So you have made the decision to sponsor an event, great choice! But how do you make sure that your organization and sales team don’t end up wasting money by losing out on the full event experience?

The Corinium team have put on our fair share of events and have seen firsthand some of the issues that cause sponsors to miss out on the all the benefits of being an event sponsor.

1. Not preparing before the event

This seems pretty standard but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to miss out on compiling key information before the start of the event. Now, we’re not talking about just making sure you have the address to the hotel or what time the event starts. We’re talking about making sure you have a plan for how you’ll spend your time onsite. Here’s a checklist of things to get your started.

Be sure you download the event app as that will give you access to other event attendees (and the ability to private message them) as well as have the most up to date agenda.
Request a copy of the attendee list from the event team to make sure your onsite team has an idea of who they want to meet with.
Make sure you have plenty of business cards and can easily access LinkedIn to connect with anyone you meet at the event.
If you have an exhibition, make sure you have all the materials and items you’ll need (i.e. branding, printed materials, tech needed for demos). Don’t forget to confirm where your space will be and what time you’ll need to set up.
If you have scheduled meetings as a part of your sponsorship package, make sure you know who you want to meet and give the event team plenty of time to confirm meetings

2. Staying glued to your booth/exhibit space during networking time

We get it, your exhibit space is your safe space. But you signed up for an event to make new connections and network, and the fact of the matter is, leads are not going to walk up to you and ask how they can spend money with your company. While an exhibit space is essential for branding and is great as a “home base” for your onsite team, it’s important that you are taking the time to step away and introduce yourself to other event participants and learn more about them.

3. Not taking advantage of listening in on sessions

This can be just as damaging as staying cooped up in your exhibit space all day. A big draw to business events and conferences are the sessions and topics that are going to be discussed by industry leading speaking speakers.

Make sure you take the time to sit in on a few sessions and understand the issues of the people you are trying to sell to. At events, participants share their wins and challenges and getting this first-hand vital information can only help you and your team. Not only does this allow you to stay ahead of the competition by having your finger on the pulse it also enables you to have easy ice breaker conversations with other attendees who watched the same talk. You then have the ability to steer the conversation in a way that links back to your purpose onsite. These context driven conversations will not only achieve your event goal, but gain you respect as well.

4. Not following up after the event

Not following up with anyone after the event is like taking your leads and flushing them down the toilet. While it’s easy to get caught up in the tasks that piled up while you were out of the office, make sure you take time to send a quick follow up message - even if it’s just on LinkedIn. If you said you’d provide more details, make sure you send those over within the few days that follow the event. Even if you spoke with someone shortly at an event you’ll be a lot more memorable if you follow up in a timely manner, rather then popping up out of the blue in a few months when you’re looking to close a few deals.

Corinium has hosted a number of events in data & analytics, learning & development and customer experience in cities around the globe. We pride ourselves in making sure all our event participants have the best experience possible. If you have questions about our events or other ways to get the most out of your event experience, let us know!