EventCamp 2019: Don’t Underestimate Old School Sales Techniques

Technology has helped event professionals plan and run events smoothly, but when everyone in your industry has access to the same technology, how do you make your venue stand out to prospective event clients?

Laura Wagstaff, Special Events Director of The NoMad Hotel, Eleven Madison Park, and Make It Nice Hospitality Group in New York City, has a strategy: combine your technology and the old school sales techniques to boost your event bookings and be the go-to venue in your area.

“If you’re part of a hotel or a restaurant group, and you work hard to gain accolades, with those come really high expectations. Looking at that and seeing what you can do to make sure the guest feels like you really care that they reached out is obviously really important,” she said.

Wagstaff shared her tips during Tripleseat’s 2019 EventCamp in her session Don’t Underestimate Old School Sales Techniques. She’s learned a lot of important lessons as part of the staff of NoMad New York City, which books more than 750 events per year. Event professionals need to always find a way to say “yes” and make things happen for their clients, be responsive and prompt in their communication, make every event memorable, be open to all client feedback, and build genuine relationships.

The most important and overarching lesson is to make the planning process as easy as possible for each event client.

“I think as an overarching theme, if you can make something feel easy, whether it’s through your technology, the way you do walkthroughs, the length of your emails, just the efficiencies that you put in place, the process from inquiry to signed contract, if that can be fluid and quick and you don’t make it hard, people really just respond beautifully to that,” Wagstaff said.

Watch Wagstaff’s full presentation below.

EventCamp 2019: Don’t Underestimate Old School Sales Techniques from Tripleseat on Vimeo.

Don’t miss the next EventCamp!
We’ll announce our plans for EventCamp in early 2020. Sign up for email updates to be the first to know the details and get access to earlybird ticket rates. You can also access past sessions and tips by viewing EventCamp posts on the Tripleseat blog or by visiting the EventCamp website.