Ever felt like you're playing a game of marketing ping-pong with your sales team at a B2B event, but the ball keeps bouncing off in different directions? We feel you! Collaboration can be difficult, but it's also extremely important.

As per our 2022 survey on B2B eent trends, 58% of B2B marketers use pipeline generation to measure event success, so it’s clear that sales-marketing collaboration will play a pivotal role in driving revenue through B2B events. 

So how do we remove the obstacles that prevent us from aligning seamlessly with sales? The first step is to have an actionable plan.

Today, we’ll look at specific steps event marketers can take to ensure they better align with their sales counterparts at every stage of a B2B event.

Before the event:

The first thing you’d want to do is to align sales in the event strategy phase itself. Asking the right questions in your before-event huddle is crucial:

• What metrics will determine the success of this event?
• What is your target number of high-intent leads that you hope to convert into closed sales during or after the event?
• What methods will you use to gauge your success in advancing deals?
• What kind of return on investment is being looked at?

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During the event:

Once the event unfolds, the focus should be on gaining a detailed understanding of the behavior of your attendees during the event. This includes analyzing the specific questions they ask during sessions and their reactions to in-session polls.

With proper context to each attendee’s journey, sales can tailor relationship building efforts in a relevant manner. 

‍For example, you can provide top priority contacts with links to personal breakout rooms where you can respond to their questions and discuss their preferred topics.

Take me to the complete during-event checklist

After your event: 

The phrase ‘strike while the iron’s hot’ has never been more relevant to events! It’s crucial to follow-up with your prospects while the impact of the event is still in their minds; anything after this sweet spot is a shot in the dark! When sales and marketing have a shared understanding of event performance, both teams can work together to prioritize leads and quickly follow up on the most promising opportunities.  empowering sales with quick follow-up event content is key here, so plan your giveaways ahead of time, such as

• An email with the recording of your event + inviting feedback 
• A relevant ebook or report that your sales team can use to add more value to their outreach 

Just so you don't miss a single step, we've created an actionable checklist to track all your alignment activities.

... and that's about it for now.

Try implementing these steps for your upcoming events; you'll definitely notice the difference! By aligning better with your sales team, you can not only bring better returns with every B2B event but also ensure that the messaging and positioning of your company is consistent, which is necessary to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

Also read: How event technology can influence sales-marketing collaboration