Did you know Andy brought 20+ attendees to an ACE event in Korea only through LinkedIn outreach and - with zero Korean language skills, sitting almost 9,000km away - turned them into real, interested event participants who actually turned up?
Welcome to Chapter 3 of our event series focused on how to find, engage, and retain new leads. As our first order of business, we must escape the term “leads” by clarifying that your target goes far beyond the typical lead chase. Effective demand generation (DemGen) and delegate recruitment hinge on building genuine relationships.
Whether it’s working with existing prospects, reaching out to new leads, or seizing lucky opportunities, the process is about creating and nurturing connections rather than relying on cold, impersonal tactics.
If you have already read the previous chapters about making noise and targeting networking and partnerships, the following lines won’t surprise you.
Start… early.
Like months-in-advance early!
First, know your audience and establish your approach. There are three types of prospects at events:
Existing prospects: individuals or organizations you already know or have interacted with. By using internal data from your sales, marketing, and customer success teams, reach out to existing clients near your event location and arrange meetings or forms of engagements like lunch or dinner.
New prospects: potential clients who are fit for your offering but have no prior engagement with your business or events. Employ thoughtful LinkedIn outreach but avoid spammy, sales-focused messages. Instead, focus on personalized, relationship-oriented communication to build rapport, well before the event (Yes, that is what Andy did in Korea).
Lottery ticket prospects: all serendipitous connections made during the event with no prior planning. Be mindful of your approach to potential new leads. Don’t do the immediate hard sales pitch - as the legendary Chris Cooke always says : “Punters can smell ‘Commission Breath’ a mile off, and it makes them puke!” - but instead engage in a conversation with the next step in mind: a follow-up email, a LinkedIn connection, or a future meeting.
Key lessons for your delegate recruitment
Data-driven targeting: use your existing company user data to create priority lists. For instance, prioritize enterprise clients based on strategic tiers but avoid overtly categorizing leads in ways that could alienate others. Reach out to them like you are helping them solve their most crucial issue, not like you are selling them marketing templates for social media success.
LinkedIn is a networking tool, not a sales tool: don’t shy away from using automation but avoid generic and vague impersonal messages. Months before the event, begin engaging your network with meaningful, personalized outreach.
Outbound marketing or persistent follow-ups: advertising your event on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, or event Duolingo will undoubtedly make a crowd, but is it the right crowd? Be patient and schedule follow-ups with your best contacts (live or virtual meetings, calls) to keep momentum.
Andy’s favorite Korean example is not only a bragging piece but a proven theory about the potential of building relationships at scale. Standing by what he preaches, he repeatedly demonstrated that proactive, personal outreach can outperform traditional sales efforts.
Keeping the same principles, we are organizing The Anaheim ‘25 Rooftop 'Not a Party’ Party, an event made for companies who want to create long-lasting relationships with people genuinely interested in their field.
Key mistakes in your delegate recruitment
Never, never, never, ever, ever - have I made myself clear ? - ever ever never EVER send your prospects a generic marketing HTML email.
Never ever never.
Fun Man Andy
Over-automation: poorly executed automated outreach can alienate prospects and make you a person they want to naturally avoid.
Misusing contact data: don’t misuse or share contact details for marketing without consent. This erodes trust and damages relationships.
Ignoring follow-ups: Events are just the starting point. Follow-ups must be thoughtful and timely to solidify the relationship.
Key takeaways from this article
Delegate Recruitment is a Lifetime Effort: It's neither a sprint nor a marathon—it’s a continuous process of relationship-building.
Relationships and Personality: These are the cornerstones of effective demand generation and sales.
Be Thoughtful, Not Transactional: Success comes from building trust and understanding your audience, not just selling your product.
If you are still wondering how to improve your demand generation game, we may have a few collaborator packages left at the time of publishing.
As we aim to change the world of business, each Fun Inc organized event comes with pre- and post-event training, as well as webinars that educate companies on how to be better with their event, marketing, and sales processes.
Next time in Chapter 4, we will talk about Extra Events at Summits and whether they are successful lead generators or just an expensive mandatory evil.
Building trust builds the foundation for lifelong interaction. Love this!