anatomy of a truck event 5: secret of our success

our truck event was a riproaring success, by most of the ways we can measure it.

out of 100 invitations, we had roughly 80~90 people through the truck that day.

of the folks through the truck, we were able to mine 10 hot to warm leads with either new prospects or existing clients.

we also identified another dozen with pain points that we hope to address with them, and turn those into lead opportunities as well.

the ms folks couldn't believe those results, given that it was...

• a home-grown event
• held in our own backyard
• not piggybacking on anything else
• happening the week of thanksgiving

not only that, but the folks that did come through were all very good contacts, either existing clients or prospects for our consulting services that, quite frankly, were impressed...their own words...that we had such a tight relationship with microsoft and could get this kind of resource to our city.

so..how did we do it?

two words...phone calls

that's right...you heard me.

phone calls are the absolute key!

you see...i had wanted all the invitees to be contacted before the invitation cards were sent out...

first, so they'd know to be expecting the invitation card and wouldn't just toss it in the trash upon receipt.

second, and perhaps more importantly...because a personal phone call inviting you to something makes that invitation take on a whole new dimension. it also offers a chance to make an initial connection before the event, when things are more relaxed, rather than during the hustle and bustle of folks coming and going.

it's best if the folks who are going to be presenting are the ones making the calls. second-best would be folks who will be working the event outside.
anyone else...is better than nothing, but not by much.

time being in short supply that it was, i wasn't able to make all those calls.

but i did make followup calls, which was a very good thing.

in several cases, i discovered the folks had never received the invitation card. or may have thrown it out. or couldn't remember having seen it. no matter what the reason...in those cases, my call was the only thing that got them there.

after reviewing the attendance rate of folks who had received calls versus those who had not...the difference was staggering.

fully 80~90% of the folks who received calls came to the event.
only 10~15% of the folks who did not receive calls came to the event.

so...make the calls.

it's worth the effort!

on to part 6