It’s that time of the year again:  Conference season!  And Legalweek is right around the corner!  I’ll be there - will you?

Each year, we look forward to nearly 100 annual, legal tech events covering legal operations, information governance, cybersecurity, privacy, digital forensics, eDiscovery and legal tech law. These events are produced all over the world, but the bulk of them are in the United States.

Which events will you attend or sponsor, and how can your team make the most out of the time and financial resources, so that it impacts your firm's ROI in the long-run?

We spoke with 18 legal marketing and sales executives regarding their pro-tips for pre- and post-event marketing and sales strategies to help you get the most out of industry events you're attending this conference season. Here’s how they plan for events.

1. Select the Right Events 

Be calculative. Be selective. Evaluate which events to invest time and resources in based on the following key factors: 

• ​Are your existing clients attending the event?
• ​Will you genuinely be able to meet new prospects that align with your buyer personas?

• Do sponsors receive exclusive perks to network and engage with attendees?
• Is it better to simply be a speaker at an event rather than sponsoring the event?
• Is the event too new for you to determine ROI? Should you simply attend to evaluate the value for the following year's investment?

2.    Understand the Key Purpose Behind Your Involvement in an Event

Not every event needs to be attended with the sole purpose to prospect. Instead of just selling, you can try to be relevant and add other types of value (i.e. knowledge, resources, facilitating introductions). Some relationships require more time for nurturing before results are visible. 

Some might be handy for long-term networking and relationship building with other vendors and potential partners.  Understand ROI doesn't always have to be measured through money made - it can be awareness generated and credibility earned.

3.    Allocate Sufficient Time for Pre- and Post- Event Marketing Sales Activities 

Making the most of an event requires actual thought and effort.  You can't just wing it.  Allocate approximately 3-6 weeks of time for the following:

• Understand prospects attending the event.
• Network with prospects before the event (i.e. LinkedIn).
• Line up meetings and pre-schedule demos as much as possible.
• Design a booth, collaterals and promo materials.
• Send relevant, segmented emails.
• Generate awareness and interest through target-centric content.

• Track Leads and follow-up tasks in your CRM.
• Follow-up on specific requests, post-event, to ignite your deal-flow process.
• Convert leads to contacts only when engaged in a revenue-generating conversation.
• Update social media feeds with relevant content.

4.    Identify the Smartest Messaging 

The best way to maximize ROI from attending or sponsoring an event is to fine-tune your messaging for the target audience.

• Speak your buyer's language and address their pain points.
• Articulate why your technology is an ideal and safe solution concisely.  
• Make your buyer the hero.
• Ensure that marketing and sales uses cohesive messaging.

5.    Integrate a Variety of Marketing Activities at Multiple Touchpoints

Your competition is very likely fighting for the attention of the same target audience. Without being pushy, leverage a variety of marketing activities to stand out (and explain the value of your product or service both before and after the event through.

• Post and be present on social media (LinkedIn is a must).
• Send tailored drip email campaigns to segmented lists.
• Repurpose content across platforms and collateral.
• If you can't speak at an event, try to ask good questions to stand-out.
• Setup client meals / cocktail parties / coffee meetings that make you inviting and approachable in a comfortable setting.
• Schedule post-event meetings.
• Don't hyper-focus only on those whom you meet at the event. If you have the registration list, try to engage with relevant buyers whom you may not have met after the event. 
  

6. Use Technology to Your Advantage

CRM tools are essential for a variety of reasons. They act as a single repository to bring sales, marketing and customer support activities together.  For events, be sure to log data (i.e. How many people did you connect with? How many people were interested?) in a CRM and track targeted engagement. 

•  Setup automated workflows.

• Track efforts and activity in real-time.
• Access analytics to adjust messaging and strategy accordingly.
• Follow-up on time.
• Segment prospects to cater to them with targeted messaging at each stage of the sales cycle.

A blog published on WebFX indicates the following impressive stats:

• 45% of businesses attribute improved sales revenue to CRM software.
• $1 spent on CRM results in an average ROI of $8.71.
• CRM software may improve conversion rates by 300%.
• Using a CRM platform my boost revenue by 245%.
• Ninety-two percent (92%) of businesses feel using a CRM software was crucial to attaining their revenue goals.

7. Encourage Synergy Between Marketing & Sales Teams to Support Growth

Your sales team should communicate what their needs and goals are so your marketing team can equip them with the right materials and appropriate messaging.  For example, does your sales team need checklists, cheat sheets or Q&A material?

Both should be a part of overall strategy building. Depending on the size of both teams, you may want to involve your marketing team in qualifying leads before your sales team speaks with them. The marketing team can also set up drip campaigns, so your sales team only follows up with high scoring leads on a priority basis.

8. Advice from the Experts

Take the advice of some of our industry’s leading experts to have your best event yet:

Ari Mandel, Gulfstream Legal Group:  "Show up. Be present. Be seen. Be engaged. Be respectful of the event and attendees.  Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to someone or ask for an introduction."

Marco Nasca, Lineal:  "Don't try to sell.  Legal is more about relationships. Build a relationship in order to pave the path to sales."

Brad Hendrickson, Termscout:  "Each show is different in purpose, attendees, knowledge, awareness and revenue generation opportunities.  ROI doesn't always mean you have to make money.  ROI is credibility, contacts and networking, brand and personal awareness.  Legal tech and legal sales is a long game."