described sending custom golf balls with an invitation to an executive golf event because the item connects directly to the ask.

Apple Podcasts

I’d track invites delivered, replies, meetings booked, meetings held and second meetings or opportunities created per dollar spent. We track sending activity back to CRM to see whether a send led to more meetings or second calls; that’s the same discipline I’d apply to an event campaign.

Apple Podcasts

Question:

G, Kris describes sending custom golf balls to invite executives to a golf event. Which account signals would justify spending on a physical invite rather than sending a personal message? Please cite your public work.

Guillaume "G" CabaneCo-founder of HyperGrowth Partners. Former VP of Growth at Segment

A new executive hire at a target account would move that account up my list. I’ve explained publicly that a senior hire often arrives with budget and an early mandate to change things. That creates a timely reason to invite them to a relevant executive gathering.

YouTube

I’d consider Kris’s physical invite when that signal is paired with a high-value account, a named decision-maker, and an event that matches their role. For a VP at a large account, I’ve found that generic outbound is weak; in one case, we reached those buyers through agencies they already trusted.

Apple Podcasts So I’d try the trusted introduction first where one exists. The physical invite earns its spend when it makes a specific meeting ask more relevant to that buyer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How should a startup set up its CRM stages?
Use one deal pipeline where each stage needs a buyer action, keep booked first meetings on the lead or account, and open a deal once the buyer confirms the pain and a next step.
How do you build a sales forecast you can trust?
Build it top-down and bottom-up, project from pipeline cohorts and your own conversion history, and let a deal into commit only with a mutual close plan and contact beyond the champion.
What funnel conversion rates should a B2B team aim for?
One working range is 40 to 60% of first conversations becoming opportunities, and 25% opportunity to win is a planning case. Set the other steps from your own cohorts, split by source.
What cadence works for founder cold outreach?
Four to six touches across email, LinkedIn and phone over 10 days to three weeks, each adding something new and ending with a direct ask. Then wait for a signal.
How many SDRs should you hire per AE?
Work it out from each AE's pipeline gap rather than a fixed ratio, measure SDRs on opportunities AEs accept, and hold off on SDRs until the sales motion is proven.

All b2b sales questions →

Frequently Asked Questions

Booking sales meetings around a conference

B2B Sales

Frequently Asked Questions

How should a startup set up its CRM stages?

How do you build a sales forecast you can trust?

What funnel conversion rates should a B2B team aim for?

What cadence works for founder cold outreach?

How many SDRs should you hire per AE?

Your ideas, super powered.

Booking sales meetings around a conference

B2B Sales

Frequently Asked Questions

How should a startup set up its CRM stages?

How do you build a sales forecast you can trust?

What funnel conversion rates should a B2B team aim for?

What cadence works for founder cold outreach?

How many SDRs should you hire per AE?

Your ideas, super powered.