September 7, 2025 • 31 mins
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Ever wondered why some businesses collect stacks of business cards at events yet generate zero actual business? The difference lies in strategic event marketing that transforms casual connections into qualified leads.
Marketing expert Hayley Denker reveals her proven approach to leveraging both hosted and sponsored events for powerful lead generation. Rather than focusing on immediate sales, Haley shares how intentional follow-up systems create natural pathways for attendees to enter your business pipeline. You'll discover why simply collecting contact information isn't enough - and what to do instead.
For businesses hosting events, Haley provides tactical advice on expanding your reach beyond existing networks. She shares surprising insights about using Reddit communities and local event calendars to attract qualified prospects without appearing overly promotional. Her creative approach to on-site lead capture - from interactive demos to branded selfie stations - demonstrates how engaging experiences naturally facilitate follow-up conversations.
Sponsoring someone else's event? Forget standard logo placement. Haley explains how to negotiate for meaningful engagement opportunities that showcase your brand's unique personality. From signature cocktails with branded elements to specialized workshops, you'll learn how smaller businesses can maximize sponsorship investments without massive budgets.
The discussion extends to virtual event strategies, emphasizing how focused segments, interactive elements, and clear pathways to your broader ecosystem maintain engagement in digital environments. Throughout, Haley emphasizes the importance of setting clear objectives and embracing the "silent sell" approach - positioning yourself as an industry expert rather than pushing for immediate conversions.
Whether you're looking to host your first lead generation event or maximize your sponsorship ROI, this conversation provides actionable strategies to transform event marketing from a business card collection exercise into a consistent source of qualified leads.
Hayley Denker | Website | LinkedIn
Hayley’s career in marketing has paralleled the booming growth of social media. From restaur
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Tiny Marketing.
This is Sarah Norrblatt, andthis is a podcast that helps B2B
service businesses do more withless.
Learn lean, actionable, organicmarketing strategies you can
implement today.
No fluff, just powerful growthtactics that work.
Ready to scale smarter, hitthat subscribe button and start
growing your business with TinyMarketing.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi, my name is Haley Denker.
I'm the founder of Haley DenkerMarketing.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Awesome.
So today we're talking aboutusing events for lead generation
.
That's something that you'vegot mad talent in, so let's get
into it.
How did you first like stumbleupon this particular lead
generation strategy?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I think my approach in general is very intuitive, so
it felt like an intuitive kindof grassroots way to help our
clients connect with theirtarget audience.
And so, even as we're talkingright now using events like my
(01:12):
clients hosting events at LeadMagnet and then my clients
showing up and participating inevents you know as a sponsor or
an advertiser, you know as asponsor or an advertiser both of
those have kind of naturallybeen a part of almost all of our
client strategies andespecially, I would say, in the
(01:33):
last year and a half, I thinkwe've found a lot more of the
quality leads are coming fromthese in-person events.
Now, virtual events are also anawesome opportunity but in
particular, like where we'veseen a ton of success has been
(01:53):
in in-person events to kind offuel a pipeline.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Okay, let's talk about that.
So you have two differentstrategies you host them and
you're also attending otherpeople.
So let's do the host part first.
What kind of events?
How do you get people to attend?
How are you generating leads?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Sure, so two clients in particular come to mind when
thinking of hosting events.
So one of them is a womennetworking community.
So very natural for them to behosting events.
But using them as lead gen hasbeen really crucial, and the way
(02:39):
that they've shifted theirevents to be more than just
here's a networking event foryou to meet people and find
value in our group has been thefollow-up.
So, um, making sure that guestsdon't leave with just like a
business card and like a good,happy feeling.
They leave with the next step.
(03:00):
So so for this particularexample, for this networking
lead, they leave with either ameeting already set up with a
local chapter leader to talkabout next steps, a sign up, you
know, an invitation to sign upfor something virtual next week,
a coffee connection, but theythere, there has been some call
(03:24):
to action and next step in placeso that they're put into a
pipeline and already brought tothat next step.
Another example has been in thepower of being able to list your
events on other places and notjust rely on your own social and
email list but, you know,listing on everything from, you
(03:48):
know, your local, town and cityevents calendars.
There are so many differentones, to Eventbrite to even
Reddit.
Reddit has been an awesomeplace to find people who are
looking for whatever type ofevent you're doing and to say,
oh hey, I've heard that this isthis and plop the link.
We get so many people that wayto attend our events.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Okay, that shocks me.
Reddit scares the hell out ofme because people are just so
mean, right Right, so brutal andthey're so anti-marketing.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So this is Well, I'll tell you a secret I don't post
as a marketer.
I don't post as an advertiser.
It's so anonymous there youcould get away with it Right.
I post anonymously as like oh,I just happened to see this
myself, because oftentimes it'strue, like you know, oftentimes
(04:40):
I'm also attending the event, ormy friends will think the event
is cool and they're attendingit.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I happen to be attending this.
Okay, it's not a big deal,right?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'm going to be showing up, but it's a great.
A lot of people are.
You know.
There is a dark side of Reddit,but there is a big.
There are communities there ofpeople looking for what you have
to offer.
So maybe people are looking forsomething to do that doesn't
involve alcohol, and maybe youhave a non-alcoholic spirit, you
(05:11):
know brand, and you're going tobe doing a tasting at you know,
a local coffee shop orsomething like that.
There are people on Reddit whohave already created and
generated this community, soit's only natural for you to
show up and let them know thatyou're having an event yes, I
mean, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
So do you just do a search and like filter it by
time?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
yeah, very old school um.
This is when we really try tolike get into the mindset of
that ideal client.
So, um, going beyond using thislike non-alcoholic um brand
example, going beyondnon-alcoholic, you know um
mocktail class um.
(05:58):
So you know um sober bars,going beyond thinking about that
and also searching like sober,curious for um even health and
wellness, and just flopping thisin all of these communities
that you think people might beinterested, um tends to like
really get the message out there, which is why, again, events
(06:21):
can be so successful, becauseyou're not just talking about
like.
You know, here's my product,here's my product.
Yeah, we're talking about likecome have a good time with
like-minded people.
If it's like a wellness event,if it's a networking event, a
(06:42):
business event you're able totalk about.
You know me, sarah, I talkabout the vibe all the time.
You're like setting up thisvibe.
You're setting up this is thekind of person that enjoys what
we offer.
So it doesn't feel as salesy ormarketing, it feels like more
community building.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, that makes so much sense.
One other thing I wanted toglob onto there is the setting
up the next meeting in thatfirst event.
So question do you do that inlike a nurture sequence after
like with attendees, or are youdoing that in person?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
um, um.
So three different ways that wedo that.
One well, first, so yes, weabsolutely are collecting all
emails, having a nurturesequence and also making sure
that in our nurture sequencelike most of our clients who do
this will use some kind of CRMthat there's a personalized
(07:42):
touch point.
So, yeah, maybe it's anautomated email first, but then
is there someone like we haveour team, take meticulous notes
and be like I met the followingpeople.
So if you and I connected atevent, if I hosted an event and
you and I connect in, we'remaking a note that in some point
(08:04):
of their follow-up there shouldbe a personal note from me.
There should be like hey, sarah, I so loved meeting you whether
that's a LinkedIn message, a DM, something.
We're not just sending out anurture sequence, we're also
really engaging with them,following them on their socials,
connecting with them onLinkedIn.
We're also capturing as muchinformation from them as we can
(08:27):
on site.
So if we can set up a call onsite, we're making sure that we
have like the tech to do thatreally easily.
So we have an iPad set up thathas, you know, a calendar for,
like, next meeting.
Oh, let me like set this up foryou really quick bar qr codes,
um, throughout.
You know the event with some ofour lead magnets.
(08:50):
So for that, uh, women'snetworking community, we have a
bunch of resources like um, um,seven tips to network better at
your next event, and we have allof those around so that we're
learning a little bit more aboutwhat type of content they're
looking for.
Raffle entries we have lots ofways to capture their
(09:14):
information and potentially evenagain book that next step on
site.
And then we're also designingthe event for engagement so that
, again, we're able to follow upwith them in a much more
natural way afterwards.
So what I mean by that is um,um, interactive demos, branded
(09:37):
selfie stations, um content onsite, or or at least places to
create content on site.
There's this amazing photo walland they're posting a picture.
It's so natural for us the nextday to reach out and be like oh
my gosh, we loved meeting youlast night, which starts that
(09:57):
conversation up again.
We just had a.
I coached a photographer.
She was going to be a sponsorat an event.
She's like I want to be reallyengaging.
I don't necessarily want to doeverybody's headshots at this
event.
So what she did was she set upa table with all these different
(10:18):
props and created anopportunity for people to create
a flat lay with their businesscard.
Oh, that's so cute.
Some of them were these giantlike gold paper clips, some of
them were flowers, some weresunlit, like all these different
things, so you can kind ofcurate your brand and take a
picture.
Um, and people loved it andwe're coming and I've never seen
(10:41):
that before.
It's so clever, it was so great, and that really helped.
In afterwards People wereposting that photo and tagging
her.
So, just in case she wasn't ableto meet every single person
that she was interacting, shewas collecting their information
that way too, which was reallystrategic.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
That is brilliant.
I love that.
Okay, so for context, anybodywho is listening or watching and
doesn't understand how to use aCRM for an event like this,
I'll give an example.
So if you used HubSpot, youwould be able to collect that
(11:23):
information from an iPad rightthere on the spot.
You can scan their cards andit'll go right into it.
You can also schedule the nextmeetings right on there because
it's part, it's integrated intothe CRM.
So those are a couple of ways.
And then, when you were talkingabout like adding in a task for
personalization, that'ssomething that you can do as a
(11:43):
task, in a sequence, so you canhave the initial like thanks for
coming email automated and thenthe next task is connect on
LinkedIn, send them a DM, and ithas your notes right in there
because everything is in thesame space.
I don't use HubSpot, but all myclients do, and that's why I
use that as an example.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, one of our clients uses Entreport and it's
very similar, and they can then,and then they'll start to
assign those tasks out.
So for that women's networkinggroup, they have a bunch of
different chapter leaders sothey'll, based on location,
assign it to the appropriateperson.
That's smart.
Yes, you have a sales team.
It's, it's a great resource.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Yeah, that is really smart, especially because you
work with a lot of um what's theword I'm looking for where
they're in lots of differentlocations, multi-location
service industry yeah,multi-location, we'll call it
that.
Franchise is the word that Iwas thinking.
Multi Multi-location works also, so the person who's hosting
(12:48):
the event is not necessarily theperson that would need to talk
to that person later.
So that makes sense for like tobe able to assign out on the
CRM, yep.
So let's get into that secondpiece of it, the sponsored
events.
So you gave that awesomeexample of the photographer.
Can you show me a couple otherways we can use sponsorship and
(13:11):
events, especially if you'resmaller and you might not have a
massive budget?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So, okay, I'll give you two examples that um for
even for my own business.
So I sponsored an event and Idid.
I never want to sponsor anevent where the only the only
thing that I'm getting is, like,my logo on something.
I really want a way to kind ofengage with people a little bit
(13:40):
further.
So I know there was, there wasan event that I sponsored where
I was the drink sponsor, so Igot to come up with a signature
drink and then I also asked if Icould do cocktail napkins and
stirrers.
And they said of course.
So I did these really funcocktail napkins that had a QR
code that you could scan.
(14:01):
If you know me, you know I'mobsessed with all things like
country and cowboy boots.
So our cocktail was the spicycowgirl and it was like
margarita.
Um, if you know me, you knowI'm obsessed with all things
like country and cowboy boots.
So our cocktail was the spicycowgirl and it was like
margarita.
And then I got these um drinktoppers that I think a lot of
brides use, but I put my logo onit and it like it's made out of
like sugar or you knowsomething that dissolves, but
(14:24):
for the first couple of minutes,my logo's on top of it.
So I like created somethingthat was people would talk about
later.
Yeah, that was worth me, youknow sponsoring, and of course I
wore my cowboy boots and Italked to people about it, so
that was great Coming up.
(14:44):
In my local community there's amulti-chamber event, so it's
all of these different chamberof commerce um coming together.
What's the plural of chamber ofchamber of commerce is?
Speaker 1 (14:58):
in these.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
We're not commerce.
Maybe that's that's right.
Um, but they offer, you knowyou can do a table.
And I reached out and I saidand I don't actually, this is
like literally happening thisweek.
I have a call with them nextweek, so I don't even know if
this is possible.
This is how I'm thinking aboutthese opportunities.
(15:21):
I said you know, a table isn'ttotally how I would want to
market my brand.
Are there any otheropportunities?
Here are five ideas I have onhow I could add value to your
event.
And I said I could set up apanel talking about, you know,
marketing your business.
I could live.
Audit some businesses I couldcreate like a content creation
(15:45):
station.
Audit some businesses I couldcreate like a content creation
station.
I wanted to and I'm fullywilling to like pay to play, to
be there.
Yeah, it's just a better way todemonstrate kind of who I am as
a marketer and what I would wantmy clients to do.
We did for this plumbingcompany.
We did a local event.
They had a table and they wereplanning on just doing like
(16:05):
brochures and giveaway keychains.
This was a local town day, veryfamily friendly event.
So I said we have to dosomething, some engaging game
for the kids, because then theparents are going to bring the
kids over, the kids are going toplay the game and then we can
talk to the parents.
So we did that clog your toiletgame with the clean baths and
(16:27):
the kids were playing and theowner would then introduce
himself to the parents, talk tothem, give out his card, and he
got some really great clientsfrom that event.
It's just about rememberingthat this is, this needs to be
an intentional engagingopportunity.
An intentional engagingopportunity.
(16:47):
If you don't have a follow-upplan and you're not looking at
this as a way to generate leads,not just clients, then you're
just throwing a party, thenyou're just putting your peers
out on a table.
It needs to be something reallyengaging and that really
expresses the personality ofyour brand so that you're
memorable later.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
You are so creative.
I love it.
One thing, though, that I wantto just highlight that you said
is you can push back.
You're giving these peoplemoney.
It's okay, if you don't likethe options, to suggest other
options.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh, all the time.
A lot of my clients will belike oh, we sponsor this event
every year.
Haley, can you send them ourlogo?
And what I'll do is I'll reachout and I'll say, hey, here's
Clive's logo attached, wonderingif there's any other ways that
we could get involved with thisevent.
We're so excited, wondering ifthere's any other ways that we
(17:46):
could get involved with thisevent.
We're so excited.
Could we bring branded waterbottles for everybody?
If it was like a wellness class,could we and I'm really
approaching it not in a what dowe get for our sponsorship way,
but how can we add value?
Because the organizers reallyappreciate that and they're
thinking we're this wonderfulpartner.
It really is win-win becausewe're creating a better, more
(18:09):
engaging event for theirattendees and they just want
their attendees to have a greattime and come back again next
year.
So, yeah, definitely reach out.
If you see an event that isfull of your ideal clients,
reach out and ask if there's away for you to be involved, to
donate something in kind, to doa speech.
(18:29):
I'm constantly reaching out andasking people if they need
another speaker, if they need,you know, pens or something.
I'm constantly trying to getinvolved with more events in a
more creative way.
I actually wouldn't just giveevents.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You realize I'm not the pen girl, okay, so let's
talk a little bit about thevirtual side of it.
So all of this issemi-replicable, replicatable.
All of this is semi-replicable,replicatable online in virtual
(19:15):
experiences.
So how can you create anengaged experience?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
during a virtual event.
Um, a couple of things thatwe've.
I think the most importantthing in marketing an event is
to still remember that there areyou know, I'm sure you've
talked about before in your showdifferent client personas and
for your ideal client, and Ithink for a lot of people when
(19:42):
they market an eventspecifically, they forget some
of the best practices ofmarketing, which is, if you're
trying to reach everybody, youmight not reach anybody.
So, to remember that there arestill different people that need
to connect your message, toeven want to attend the event.
(20:02):
Some people want to make surethat they're going to get.
You know, people learn indifferent ways.
Some people will want this kindof experience, some people want
that kind of experience.
So, um, segmenting your listbased off of behavior and what
you know different people inyour audience want, and letting
(20:22):
them know that this event is forthem.
I think is important um and thenproviding different ways to
continue to um, to continue theengaging part.
So I know for events beforewe've offered sponsorship
opportunities for virtual eventsand what that's looked like has
(20:42):
been the hosts of the event andthe speakers will have a
branded Zoom background ofsomeone else's logo and they'll
talk for a couple minutes andhave that logo there Offering.
I know, if you're doing avirtual event, there's so many
different platforms, but evenZoom offers different ways that
you can engage with whetheryou're doing polls, having
(21:06):
somebody moderate the chat, sothat it can still feel like
you're encouraging people to askquestions.
I know if ever I do an event,I'm like please come off mute,
you won't throw me off, ask aquestion at any time.
But that might not be the waythat you work, but you still
want people to be engaging inthe chat and I think, like
(21:27):
breakout rooms can also be agreat way to keep people engaged
.
I think that's the probably thechallenge with an online virtual
event is it's not like inperson where you can walk around
and and kind of interact, butyou can replicate that with an
online event by using breakoutrooms, by asking questions,
(21:48):
doing polls and connecting themto something outside of the
event.
So, whether that's referencinga podcast, referencing a
Facebook group, a past post ofyours, a certain website,
referencing an email that'scoming or something that you're
going to give away in a futureemail, making sure that they're
(22:11):
part of your ecosystem of thingsthat you're doing and they're
not just showing up to thisevent and then leaving should be
a big part of your strategy,and I think it's more of a
challenge for online.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, I think keeping your virtual event like focused
, so you might have 20 minuteincrements, so people are like
actively doing something duringthose 20 minutes and then you
shift so people don't get boredas easily keep them as tight as
you can too, like they don'thave to be long, they can be
(22:45):
just segmented.
And then if you're doingsponsorships for someone else's
virtual event, you can get umyour information, like maybe you
do a training video thatappears on the thank you page
for that virtual event and itmoves them to your segment.
Yeah, so there are options likethat.
(23:07):
Or getting your logo in thelower thirds of someone's
virtual event.
You can be the moderator forone of those breakout rooms, a
very specific one that is likeyour special skill.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Yeah, I love those ideas.
It's all about keeping peopleengaged and making sure again
that they're leaving with theprompt of the next step of
engaging with you Now.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
is there anything else that you want the audience
to know before we wrap up Now?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
is there anything else that you want the audience
to know before we wrap up?
Again, I think it's like anyother marketing campaign in that
you want to make sure that youhave a really clear objective.
So is the goal of your event toand I ask this again whenever
we're hosting an event and wehave sponsors, I remind the
sponsors what would make thisreally successful for you.
(24:00):
Do you want to get emailaddresses because you have a
great nurture sequence you knowworks.
Do you want to book, consultcalls?
Are you looking to get newmember signups right from the
event?
Having a goal will help youfigure out kind of what you want
and what you should do.
A goal will help you figure outkind of what you want, what you
(24:21):
should do.
Um, design your event to beengaging whether that's almost,
you know.
Take content, having them dosomething, have them interact,
because then they're just gonnaconnect and remember you more.
Um, and then the follow-up iseverything again, making sure
that after the event you'rethanking them, you're showing
them photos If you had aprofessional photographer there
you're showing them pictures.
(24:41):
Making sure that it justdoesn't end at the end of the
event.
I think is key.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Yeah, I think that that is something that we should
just pause on for a second,because having that next step, I
just want the listeners toattach to that, have that next
step available and ready forthem and know that this is just
(25:11):
a first step in building thatlonger-term relationship with
them and building that longerterm relationship with them.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Yeah, it's a much harder leap to.
If you're going to an event andyou're like I want to sell my
product, I want to get newclients at this event, that's a
pretty hefty goal, yeah, youknow, and it might.
It really might turn out betterfor you might actually convert
(25:38):
more people if you bring themthrough a nurture sequence.
So maybe your goal isn't, howyou know, looking for the
clients, it's engaging people,bringing them in.
They join your email list andthen you're going to convert.
You might convert more and getmore clients that way, just
because it takes a little bitlonger.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah, I just posted episode 151 where I shared this
training called the silent sell,and it's basically about that.
Like if you try and selldirectly on an event, you're
going to turn a lot of peopleoff.
It's more about building thatrelationship and handpicking the
(26:17):
people who have already raisedtheir hand and shown you I want
to be sold to, and thennurturing the rest.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, yeah, it's.
It's setting yourself up as anindustry expert and showing.
That's why, like when I show upto an event, I want to do
something like out of the boxcreative, because I want people
to know like that's where wereally shine, is doing things
really differently, um, and thepeople that are drawn to that
(26:44):
are going to want more of that,and then then I can tell them
and this is how you can getsupport from us later.
But if I started my event justtalking about all of you know,
marketing support, we kind ofwould fade into the background.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah, just to be another tuning it out for sure,
as soon as someone smells sales.
Yeah, right, right, exactly,yeah, completely agree with you
there.
So can you tell the audiencehow they can find you and work
with you?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Yes, so I'm hayleydenkermarketingcom at
hayleydenkermarketing onInstagram and on LinkedIn.
I actually love I'm lovingLinkedIn lately more for like
conversations and people justkind of asking questions about
marketing and like you know.
So I love talking about thisstuff.
(27:37):
So if anyone wants to likeconnect with me on LinkedIn and
just like talk about this stuff,I love that and then working
with us.
So, again, we're mostly focusedon service-based industries
that are kind of at that pointwhere they just want marketing
off of their plate.
Maybe you know your team is atthe point where they can't have
(27:58):
marketing as their side jobanymore.
They have to really focus onsales and they need to focus on
running the business and youwant to pass it off to a team.
We're that team, so we doretainer services heavily into
strategy and we integrate rightinto your company's culture so
that you feel like we're just anextension of your team and
(28:18):
you're working mainly withconsumer-facing service
businesses like plumbing, hairsalons, gyms, that kind of thing
.
Yeah, even healthcarehospitality.
We actually love the challengeof.
You know, while we love workingin fun industries like beauty
and hospitality, home services,which can seem like they might
(28:41):
not be as fun, we lovetransforming those and telling
stories and it works so well incollecting leads.
They need you, yeah.
When a home service like can,like, stand out, they become
like the only person to call.
So those are really fun out.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
They become like the only person to call.
So those are really fun.
No, you are spot on about that,because so many of them don't
market so like if they have youon there.
Yeah, they all do the samething.
They use the same color.
So if they had someone like youon their side, they're just
going to pop off the pagebecause everyone else just
blends in.
Yeah, yeah, we hope so.
Yes, thank you so much forjoining me today.
(29:21):
Thanks, sarah, this is great.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
You love all things tiny marketing.
Head down to the show notespage and apply to join the tiny
marketing club, where you get towork one-on-one with me with
trainings, feedback and pop-upcoaching.
That will help you scale yourmarketing as a B2B service
business.
(29:43):
So I'll see you over in theclub.
Welcome to Tiny Marketing.
This is Sarah Norrblatt, andthis is a podcast that helps B2B
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi, my name is Haley Denker.
I'm the founder of Haley DenkerMarketing.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Awesome.
So today we're talking aboutusing events for lead generation
.
That's something that you'vegot mad talent in, so let's get
into it.
How did you first like stumbleupon this particular lead
generation strategy?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I think my approach in general is very intuitive, so
it felt like an intuitive kindof grassroots way to help our
clients connect with theirtarget audience.
And so, even as we're talkingright now using events like my
(01:12):
clients hosting events at LeadMagnet and then my clients
showing up and participating inevents you know as a sponsor or
an advertiser, you know as asponsor or an advertiser both of
those have kind of naturallybeen a part of almost all of our
client strategies andespecially, I would say, in the
(01:33):
last year and a half, I thinkwe've found a lot more of the
quality leads are coming fromthese in-person events.
Now, virtual events are also anawesome opportunity but in
particular, like where we'veseen a ton of success has been
(01:53):
in in-person events to kind offuel a pipeline.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Okay, let's talk about that.
So you have two differentstrategies you host them and
you're also attending otherpeople.
So let's do the host part first.
What kind of events?
How do you get people to attend?
How are you generating leads?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Sure, so two clients in particular come to mind when
thinking of hosting events.
So one of them is a womennetworking community.
So very natural for them to behosting events.
But using them as lead gen hasbeen really crucial, and the way
(02:39):
that they've shifted theirevents to be more than just
here's a networking event foryou to meet people and find
value in our group has been thefollow-up.
So, um, making sure that guestsdon't leave with just like a
business card and like a good,happy feeling.
They leave with the next step.
(03:00):
So so for this particularexample, for this networking
lead, they leave with either ameeting already set up with a
local chapter leader to talkabout next steps, a sign up, you
know, an invitation to sign upfor something virtual next week,
a coffee connection, but theythere, there has been some call
(03:24):
to action and next step in placeso that they're put into a
pipeline and already brought tothat next step.
Another example has been in thepower of being able to list your
events on other places and notjust rely on your own social and
email list but, you know,listing on everything from, you
(03:48):
know, your local, town and cityevents calendars.
There are so many differentones, to Eventbrite to even
Reddit.
Reddit has been an awesomeplace to find people who are
looking for whatever type ofevent you're doing and to say,
oh hey, I've heard that this isthis and plop the link.
We get so many people that wayto attend our events.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Okay, that shocks me.
Reddit scares the hell out ofme because people are just so
mean, right Right, so brutal andthey're so anti-marketing.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So this is Well, I'll tell you a secret I don't post
as a marketer.
I don't post as an advertiser.
It's so anonymous there youcould get away with it Right.
I post anonymously as like oh,I just happened to see this
myself, because oftentimes it'strue, like you know, oftentimes
(04:40):
I'm also attending the event, ormy friends will think the event
is cool and they're attendingit.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I happen to be attending this.
Okay, it's not a big deal,right?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'm going to be showing up, but it's a great.
A lot of people are.
You know.
There is a dark side of Reddit,but there is a big.
There are communities there ofpeople looking for what you have
to offer.
So maybe people are looking forsomething to do that doesn't
involve alcohol, and maybe youhave a non-alcoholic spirit, you
(05:11):
know brand, and you're going tobe doing a tasting at you know,
a local coffee shop orsomething like that.
There are people on Reddit whohave already created and
generated this community, soit's only natural for you to
show up and let them know thatyou're having an event yes, I
mean, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
So do you just do a search and like filter it by
time?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
yeah, very old school um.
This is when we really try tolike get into the mindset of
that ideal client.
So, um, going beyond using thislike non-alcoholic um brand
example, going beyondnon-alcoholic, you know um
mocktail class um.
(05:58):
So you know um sober bars,going beyond thinking about that
and also searching like sober,curious for um even health and
wellness, and just flopping thisin all of these communities
that you think people might beinterested, um tends to like
really get the message out there, which is why, again, events
(06:21):
can be so successful, becauseyou're not just talking about
like.
You know, here's my product,here's my product.
Yeah, we're talking about likecome have a good time with
like-minded people.
If it's like a wellness event,if it's a networking event, a
(06:42):
business event you're able totalk about.
You know me, sarah, I talkabout the vibe all the time.
You're like setting up thisvibe.
You're setting up this is thekind of person that enjoys what
we offer.
So it doesn't feel as salesy ormarketing, it feels like more
community building.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, that makes so much sense.
One other thing I wanted toglob onto there is the setting
up the next meeting in thatfirst event.
So question do you do that inlike a nurture sequence after
like with attendees, or are youdoing that in person?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
um, um.
So three different ways that wedo that.
One well, first, so yes, weabsolutely are collecting all
emails, having a nurturesequence and also making sure
that in our nurture sequencelike most of our clients who do
this will use some kind of CRMthat there's a personalized
(07:42):
touch point.
So, yeah, maybe it's anautomated email first, but then
is there someone like we haveour team, take meticulous notes
and be like I met the followingpeople.
So if you and I connected atevent, if I hosted an event and
you and I connect in, we'remaking a note that in some point
(08:04):
of their follow-up there shouldbe a personal note from me.
There should be like hey, sarah, I so loved meeting you whether
that's a LinkedIn message, a DM, something.
We're not just sending out anurture sequence, we're also
really engaging with them,following them on their socials,
connecting with them onLinkedIn.
We're also capturing as muchinformation from them as we can
(08:27):
on site.
So if we can set up a call onsite, we're making sure that we
have like the tech to do thatreally easily.
So we have an iPad set up thathas, you know, a calendar for,
like, next meeting.
Oh, let me like set this up foryou really quick bar qr codes,
um, throughout.
You know the event with some ofour lead magnets.
(08:50):
So for that, uh, women'snetworking community, we have a
bunch of resources like um, um,seven tips to network better at
your next event, and we have allof those around so that we're
learning a little bit more aboutwhat type of content they're
looking for.
Raffle entries we have lots ofways to capture their
(09:14):
information and potentially evenagain book that next step on
site.
And then we're also designingthe event for engagement so that
, again, we're able to follow upwith them in a much more
natural way afterwards.
So what I mean by that is um,um, interactive demos, branded
(09:37):
selfie stations, um content onsite, or or at least places to
create content on site.
There's this amazing photo walland they're posting a picture.
It's so natural for us the nextday to reach out and be like oh
my gosh, we loved meeting youlast night, which starts that
(09:57):
conversation up again.
We just had a.
I coached a photographer.
She was going to be a sponsorat an event.
She's like I want to be reallyengaging.
I don't necessarily want to doeverybody's headshots at this
event.
So what she did was she set upa table with all these different
(10:18):
props and created anopportunity for people to create
a flat lay with their businesscard.
Oh, that's so cute.
Some of them were these giantlike gold paper clips, some of
them were flowers, some weresunlit, like all these different
things, so you can kind ofcurate your brand and take a
picture.
Um, and people loved it andwe're coming and I've never seen
(10:41):
that before.
It's so clever, it was so great, and that really helped.
In afterwards People wereposting that photo and tagging
her.
So, just in case she wasn't ableto meet every single person
that she was interacting, shewas collecting their information
that way too, which was reallystrategic.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
That is brilliant.
I love that.
Okay, so for context, anybodywho is listening or watching and
doesn't understand how to use aCRM for an event like this,
I'll give an example.
So if you used HubSpot, youwould be able to collect that
(11:23):
information from an iPad rightthere on the spot.
You can scan their cards andit'll go right into it.
You can also schedule the nextmeetings right on there because
it's part, it's integrated intothe CRM.
So those are a couple of ways.
And then, when you were talkingabout like adding in a task for
personalization, that'ssomething that you can do as a
(11:43):
task, in a sequence, so you canhave the initial like thanks for
coming email automated and thenthe next task is connect on
LinkedIn, send them a DM, and ithas your notes right in there
because everything is in thesame space.
I don't use HubSpot, but all myclients do, and that's why I
use that as an example.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, one of our clients uses Entreport and it's
very similar, and they can then,and then they'll start to
assign those tasks out.
So for that women's networkinggroup, they have a bunch of
different chapter leaders sothey'll, based on location,
assign it to the appropriateperson.
That's smart.
Yes, you have a sales team.
It's, it's a great resource.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Yeah, that is really smart, especially because you
work with a lot of um what's theword I'm looking for where
they're in lots of differentlocations, multi-location
service industry yeah,multi-location, we'll call it
that.
Franchise is the word that Iwas thinking.
Multi Multi-location works also, so the person who's hosting
(12:48):
the event is not necessarily theperson that would need to talk
to that person later.
So that makes sense for like tobe able to assign out on the
CRM, yep.
So let's get into that secondpiece of it, the sponsored
events.
So you gave that awesomeexample of the photographer.
Can you show me a couple otherways we can use sponsorship and
(13:11):
events, especially if you'resmaller and you might not have a
massive budget?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So, okay, I'll give you two examples that um for
even for my own business.
So I sponsored an event and Idid.
I never want to sponsor anevent where the only the only
thing that I'm getting is, like,my logo on something.
I really want a way to kind ofengage with people a little bit
(13:40):
further.
So I know there was, there wasan event that I sponsored where
I was the drink sponsor, so Igot to come up with a signature
drink and then I also asked if Icould do cocktail napkins and
stirrers.
And they said of course.
So I did these really funcocktail napkins that had a QR
code that you could scan.
(14:01):
If you know me, you know I'mobsessed with all things like
country and cowboy boots.
So our cocktail was the spicycowgirl and it was like
margarita.
Um, if you know me, you knowI'm obsessed with all things
like country and cowboy boots.
So our cocktail was the spicycowgirl and it was like
margarita.
And then I got these um drinktoppers that I think a lot of
brides use, but I put my logo onit and it like it's made out of
like sugar or you knowsomething that dissolves, but
(14:24):
for the first couple of minutes,my logo's on top of it.
So I like created somethingthat was people would talk about
later.
Yeah, that was worth me, youknow sponsoring, and of course I
wore my cowboy boots and Italked to people about it, so
that was great Coming up.
(14:44):
In my local community there's amulti-chamber event, so it's
all of these different chamberof commerce um coming together.
What's the plural of chamber ofchamber of commerce is?
Speaker 1 (14:58):
in these.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
We're not commerce.
Maybe that's that's right.
Um, but they offer, you knowyou can do a table.
And I reached out and I saidand I don't actually, this is
like literally happening thisweek.
I have a call with them nextweek, so I don't even know if
this is possible.
This is how I'm thinking aboutthese opportunities.
(15:21):
I said you know, a table isn'ttotally how I would want to
market my brand.
Are there any otheropportunities?
Here are five ideas I have onhow I could add value to your
event.
And I said I could set up apanel talking about, you know,
marketing your business.
I could live.
Audit some businesses I couldcreate like a content creation
(15:45):
station.
Audit some businesses I couldcreate like a content creation
station.
I wanted to and I'm fullywilling to like pay to play, to
be there.
Yeah, it's just a better way todemonstrate kind of who I am as
a marketer and what I would wantmy clients to do.
We did for this plumbingcompany.
We did a local event.
They had a table and they wereplanning on just doing like
(16:05):
brochures and giveaway keychains.
This was a local town day, veryfamily friendly event.
So I said we have to dosomething, some engaging game
for the kids, because then theparents are going to bring the
kids over, the kids are going toplay the game and then we can
talk to the parents.
So we did that clog your toiletgame with the clean baths and
(16:27):
the kids were playing and theowner would then introduce
himself to the parents, talk tothem, give out his card, and he
got some really great clientsfrom that event.
It's just about rememberingthat this is, this needs to be
an intentional engagingopportunity.
An intentional engagingopportunity.
(16:47):
If you don't have a follow-upplan and you're not looking at
this as a way to generate leads,not just clients, then you're
just throwing a party, thenyou're just putting your peers
out on a table.
It needs to be something reallyengaging and that really
expresses the personality ofyour brand so that you're
memorable later.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
You are so creative.
I love it.
One thing, though, that I wantto just highlight that you said
is you can push back.
You're giving these peoplemoney.
It's okay, if you don't likethe options, to suggest other
options.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh, all the time.
A lot of my clients will belike oh, we sponsor this event
every year.
Haley, can you send them ourlogo?
And what I'll do is I'll reachout and I'll say, hey, here's
Clive's logo attached, wonderingif there's any other ways that
we could get involved with thisevent.
We're so excited, wondering ifthere's any other ways that we
(17:46):
could get involved with thisevent.
We're so excited.
Could we bring branded waterbottles for everybody?
If it was like a wellness class,could we and I'm really
approaching it not in a what dowe get for our sponsorship way,
but how can we add value?
Because the organizers reallyappreciate that and they're
thinking we're this wonderfulpartner.
It really is win-win becausewe're creating a better, more
(18:09):
engaging event for theirattendees and they just want
their attendees to have a greattime and come back again next
year.
So, yeah, definitely reach out.
If you see an event that isfull of your ideal clients,
reach out and ask if there's away for you to be involved, to
donate something in kind, to doa speech.
(18:29):
I'm constantly reaching out andasking people if they need
another speaker, if they need,you know, pens or something.
I'm constantly trying to getinvolved with more events in a
more creative way.
I actually wouldn't just giveevents.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
You realize I'm not the pen girl, okay, so let's
talk a little bit about thevirtual side of it.
So all of this issemi-replicable, replicatable.
All of this is semi-replicable,replicatable online in virtual
(19:15):
experiences.
So how can you create anengaged experience?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
during a virtual event.
Um, a couple of things thatwe've.
I think the most importantthing in marketing an event is
to still remember that there areyou know, I'm sure you've
talked about before in your showdifferent client personas and
for your ideal client, and Ithink for a lot of people when
(19:42):
they market an eventspecifically, they forget some
of the best practices ofmarketing, which is, if you're
trying to reach everybody, youmight not reach anybody.
So, to remember that there arestill different people that need
to connect your message, toeven want to attend the event.
(20:02):
Some people want to make surethat they're going to get.
You know, people learn indifferent ways.
Some people will want this kindof experience, some people want
that kind of experience.
So, um, segmenting your listbased off of behavior and what
you know different people inyour audience want, and letting
(20:22):
them know that this event is forthem.
I think is important um and thenproviding different ways to
continue to um, to continue theengaging part.
So I know for events beforewe've offered sponsorship
opportunities for virtual eventsand what that's looked like has
(20:42):
been the hosts of the event andthe speakers will have a
branded Zoom background ofsomeone else's logo and they'll
talk for a couple minutes andhave that logo there Offering.
I know, if you're doing avirtual event, there's so many
different platforms, but evenZoom offers different ways that
you can engage with whetheryou're doing polls, having
(21:06):
somebody moderate the chat, sothat it can still feel like
you're encouraging people to askquestions.
I know if ever I do an event,I'm like please come off mute,
you won't throw me off, ask aquestion at any time.
But that might not be the waythat you work, but you still
want people to be engaging inthe chat and I think, like
(21:27):
breakout rooms can also be agreat way to keep people engaged
.
I think that's the probably thechallenge with an online virtual
event is it's not like inperson where you can walk around
and and kind of interact, butyou can replicate that with an
online event by using breakoutrooms, by asking questions,
(21:48):
doing polls and connecting themto something outside of the
event.
So, whether that's referencinga podcast, referencing a
Facebook group, a past post ofyours, a certain website,
referencing an email that'scoming or something that you're
going to give away in a futureemail, making sure that they're
(22:11):
part of your ecosystem of thingsthat you're doing and they're
not just showing up to thisevent and then leaving should be
a big part of your strategy,and I think it's more of a
challenge for online.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, I think keeping your virtual event like focused
, so you might have 20 minuteincrements, so people are like
actively doing something duringthose 20 minutes and then you
shift so people don't get boredas easily keep them as tight as
you can too, like they don'thave to be long, they can be
(22:45):
just segmented.
And then if you're doingsponsorships for someone else's
virtual event, you can get umyour information, like maybe you
do a training video thatappears on the thank you page
for that virtual event and itmoves them to your segment.
Yeah, so there are options likethat.
(23:07):
Or getting your logo in thelower thirds of someone's
virtual event.
You can be the moderator forone of those breakout rooms, a
very specific one that is likeyour special skill.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Yeah, I love those ideas.
It's all about keeping peopleengaged and making sure again
that they're leaving with theprompt of the next step of
engaging with you Now.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
is there anything else that you want the audience
to know before we wrap up Now?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
is there anything else that you want the audience
to know before we wrap up?
Again, I think it's like anyother marketing campaign in that
you want to make sure that youhave a really clear objective.
So is the goal of your event toand I ask this again whenever
we're hosting an event and wehave sponsors, I remind the
sponsors what would make thisreally successful for you.
(24:00):
Do you want to get emailaddresses because you have a
great nurture sequence you knowworks.
Do you want to book, consultcalls?
Are you looking to get newmember signups right from the
event?
Having a goal will help youfigure out kind of what you want
and what you should do.
A goal will help you figure outkind of what you want, what you
(24:21):
should do.
Um, design your event to beengaging whether that's almost,
you know.
Take content, having them dosomething, have them interact,
because then they're just gonnaconnect and remember you more.
Um, and then the follow-up iseverything again, making sure
that after the event you'rethanking them, you're showing
them photos If you had aprofessional photographer there
you're showing them pictures.
(24:41):
Making sure that it justdoesn't end at the end of the
event.
I think is key.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Yeah, I think that that is something that we should
just pause on for a second,because having that next step, I
just want the listeners toattach to that, have that next
step available and ready forthem and know that this is just
(25:11):
a first step in building thatlonger-term relationship with
them and building that longerterm relationship with them.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Yeah, it's a much harder leap to.
If you're going to an event andyou're like I want to sell my
product, I want to get newclients at this event, that's a
pretty hefty goal, yeah, youknow, and it might.
It really might turn out betterfor you might actually convert
(25:38):
more people if you bring themthrough a nurture sequence.
So maybe your goal isn't, howyou know, looking for the
clients, it's engaging people,bringing them in.
They join your email list andthen you're going to convert.
You might convert more and getmore clients that way, just
because it takes a little bitlonger.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah, I just posted episode 151 where I shared this
training called the silent sell,and it's basically about that.
Like if you try and selldirectly on an event, you're
going to turn a lot of peopleoff.
It's more about building thatrelationship and handpicking the
(26:17):
people who have already raisedtheir hand and shown you I want
to be sold to, and thennurturing the rest.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yeah, yeah, it's.
It's setting yourself up as anindustry expert and showing.
That's why, like when I show upto an event, I want to do
something like out of the boxcreative, because I want people
to know like that's where wereally shine, is doing things
really differently, um, and thepeople that are drawn to that
(26:44):
are going to want more of that,and then then I can tell them
and this is how you can getsupport from us later.
But if I started my event justtalking about all of you know,
marketing support, we kind ofwould fade into the background.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah, just to be another tuning it out for sure,
as soon as someone smells sales.
Yeah, right, right, exactly,yeah, completely agree with you
there.
So can you tell the audiencehow they can find you and work
with you?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Yes, so I'm hayleydenkermarketingcom at
hayleydenkermarketing onInstagram and on LinkedIn.
I actually love I'm lovingLinkedIn lately more for like
conversations and people justkind of asking questions about
marketing and like you know.
So I love talking about thisstuff.
(27:37):
So if anyone wants to likeconnect with me on LinkedIn and
just like talk about this stuff,I love that and then working
with us.
So, again, we're mostly focusedon service-based industries
that are kind of at that pointwhere they just want marketing
off of their plate.
Maybe you know your team is atthe point where they can't have
(27:58):
marketing as their side jobanymore.
They have to really focus onsales and they need to focus on
running the business and youwant to pass it off to a team.
We're that team, so we doretainer services heavily into
strategy and we integrate rightinto your company's culture so
that you feel like we're just anextension of your team and
(28:18):
you're working mainly withconsumer-facing service
businesses like plumbing, hairsalons, gyms, that kind of thing
.
Yeah, even healthcarehospitality.
We actually love the challengeof.
You know, while we love workingin fun industries like beauty
and hospitality, home services,which can seem like they might
(28:41):
not be as fun, we lovetransforming those and telling
stories and it works so well incollecting leads.
They need you, yeah.
When a home service like can,like, stand out, they become
like the only person to call.
So those are really fun out.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
They become like the only person to call.
So those are really fun.
No, you are spot on about that,because so many of them don't
market so like if they have youon there.
Yeah, they all do the samething.
They use the same color.
So if they had someone like youon their side, they're just
going to pop off the pagebecause everyone else just
blends in.
Yeah, yeah, we hope so.
Yes, thank you so much forjoining me today.
(29:21):
Thanks, sarah, this is great.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
You love all things tiny marketing.
Head down to the show notespage and apply to join the tiny
marketing club, where you get towork one-on-one with me with
trainings, feedback and pop-upcoaching.
That will help you scale yourmarketing as a B2B service
business.
(29:43):
So I'll see you over in theclub.
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