You’re doing event follow-up wrong. Let’s fix it

Hey there, Sarah Reece again, Director of Demand Generation at Orum. So, you’ve just wrapped up an event and collected a stack of leads, and now the ROI tracking begins. Events are a huge investment; if you’re not nailing the follow-up, you’re leaving money on the table. But don't worry.

I’m here to walk you through Orum’s tried-and-true event follow-up playbook, in which marketing and sales collaborate to turn conversations at events into pipeline.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be a follow-up pro.

1. First Steps: Vibe Check and Lead Management

Let’s start with the basics. You’ve just finished an event, and your CRM is flooded with new leads. What’s next? First, take a moment to do a vibe check. Yep, you heard that right. Before diving into the numbers, get a feel for how the event went.

What was the attendee experience? Did your traffic stopper—like that giant red phone booth—spark conversation? Understanding how the event felt will help you choose the right medium and message for follow-up.

Practical Tactic: Gather intel from the team members on the ground. What was the overall sentiment? Were there any standout moments? Use this feedback to craft follow-up messages that feel personal and relevant rather than generic and flat.

Our event lead posts a detailed daily recap of multi-day events in Slack. It’s so well written that those who aren’t on the ground feel like we were there. This gives us an opportunity to do vibe checks in real-time so that we’re ahead of the game when it comes to following up.

2. Customize Your Approach Based on the Event Type

You’re not dropping everything into a multi-channel sales sequence, are you? Or worse, a marketing nurture?

Not all events are created equal, and neither should your follow-up be. Your approach must change accordingly, whether it’s a massive conference or an intimate executive dinner. Your SDR team might be doing follow-ups at significant events, referencing that quirky booth setup and the various ways you generated buzz.

But for more exclusive gatherings, the follow-up should be just as exclusive—handled by the reps who were there, creating a more personal touch. Building relationships in those more intimate settings is a perfect justification for reaching out, and the attendees should always perform outreach.

It may seem small, but if your follow-up's tone and style differ from their experience in person, it will feel disjointed to the prospect. You want to build trust and, ultimately, a relationship with them, which starts with consistency.

Practical Tactic: Adjust your follow-up strategy based on the event type. For large conferences, leverage visuals like photos of your booth in your outreach. For smaller, more intimate events, ensure that follow-up is handled by the reps who were actually present, keeping the conversation personal and relevant.

3. Collecting the Right Information: The Key to Relevant Follow-Up

Your team isn’t just there to chit-chat—they’re there to gather critical information. From gauging brand awareness to understanding how prospects perceive your product, this intel is invaluable for crafting a resonant follow-up.

Your on-the-ground team needs to treat their interactions with prospects like a discovery call. Uncover their current challenges and needs. Keep the pitching about your product or platform light. You want them aware of who you are and what you do, but you’re also laying the groundwork for those follow-ups.

Practical Tactic: Prep your event team with specific questions to ask prospects, like how they’ve heard of your brand, what they think of your competition, and who in their organization is responsible for sourcing pipeline. Be sure fields for these questions exist in whatever tool you’re using for lead capture and that the team is enabled before and during the event.

This data will inform your initial follow-up and ensure AEs have plenty of context when they’re handed the conversation later. It’s all about consistency.

4. Timeliness and Relevance: The Golden Rules of Follow-Up

If there’s one thing you take away from this guide, let it be this: Speed and relevance are everything. The longer you wait to follow up, the colder those leads get. And if your message doesn’t speak to the experience they just had at your event, it’s going to fall flat.

Practical Tactic: Implement a “speed to lead” policy where your team follows up with event leads within 24 to 48 hours. Use the intel you gathered during the event to make your follow-up messaging as relevant as possible, referencing specific conversations or highlights from the event.

Don’t forget to prep your MOps team for the incoming leads well before the event so they are ready to play their role with a quickness!

5. Treat Event Leads Like Liquid Gold

When those leads hit the sales team, it’s game time. Your sales team should treat these leads like liquid gold—prioritizing them over their regular outbound leads. Why? Because event leads are warm. They’ve already shown some interest, which means they’re more likely to convert if handled correctly.

Speed to lead is massive here! Consider this moment identical to when someone seeks a demo request on your website. These people came to your booth and spoke to someone at your company. They know who you are and have had their interests piqued. Capitalize on it!

Practical Tactic: Set the expectation with your sales team that event leads are top priority. These aren’t just cold contacts; they’re people who’ve already interacted with your brand. The sooner they follow up, the better the chances of turning those leads into actual opportunities.

For us, this follow-up looks like a phone call a day after our first email is sent. With Orum, it’s easy for reps to run through their call tasks. Prep the team with a talk track that references the event as well as the email, and let them do what they do best: sell.

Bonus points: if you have access to a virtual sales floor, have your marketing team hop on with the sellers when they call down the list. There is nothing like discussing attendee feedback live with your sellers.

6. Communication is Key: The Handoff from Marketing to Sales

Many teams drop the ball during the handoff between marketing and sales. But not you. Not this time. At Orum, we ensure that our handoff is seamless by keeping everyone in the loop. This means constant communication before, during, and after the event.

See our guide about marketing and sales collaboration for more details on how we do this.

Practical Tactic: Use tools like Slack channels and Notion pages to share all relevant event details with the sales team. Join their meetings, give them a heads-up about incoming leads, and ensure they know the context behind each contact. This isn’t just about dumping a list of names on them—it’s about setting them up for success with all the necessary information.

7. Collaboration is Not Optional—It’s Essential

At the end of the day, successful event follow-up isn’t just about the tools you use or the speed at which you act—it’s about collaboration. Sales and marketing must be on the same page, working together seamlessly to ensure those leads turn into real opportunities.

Practical Tactic: Make collaboration between sales and marketing a priority, not an afterthought. Regularly scheduled check-ins, shared tools, and open communication channels are key to ensuring that both teams are aligned and working towards the same goal.

There’s gold in those events

So, there you have it—your complete guide to event follow-up success. When marketing and sales work together, the magic happens. By prioritizing communication, acting quickly, and keeping your follow-up relevant, you’ll maximize the ROI of your events and build a stronger, more effective sales and marketing partnership.