How to evaluate a business conference before paying for it
Most people waste time and money on networking events because they commit before securing any concrete meetings. Without a strict rule — such as requiring three confirmed meetings before the deadline — attendees end up surrounded by random service providers instead of potential clients or deals.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Setting a strict rule requiring a minimum number of pre-booked meetings before committing to travelDid this help you?
- 2Filtering out events that do not publish exhibitor listsDid this help you?
- 3Doing account management calls instead of traveling for existing clientsDid this help you?
- 4Asking the event organizer for the attendee mix from the last event instead of relying on the target audience on the flyerDid this help you?
- 5Looking for groups built around a specific trade or local industry rather than generic business networkingDid this help you?
- 6Attending smaller recurring breakfasts instead of big exposDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The rule we came up with is pretty simple. We only go if we have 3 confirmed meetings before the deadline.”source ↗
“For those of you who actually get B2B deals from conferences, where do they usually come from? Meetings you booked before the event or random conversations you couldn’t have planned?”source ↗
“I recently spent a day tabling at a Chamber of Commerce expo and realized almost everyone there was another service provider.”source ↗
“I’d really like to get better at choosing which networking events are worth the time and money.”source ↗
“For those who’ve had success with in-person networking, how do you evaluate an event before committing to it?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Is it okay to skip a networking event if I'm not prepared?
- 4Is it rude to skip a distant wedding when travel and money are tight?
- 5Is it still worth enrolling in STEP or travel registration?
- 5How to decide if I'm too sick for work
- 16Should I register a business before making any money?
- 2Is it worth paying more for an out-of-state college?