B2B Sales Mixer Events

AI is flooding social channels. That’s why curated in-person events are quietly becoming the new B2B growth channel. Every founder and sales team is fighting for attention online. → Your inbox is full of cold pitches you’ll never open. → Your feed is flooded with AI-generated content that feels… flat. → Ads? Scrolled past before the logo even registers. It’s not that social is dead — it’s that trust is harder to earn than ever. Why IRL experiences are cutting through the noise: 1) They create real relationships. You don’t just “connect” — you shake hands, swap stories, and share an experience. 2) They build trust fast. Seeing someone speak, watching how they interact, hearing their expertise — that’s instant credibility. 3) They shorten the sales cycle. One conversation over dinner can do what six months of email nurturing can’t. Andrew Yeung’s perspective: “Some companies are already telling me events are their best-performing channel. As digital channels get more saturated, I think more companies will come running to us.” Andrew has proof: → 100+ events a year with over 20,000 attendees → All inbound sponsors — no outbound sales team → 80–90% profit margins without running ads His model works because each event isn’t a random gathering — it’s deeply curated. → The right mix of founders, decision-makers, and connectors → Clear event purpose (dinners, mixers, or conferences) → Strategic seating to spark valuable conversations Here's how you can steal this playbook (even without a massive audience): If you’re in B2B, run micro-events in your top customer cities. → 12–20 people max — curated invites only → Pick a theme relevant to your audience’s biggest challenge → Seed the room with connectors who can spark introductions → Follow up within 48 hours to keep the momentum going → Measure the results: Did conversations turn into deals? Did attendees bring referrals? Did it open new partnership doors? In an AI-saturated world, human connection is a premium asset. Your competitors are spamming inboxes. You could be hosting rooms they wish they were in. Build for it now. – ♻️ Share this post if you found it helpful. ➕ Follow me (Ish Verduzco) for more posts like this.

I do dozens of interviews with top CMOs every year. I always ask what the best performing marketing channel is. And right now everyone is saying events. Post COVID events are back, but also now in an AI world, I think there's a stronger appetite to get out and connect with real people vs. just getting answers from ChatGPT. But: like anything in marketing, running events just because everyone else is doing them is a great way to set money on fire (and still not drive any incremental business). Whether it's a booth at a trade show. A VIP dinner. A 500-person conference. They can all work. They can all flop. The difference: having a real plan and strategy for that event going in. Why do it in the first place? (which continues to be the most important lesson in marketing - what's in it for me? what's the hook? why should people come to our thing?) We talked to two event experts on the Exit Five pod recently Stephanie Christensen and Kristina DeBrito — and here are 5 keys they shared for B2B event success: 1. Pick the right format. Not all events do the same job. Big splash? Go flagship. Want pipeline? Try VIP roundtables. Tiny budget? Host micro-events around existing conferences. Set real goals. 2. “Leads” are not enough anymore. Are you driving awareness? Accelerating deals? Generating pipeline? Define this upfront—or you’ll waste time measuring the wrong stuff. There are more metrics than just "did we get leads from this event" and in today's world leads are tablestalkes. 3. Align your team, bro. Sales and marketing must move in lockstep. Slack alerts for registrations. Sales meeting updates. Leaderboards. It all matters. This is a team effort. 4. Make it memorable. People forget panels. They remember custom pancakes and great venues. Was the food good? Did the WiFi work? Did Oprah show up? Just kidding. Making sure you'r reading. But think surprise and delight, not branded frisbees. 5. Put the work in on the follow up. Events don't close deals - follow-up does. Segment attendees. Create custom offers. Babysit the handoff to sales like your job depends on it. Because it does. You just went shopping and got all these fresh groceries - dont let them spoil. B2B buyers want real connection again. Events can create that. Are you feeling this desire for events? Are you doing events in your business right now? Let me know...

"We just show up." That simple 4-word strategy is outperforming mainstream channels for many B2B companies in 2025. We used Wynter to survey 50 B2B SaaS leaders about which underutilized marketing channels or tactics are delivering their best results. The overwhelming winner? Attending or organizing in-person events. (This is also true for us at Wynter). Events ranked #1 among underutilized channels driving meaningful pipeline in 2025, outpacing LinkedIn thought leader ads and webinars. The straightforward approach is delivering measurable business impact: • "Events/field marketing has become significant... We find it particularly good to help speed up deal cycles and for prospects in an open opportunity to increase the close rate." • "We've expanded our events and used this as a way to break into the US market more. Face to face time is so important with the rise in digital channels." • "We typically attend and sponsor the same events each year and those were the most impactful in terms of output for us (# of leads, pipeline, opportunity generated)." • "Partner‑led events – we reach out to our partners and do account‑based sponsorships with them" • "We organize more intimate events (less than 20 people), taking people to a fancy dinner or an NBA basketball game" Why is this old school tactic working? One CMO put it best: "With ad costs rising, AI content overload and general digital fatigue, in-person presence creates a competitive advantage that algorithms can't replicate." If you want to do survey-based original research like this, you can use Wynter target customer surveys for it https://lnkd.in/edyREPef

Conferences are expensive, boring, and typically have low ROI....but company-led EVENTS on the other hand can be powerful signals. Here's the exact playbook we used at Onward to organize profitable events where prospects can have a great time AND move closer to buying: ➝ 1. Align on your goal. I used to make the mistake of expecting a close within 30 days of an event and would be continually disappointed based on that expectation. Now I consider events another "touch point" in the customer journey/funnel. Our goal is simply to usher the customer to the next stage of the funnel. So if all your leads are top of the funnel, don't expect to close at the event. It's about a) learning what moves the needle for them and b) educating them on our ROI. This will result in moving them to the next sales stage. Your mindset and intentions here are important because otherwise, your pitch will misfire and either come off too brash or too aggressive. ➝ 2. Set the agenda to be what the client would want—not what you want. One of our go-to tactics is mixing education and entertainment. We would create an interactive, immersive learning session w/ a world-class expert with a focus on equipping attendees with tangible takeaways in addition to networking. ➝ 3. Find great partners. In order to share the budget, we typically find like-minded companies that we want to partner with and share customer leads. We participated in Retention.com's marquee summer event in Malibu called Retox and it was one of the more lavish events we've been a part of with over 200+ brands attending. It takes a lot to move the needle for customers to get excited and sometimes you have to go all out! ➝ 4. Yet the simplest format is often the most effective—an intimate, private dinner. You'd be surprised at how much common ground you can find with a potential customer over a 2-hour dinner. Typically there are no pitches, just real connections. The sales pitches will come later—but upfront it's about getting to know one another and seeing how it would be to work together. Sales is about developing relationships and meaningful relationships are built when people can let their guard down and simply connect as human beings. And that's exactly what we aim for. So if you're tired of the same old networking scene and you're craving experiences that truly move the needle, I'd love to connect. What are some unique events you've thrown? I'm always looking for new ideas.