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Attending meetups and conferences – does it help with sales?
I’ve attended a few conferences and meetups over the past two years – always for a different purpose.
Sometimes it was just
1. to socialise 😅, other times
2. to interview guests,
3. find PR or
4. sell products.
I have to say that the last item on this list was the least fulfilling – we recruited a few trial users, but there were minimal paying customers.
How do you approach similar events?
What positive results have you seen from it?
[If you have any recommendations for meetups or conferences where people are more open to buying a product, I’d be grateful if you could share them.]
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@sonu_goswami2 Thank you so much! I hope will be a part of more opportunities like these :)
@busmark_w_nika That's so smart for creating mini-short documentaries. Have you posted anywhere other than YouTube? I struggle with getting views on YT, but I get better reach on Tiktok or Linkedin (depending on the type of videos).
@psproductperson I posted them on Twitter and LinkedIn too + contacted organisers via email.
@busmark_w_nika That's really smart! Twitter has been a hit or miss for me but Linkedin has been really good especially now that they're also shifting towards videos too. I think there's going to be a lot more emphasis towards videos soon on Linkedin.
I'm actually very curious about how folks approach this as well. In my experience a lot of good relationships are built and in the long run, does help with sales.
I feel that the more targeted the event ie "How to get your first customer event" and you're a marketing agency, the better luck you'll have at getting or closing a deal faster.
Super curious to what other folks have experienced.
@gabe TBH? I do not know about such event but it had to be very regulated because many companies would be open to this but the harder part is to find relevant customers for businesses. That would be more like investor event (maybe).
@terabitcoins True – at least have friends but having customers is still questionable.
To get customers you may need to attend those events as a sponsor or having some kind of stand to expose your product or service. By joining as a guest, the best return that you can get are new contacts to follow up.
@terabitcoins I think that there should be something like list of active buyers so those would have a priority ticket for such event (higher chances they purchase something in the future).
Oh, I love going to conferences! It’s one of my favorite things—I truly enjoy attending them and networking.
But what I’ll say is that events like these aren’t about selling, they’re about meeting people and being friendly. The vibe at most conferences is very open and social, not purely sales-driven. That’s why I use these events for networking, not immediate sales. Of course, I always exchange contact info—taking photos with attendees, swapping social media, and if possible, phone numbers.
The actual sales part happens later, after the event. That’s when you can follow up and try to convert those connections into business opportunities. But during the event itself, the focus should be on building relationships, not pushing a sale. Just be cool and smiley.
P.S. Check your X inbox.
@byalexai That's true. After each conference I had a full inbox about inquiries to jump on a quick call :D OKay, I will have a look! :)
If the conference is really targeted and high quality, it can be pretty useful, but you need to approach it in a very targeted way. Generally, the move is to avoid the conference proper.
For example, when I was building a web3 exchange for hedge funds, we went to a web3 conference, but didn't attend any of the sessions. I messaged all the people I wanted to meet asking if they were going to be at the conference and either met them for coffee outside, or met for a conversation in the lobby of the conference. Basically, you should treat the conference as an excuse for many people to gather in a city, and just try to have lots of one-on-one chats.
True! When I was at conference at WebSummit, I got there 1 hour before closing time :D Most of time I gathered with people in the city or at the parties. 😅 @rajiv_ayyangar
Meetups and conferences are more about getting to know people.. expand your network. Not about sales, is what I feel.
On personal note... I love the food provided there.
Sometimes..to me...it's just... food. 😛
@indu_thangamuthu Yeah :D at some events the food is overpriced. Like almost 30 euros for a burger... like guys, please :D
@busmark_w_nika When I was working in the fashion domain, I traveled extensively to cities like Paris, Italy, and Hong Kong to attend fashion shows, business meetings, and networking events, which helped me build connections and convert them into leads. Recently, I joined Mindtide and had the opportunity to visit Silicon Valley. Our current focus is on our product, and moving forward, I look forward to attending more events and traveling to further expand our network and opportunities.
@sonu_goswami2 That's pretty cool. If you have any additional tips on how to make the most out of such events, it would be great to learn from you! :)
We tend to find more leads from conferences and meet-ups, but you have to qualify them. Meeting someone in person, in our experience, has proven to be more valuable for deal closure and shortening the sales cycle (together with other things obviously).
@darren_lang_kepler Interesting POV. Like I am more likely to trust that person but some people or their products weren't relevant for me but they wanted me to jump on the call anyway. :D
@busmark_w_nika correct, you'll always get the unqualified. But I'd go with the law of averages too :-).
If done with proper CTA adherence and with all necessary marketing awareness not solely to sales.
I have been to events for networking, learning, and sometimes selling, but direct sales rarely work. It’s all about building relationships and following up later. Industry-specific conferences (like SaaStr or Web Summit) usually have more serious buyers.
um, Have you found any events where direct sales worked well?
@hamza_afzal_butt TBH, not. Usually it happened after the event via DMs.
It totally depends on your industry and company sector. Like for People10 Technologies (where I work currently), the CES 2025 has been a HUGE success but the events from last year got no conversations.
We got at least 35 new SQLs and they're in pipeline with some very interesting conversations.
But previously when I used to work at a SaaS product-based company none of the events ever got closures. In fact people ghosted us immediately after the events.
@richa_sharma07 Have never been at CES. Why do you think that it went exceptionally well there? Did you have any special stand or the target group was more willing to pay for things?
Sure, if you use Wisery :D It was created exactly for smarter networking!
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I am very new to this world, but I loved attending a well-organized conference and the amount of exposure and new opportunities I got. I would say the best part for me was meeting other folks and gaining a huge number of contacts in just a few days. The socializing part is great too – sharing the same pain points 😅.
Anyway, sales and relationships are more about the work done before and after the conference. Also, I would say that out of that huge number of contacts, only a few are truly valuable
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