Webinar Summary: Virtual meetings as an effective supplement to in-person events

Last week I’ve had the pleasure of hosting Val Tsanev, founder at Execweb.

You can watch the recorded session here

Val is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in finance and corporate business development. Val founded Execweb to bridge a gap he identified in security sales process.

The traditional sales and marketing process have been reliant on a non-personal, intent-less approach. Buyers were approached over social networks, email, phone and in-person (during event), with the hope of obtaining their consent (and contact details to engage them further). In-person events were perceived as having higher intent (after all- these people had to travel, book hotel rooms and pay for event tickets, so they were at least somewhat interested in the topic of the event. But even if such person stumbled upon your booth on the show floor and let you scan their badge, you know almost nothing about them and their intent. Your only way, as a marketer, obtain something from this “lead” was to follow up (i.e., harass) them relentlessly by phone and email after this accidental meeting. But alas, Covid has changed that, too. Now fewer people travel to events, and the ones that you are after, the CISOs of large companies, hard walk the floor (they attend only the parties, cocktails and offsite meetings at hotel suites). On top of that, prices have skyrocketed (flights, booth construction costs, hotels, everything), leading to very questionable ROI. The same high costs and low yield affect also the buyers, and events this year suffered from low attendance (some estimate that up to 25% of relevant CISOs will not participate in RSA next year).

Execweb was formed to address these challenges. It is a network comprised of security executives and decision makers who are interested in learning about new solutions and product in an intimate environment without the hassle of flying to a security conference. Execweb facilitates 1:1 meetings between vendors and buyers only after mutual interest is confirmed. During the course of the meeting the vendor gets their undivided attention, and it is best to utilize this to establish rapport and build relationship. If a meeting is successful, a more technical follow up meeting (or demo) should be scheduled. Ultimately, the two parties should meet in person but by that time they know each other and the meeting is so much more effective than an accidental face to face meeting for the first time (which is kind of like a blind date). In order to make such a meeting a success the vendor must bring senior people (CEO, founder, VP Product) and focus the conversation on the learning what are the needs of the buyer, and how your solution get help them solve their business case. Don’t make this a sales pitch and don’t focus on the product. If you have piqued their interest, they will ask to schedule a more in-depth technical meeting or demo. Following up after such meeting is crucial, but only if the person has shown interest. If so, try to schedule the next interaction during the call itself. If you know you’ll be on town soon or that there’s a big security conference in the next couple of weeks it’s a good idea to suggest and meet then. The optimal time to conduct the first meeting is in the vicinity of 2 months prior to such event (to you to have at least 2 calls/ virtual meetings prior to meeting in person). It is futile to reach out to someone who has shown no interest or refused a follow up session. Even worse would be to try and bypass that person by reaching out to somebody else at his team, and absolutely, under no circumstance, don’t send dozens of follow-up emails or private messages on LinkedIn. What you can do, is ask for their permission to reach back in about 6 months. Even if someone is not interested in your product at the moment, you can still learn a lot about their pains and receive valuable feedback about your offering.

Approach this process with a farming state not of mind and not a hunting one, and you will be more successful, and remember that this tool is meant to augment your existing marketing and sales efforts, not to replace them.

Good luck!

If you are interested in learning more about Execweb services, please contact Val