Katy Hammond of 6-time SaaStr Annual sponsor couldn’t make SaaStr Annual this year so she put together a list of top tips for folks manning booths at Annual — and in general. I loved the list, so I’m “borrowing” it below. These are the basics you have to get right if you are going to sponsor a big event — that many still don’t get right.
She hit 183% of plan with these tips.
And I have to tell you — I see so many AEs, SDRs, and more just not following these great tips.
“My top SaaStr/conference tips for sales teams (last year after SaaStr I did 183% in Q4, Paddle ranked as the #1 brand, and I made connections I still speak with regularly):
â Get out of the box.
donât stay in your booth waiting for people to come to you. Step out a bit into the aisle. People want to stop but itâs more intimidating/awkward to walk into the booth. Invite them in. And please, donât sit down!
â Donât have a boring pitch:
if you have to take a deep breath in before you answer the initial âwhat do you guys do?â then youâre doing it wrong. Keep it light and short for that initial answer. Practice with your team before. I often start with something like âwe keep your CEO out of jailâ (because we take on all sales tax compliance and risk) and that is more interesting than a long winded full explanation which you can certainly get into once theyâre hooked.
â Pass off bad fits and communicate this plan ahead of time to your team
I like to tell marketing or non sales people on the team in the booth that if I can tell someone is not a fit after a minute or two, Iâll pull and introduce one of them so I can keep fishing for the good fits (donât do this to your execs, they are all in sales)
â Schedule meetings live, not in follow up:
If a conversation is going well and you think you want a meeting after the event, donât just scan them. Have your calendar on your phone and pull it out right there âletâs schedule something for next week to continue?â you will be surprised how many you book (I think I did 9 meetings last year). Donât use a laptop. They donât work as well as the casual calendar on your phone (I tested this at another conference)
â Get off your phone
Mothing looks worse than an AE sitting down at a booth with their nose in their phone. If youâre taking notes after a conversation, turn around so people passing donât see you on it. And be quick.
What else would you add?
Iâm too pregnant to be at SaaStr this year, I canât travel! But my Paddle team will be there so make sure you stop by and say hi đđź”