If you work in B2B marketing, you know events can be one of your biggest pipeline drivers - or your biggest headaches. Your ABM events strategy isn't just about getting prospects in a room - it's about creating experiences that forge genuine relationships with your target accounts.

This guide will show you how to create high-impact events that keep your customers, sellers, and CFO happy while driving real business results.

Finding the Perfect Venue (That's Worth the Babysitter)

Looking for inspiration for your next B2B event? Stop looking at B2B events. The most memorable corporate gatherings take cues from exceptional weddings, music festivals, and boutique experiences. Instead of defaulting to a standard restaurant buyout, consider:

• Booking a sunset sailing excursion around Manhattan

• Organizing an axe-throwing competition

• Hosting a whiskey tasting with a master distiller

💥 How To Apply This:

• For major cities, search "[City] bot reservations" to find the most in-demand venues that people are trying to hack their way into

• Choose venues that provide built-in activities to reduce awkward small talk

• Ask yourself: "Would someone pay for a babysitter to attend this?"

Using Data to Fill Your Room

The key to high attendance isn't sending more invites - it's sending smarter invites. Here's how to use data to target the right attendees:

• Upload your target account list to tools like Clay to identify location hotspots

• Partner with companies that share your ICP for co-hosted events. Think of what you have more of - usually time or budget and use that to negotiate. For example, an agency might have limited budget but typically have a field marketer who has excess capacity. Offer to foot the bill in exchange to logistics planning.

• Time events around major conferences in your target cities

For executive events, plan on inviting 10x your desired attendance. For director-level and below, 3x coverage usually suffices.

💥 How To Apply This:

• Maintain a 70/30 prospect-to-customer ratio to enable organic peer selling

• Test messaging with tier 2 accounts before inviting your highest-value prospects

• Give BDRs at trade shows one goal: drive event registrations (not booth scans)

Making It "Can't Miss" (And Actually Miss-Proof)

The days between send and event are critical. Here's your pre-event playbook:

1. Send strategic communications at these intervals:

   • One month before (message: excitement about the event and overall agenda)

   • Two weeks before (message: who's coming)

   • One week before (message: who's coming, dress code, pair people up from peer companies and roles so the connections can happen before the event)

   • One day before (message: Uber vouchers, dress code, address)

   • One hour before (message: address and parking instructions)

2. Remove all friction:

   • Offer Uber vouchers (most won't use them, but they appreciate the option)

   • Send clear dress code guidance and avoid vague themes, like Vegas glam. If you choose a theme, make it approachable.

3. Build FOMO and connection:

   • Assign "buddy" pairs to connect before the event. That way, introverted people can connect with folks ahead of time.

   • Offer prizes for buddies who find each other first (like a bottle of wine)

💥 How To Apply This:

• Survey registrants about topics they want to discuss - you've just open sourced your agenda!

• Create a directory of confirmed attendees with LinkedIn profiles. (you can search for "company directory" templates in Notion.)

  

The Details That Make Events Memorable

If you're bored planning it, expect your guests to be bored attending it. Here are proven ways to elevate the experience:

• Print custom menus and conversation cards based off of the location's design.

• Hire a professional photographer

• Create activity-based networking (like hidden prize searches)

• Switch up seating arrangements halfway through

• Support local businesses with meaningful gifts (skip the branded swag, no one cares about your phone chargers)

💥 How To Apply This:

• Schedule specific discussion topics for each hour (and print on the back of badges)

• Assign strong facilitators to guide conversations

• Send post-event gift cards to a coffee shop to connect people who bonded

Inspo from my team's creative design, ranging from agendas, swag, and places to write notes:

The CFO's Favorite Part: Converting Events to Pipeline

The work isn't over when the event ends. Here's how to maintain momentum:

1. Share professional photos immediately

2. Connect prospects with their assigned AEs

3. Send $10 coffee gift cards to encourage follow-up meetings between attendees

4. Track which prospects engage most post-event. Build a database so you can invite them again and nurture the relationship

Get Your Copy of The Field Marketing Dashboard Template

Events and conferences have a huge cost, but we've put together a dashboard template you can use to make sure you're able to prove the ROI.

This template will help you:

• Identifying events that are meeting, exceeding or underperforming - and problem solving immediately

• Making data-driven decisions on where to allocate marketing budgets, tweak event strategies, and more

• Collaborating with your sales team on moving specific opportunities forward

Get your copy today (and forward this to your event colleagues).