Events Planning

---
name: events-planning
description: >-
  Plan and execute B2B events — conferences, webinars, dinners, happy hours,
  trade shows, and owned events. Use when planning any business event to
  generate pipeline or build community. Triggers on: "event planning", "plan
  event", "host webinar", "conference strategy", "trade show", "customer dinner",
  "happy hour", "launch event", or any event-related request.
license: MIT
compatibility: Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Goose, Hermes, Windsurf, Zed
metadata:
  version: "1.0.0"
  author: LeadMagic
  category: founder-led
  tags: [events, conferences, webinars, community, field-marketing]
  frameworks:
    - "Priya Parker — The Art of Gathering"
    - "Paul Graham — Do Things That Don't Scale"
    - "Forrester (SiriusDecisions) — Demand Waterfall"
  related_skills: [marketing-strategy, launch-planning, content-distribution]
---

# Events Planning

## Overview

Events are the highest-trust channel in B2B. A 60-minute dinner with 10
prospects builds more pipeline than 1,000 cold emails. But events without
a system produce expensive parties, not revenue.

This skill covers B2B event planning: format selection, budget, promotion,
execution, and the attendee-to-pipeline conversion that makes events pay
for themselves.

## Authoritative Foundations
- **Priya Parker — The Art of Gathering** — Start from a specific purpose and a curated guest list; the format follows the purpose, not the venue.
- **Paul Graham — Do Things That Don't Scale** — Early on, small hand-run events (dinners, meetups) create deeper relationships than large sponsorships.
- **Forrester (SiriusDecisions) — Demand Waterfall** — Measure events by the pipeline stages they create and accelerate, not by attendance.

## When to Use

- "Plan a customer dinner"
- "Host a webinar"
- "Strategy for attending a conference"
- "Run a launch event"
- "Plan our event calendar"
- "Trade show preparation"

## Step-by-Step Process

### Phase 1: Event Format Selection

| Format | Best For | Budget | Pipeline Potential | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Webinar** | Education, content, broad reach | $0-500 | Medium | Low |
| **VIP Dinner (8-15 people)** | Executive relationships, high-ACV | $1-3K | High | Medium |
| **Happy Hour (30-50 people)** | Community, prospect mingling | $500-2K | Medium | Medium |
| **Conference Sponsorship** | Brand awareness, lead gen | $5-50K | High (if targeted) | Medium |
| **Conference Attendance** | Networking, learning, meetings | $1-3K/person | Medium | Low |
| **Trade Show Booth** | Lead gen, product demos | $10-100K | Medium-High | High |
| **Owned Conference** | Thought leadership, community | $50-500K | Very High | Very High |
| **Workshop / Masterclass** | Deep education, product adoption | $500-3K | High | High |
| **Roadshow (multi-city)** | Geographic expansion, enterprise | $20-100K | Very High | Very High |

### Phase 2: Budget Planning

Per-person cost benchmarks:
- Webinar: $0-10/attendee (platform + promotion)
- Dinner: $100-200/person (venue, food, drinks)
- Happy Hour: $30-60/person
- Conference sponsorship: $5-50K (varies wildly)
- Trade show booth: $10-50K (booth + travel + materials)
- Owned event: $100-500/person

Include: venue, F&B, AV/production, travel, materials, promotion, staffing,
speaker fees, contingency (15%).

### Phase 3: Promotion Timeline

**8 weeks out:** Announce event. Create landing page. Begin email promotion.
**6 weeks out:** Social promotion begins. Speaker confirmations finalized.
**4 weeks out:** Personal outreach to target attendees. Early bird deadline.
**2 weeks out:** Final push. "Last chance" messaging. Confirm logistics.
**1 week out:** Send calendar invites, venue details, prep materials.
**Day before:** Final confirmation emails. Speaker run-through.
**Day of:** Social coverage. Real-time posting. Attendee check-in.
**Post-event (24 hours):** Thank-you emails. Content follow-up. Survey.
**Post-event (1 week):** ROI report. Pipeline attribution. Lessons learned.

### Phase 4: Attendee-to-Pipeline Conversion

**Pre-event:**
- Identify target accounts attending. Brief your team on who to meet.
- Schedule 1:1 meetings during the event (don't leave it to chance).
- Prepare specific questions for each target contact.

**During event:**
- Tag every meaningful conversation in CRM within 24 hours.
- Voice memo or quick note after each conversation (don't trust memory).
- Collect business cards/digital contacts. Add to CRM same day.

**Post-event:**
- Follow up within 48 hours. Reference the specific conversation.
- "Great meeting you at [event]. Re: what we discussed about [topic] — here's
  the case study I mentioned."
- Track: meetings booked from event contacts, pipeline generated, revenue
  attributed. Compare to event cost.

### Phase 5: Event ROI Formula

```
Event ROI = (Pipeline Generated × Average Win Rate × Average Deal Size) ÷ Event Cost
```

Target: 3:1 ROI minimum for recurring events. First-time events may not hit
this — track pipeline over 6-12 months, not 30 days.

## Output Format

Event plan with: format selection rationale, budget breakdown, promotion
timeline, attendee target list, team briefing document, and post-event
ROI tracking template.

## Quality Check

- [ ] Event format selected based on ICP and goals
- [ ] Budget allocated with 15% contingency
- [ ] Promotion timeline: 8-week lead for major events
- [ ] Target account list identified for 1:1 meetings
- [ ] CRM tracking: all conversations logged within 24 hours
- [ ] Post-event ROI tracked for 6-12 months

## Common Pitfalls

1. **Event without pipeline goal.** "Let's host a dinner" without a target
   attendee list and pipeline goal is an expensive meal, not a GTM activity.

2. **No post-event follow-up.** Conversations at events die without follow-up
   within 48 hours. The event is the opener, not the close.

3. **Sponsoring the wrong conference.** A $25K sponsorship where your ICP
   doesn't attend is $25K wasted. Verify attendee demographics before
   committing.

4. **Webinar as product pitch.** Nobody attends a webinar to hear a sales
   pitch. Teach something valuable. The product is the logical next step,
   not the topic.

5. **Measuring vanity metrics.** "200 attendees" means nothing if zero become
   pipeline. Track conversations → meetings → pipeline → revenue.

## Execution Artifacts

- `references/framework-notes.md` — Named frameworks and reference tables
- `templates/output-template.md` — Deliverable shell for agent output
- `scripts/check-output.py` — Lightweight deliverable validator

## Related Skills

- **marketing-strategy**: Event as part of channel mix
- **launch-planning**: Launch event execution
- **content-distribution**: Promote event content