Quick Win + Pro Tip: Use Reactivation As a Strategy to Win More Work

One of our favorite things to write about is the sales cycle in the live event space. We’ve all been to events. We’ve seen how a great AV team can make all the difference in the world. So let’s use the perspective of AV to talk about reactivating customers.

Why?

Because events happen every year. Some even repeat bi-annually or quarterly. And yet, when many live events companies are looking to grow their business, they miss one of the most obvious places to find leads to contact and new event opportunities to quote: Their inventory management system or CRM.

When you use a CRM, like Pipedrive or HubSpot, or an inventory management system, like Lasso, Rentman, Flex, or Intellievent, you’re sitting on a goldmine of event information, live event contacts, and knowledge that will help you approach organizations with the goal of getting more business.

The first step is looking at events you previously quoted that took place 6-9 months ago. If they are annual events (and many are), this means their upcoming event will likely be in the next 3-6 months.

For events that you won and worked on (whether you worked on the event once or 15 times), reach out to your point of contact. It may seem early, and you certainly don’t need to push them to start planning components of the event they aren’t ready to. But reaching out early shows your client that your team is proactive, engaged, and dedicated to the success of the event. It shows that you’re organized and that their event is a priority.

It’s easy to assume when an event goes well that your team is a shoe-in for subsequent events - but that isn’t always the case. From other vendors reaching out to a change in the planning team’s structure, business that seems like a sure thing can easily change hands. Starting this conversation early, before another live event company reaches out or an RFP is issued, decreases the risk of a competitive bid process starting.

Of course, if you’re only reaching out to customers you’ve worked with for events you have experience working on, you’re missing half of the reactivation picture. In fact, one of the most important ways to use your CRM is to track the deals you lost.

Look back at that list of events you quoted that took place 6-9 months ago, only this time, pay attention to the ones you didn’t win.

Look each one up in your CRM and answer the following questions:

• What details do you have about the event?
• What do you know about the organization?
  
• What do you know about the meeting planner?
  
• Did you record the reason why you lost the event? If so, what was it?
  

Now it’s time to do some research. Find out if the event is, in fact, recurring, or if the organization has any other upcoming events.

If so, it’s time to be proactive. Reach out to your point of contact with a simple email, inquiring if they’re working on the event this year and asking if they’d be open to seeing some of your ideas or an event quote.

You may not have been awarded the event you initially bid on, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities in the future - and reaching out will keep you on their radar.

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