Here’s how I use them to revive cold leads, close deals, and fill pipeline — step-by-step.
Pre-event
If you’re co-hosting a side event, make sure to invite your prospects and stale leads. It’s a great opportunity to nurture relationships and propose an in-person meeting during the conference.
Deals stuck in negotiation? Use the conference as an excuse to meet in person.
Book 1:1s before the event. Your calendar should already be full when you land.
At the event
Walk the main event venue booth by booth, striking up conversations with potential prospects and existing leads.
If your target is speaking, catch them right after their talk. Use the presentation topic as a conversation starter to build rapport — save the pitch for later.
Side events
Attend side events hosted or co-hosted by your current prospects or leads. These are ideal touchpoints to re-engage stale deals and move conversations forward in person.
Show up at events where someone you want to connect with is hosting or co-hosting. For whatever reason, people in Web3 really respond to in-person conversations — even when you’re selling.
Prioritize networking events where you’re likely to meet high-quality new leads — ideally ones that align with your niche and target audience.
Post-event
Follow up within a week after the conference with every new lead and contact. I can’t stress this enough — people waste an ungodly amount of time and money attending events, only to let those Telegram contacts collect digital dust afterward.
If you co-hosted a side event, make sure to manually go through the attendee list and cherry-pick high-quality leads for follow-up — especially if you didn’t get a chance to speak with them in person. Skip the generic ‘thanks for attending’ newsletter. Always provide context and send a personal, relevant message.
TL;DR
Conferences aren’t for vibes. They’re for pipeline.
- Invite stale leads
- Walk the floor
- Work the side events
- Follow up like it matters
