The seesaw effect

Every show implicitly chooses one end of this spectrum. The shows that try to do both — lots of meetings AND deep relationships — usually end up with neither. Being honest about which type of show you're running is the first step to doing it well.

Quantity approach

• More meetings per day
• Shorter meeting slots
• Broader audience vetting
• Higher volume, lower depth

Quality approach

• Fewer but longer meetings
• Tightly vetted buyers and sellers
• Higher prices justified by results
• Lower volume, higher depth

Finding and pitching buyers

The best buyers come through referrals. Not LinkedIn outreach. Not cold email. Referrals from people who already trust you and trust the buyer.

How to find buyers

• Referrals from past attendees are the most reliable source — always
• Use RFPs to identify buyers with genuine, active purchasing intent
• The best buyer recruiters know every person's name, company, and role by heart — not from a CRM

How to pitch buyers

• Pay for their hotel, travel, and accommodation — some organizers book entire hotel floors
• Get personal before the show: hop on calls with key buyers to prepare intro talking points
• Create actual value before they arrive — the A-show relationship starts months before the event
• Niche down: make all your events serve the same buyer type — the network effect multiplies over years

Finding and pitching sellers

Sellers are being sold to by every event organizer in their space. The ones who earn their business do it by building relationships, not by leading with a pitch deck.

How to approach sellers

• The worst shows only contact sellers when they need sponsorship — every conversation ends with "buy something"
• Simply ask how things are going. Everyone knows why you're calling. You don't have to say it.
• If your event is genuinely good, sponsors will naturally refer other sponsors
• Casually mention their competitors are attending — it signals your event has been vetted

The ROI pitch that works

Lead with math. The best pitch isn't about what a great event you run — it's about what the numbers mean for their quota.

Example: "Your average deal size is $75K. We provide 30 guaranteed meetings for $5K. On average you'll walk away with 15 good conversations. If you close 6% (just one deal), you'll pay for this show 15 times over. Isn't that a steal?"

• First qualifying question is always: "What's your average deal size?"
• Sell outcomes, not connections — "your pipeline is about to fill" beats "meet 30 people"
• Your job is to open pipeline, not close it: "You're about to meet someone who will hit next quarter's quota"
• Remind them: if they follow your advice, their first show should pay for multiple years

"Your first line of defense is always: how much is your average deal size? In hosted buyer, quality matters more than quantity. That number is what makes the math undeniable."

Communicating with attendees

The best organizers teach their attendees how to work the event — before they arrive, not after they leave confused.

• Actively teach attendees how to work your event — ask your best buyers and sellers what they do and share it
• Some events host pre-show sessions the day before — tell people about it and suggest how to use it
• Nobody knows how to work your audience like you do. Share that knowledge generously.
• Don't spam — the more emails you send, the fewer people will open
• Send clear day-of info in one email, not five

Weeding out the wrong people

The quality of your audience is a compounding asset. Every bad actor you remove makes the experience better for everyone else — and makes rebooking easier at renewal.

Who gets removed

• No-shows: removed permanently, no exceptions
• Buyers who try to sell to sellers: removed
• Sellers who receive universally negative feedback: removed
• Big brands using their logo to get free flights but not buying: removed
• "Scan so I can say I was here" attendees who never follow up: removed
• Buyers who are not held accountable for their behavior: removed

Tracking results after the show

• Track relationships between buyers and sellers before, during, and after every event
• The best organizers hold brief post-meeting interviews to gauge likelihood of signing
• This approach can let you charge 100x the price and do a fraction of the volume — and win
• Follow up 3–6 months post-show to confirm that "I will sign" buyers actually signed