200+ reps/leaders signed up for the networking party in Austin

200+ reps/leaders signed up for the networking party in Austin later tonight.

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One, it still amazes me that this many reps/leaders want to hang out with me, Jed Mahrle, James Buckley, Leslie Douglas, and Will Aitken in person.

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Two, your sales org should be running a similar playbook.

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In a world full of AI/automation, it's a GREAT way to stand out to your buyers.

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Here's what that could look like:

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✅ Pick a city

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Cherry pick a city where your buyers are most densely populated. This is CRUCIAL. Don't make it hard to get butts in the seats.

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✅ Get exec buy-in

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If you sell to CHROs, your CHRO should be involved. If you sell to CISOs, your CISO should be involved.

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Your buyer wants to hang out with their peers.

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✅ Commit to a week

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You're gonna need a few months of lead time to send emails, make calls, LI messages, etc to invite everyone

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✅ Partner with recognizable names

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Could be "influencers" in your industry. Or well-recognized leaders at prominent logos (e.g. the CHRO for Rippling or CMO for Shopify).

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Pay them for their time. This helps more than you think to attract the right audience.

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✅ Plan a smallish exec dinner/experience

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This is where having recognizable names really helps.

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You can structure part of this as a fireside chat. Deliver some content.

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It's ideal to have networking + content.

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But PLEASE, for god sake, do not pitch your company or product.

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You aren't selling timeshares

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✅ Plan a larger "networking party"

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Open this up to ICs and above. This builds really great awareness for a bottoms-up or groundswell approach. And it's great for brand building.

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And after the event, you can reach out to leaders whose ICs attended.

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✅ Book in-person meetings around the events

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Do the exec dinner early in the week so you can schedule 1:1 meetings later in the week. If certain leaders can't attend the events, meet with them in-person.

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✅ Capture content

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Great video & images will help promote the next time around.

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~~~~

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This is what category-leading brands do.

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In a world full of AI sequences & automation, meeting in person with your buyers is a way to cut through the noise.

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With me?

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