How a Cybersecurity Firm Hit 10,000 Trade Show Leads in 23 Hours
“We couldn’t have done it without [Engagify’s] team. There were so many times we were lacking energy. Your Infotainer was out in the hallway hustling, grabbing people… it made the rest of us think, if he can do it, we can do it. It really helped pull us together.
I would never ever ever try to go into a show like that with those kinds of lead goals again without making you guys a mandatory part of my plan.
Definitely, I learned that from the experience. Keep hustling. Every second counts.”
– Jen Carroll, Event Director at Delinea
The RSA Conference – Moscone Center, San Francisco
The RSA Conference, organized by RSA Security, is the premier annual event in cybersecurity. It draws professionals, leaders, policymakers, and experts worldwide to discuss new technologies, industry trends, and challenges.
Top-notch speakers, the latest innovations, networking opportunities, educational sessions, and training programs are par for the course.
Delinea’s (named Thycotic at the time of the conference) presence at the 2020 RSA Conference was nothing short of spectacular. Careful planning and execution resulted in their most successful trade show appearance in the company’s history of lead generation.
What strategies and tactics did Jen Carroll’s team employ to pull off such a successful event?
Here are a few points to illustrate her mindset and the team’s initial approach:
- Dedicated efforts to achieve an “impossible” volume of leads
- Spared no expense in making their booth stand out
- Meticulously planned every activity and detail for maximum impact
- Innovated highly desirable attractions and prizes meant to outperform past trade show appearances
- Planned to work hard as a team
- Leveraged specialized services (“Infotainers”) to help drive and manage traffic
By pushing the boundaries of resources and leaning into the strengths of individual team members, she executed a highly successful show that left a lasting impression on attendees and industry peers alike.
However, part of the strategy was to evaluate past trade show appearances to determine what worked and what needed improving.
The Problem With a Single Booth Attraction
A past challenge was accurately estimating the booth traffic (lead volume) to match the give away expenses and time spent with attractions.
Lead management became a critical part of the equation.
For example, past trade shows revealed an over-reliance on a single attraction, a spinning wheel that visitors could spin to win a prize. While it worked to attract people to the booth, certain variables like spin-time differed from person to person.
When bottleneck situations are created by a single attraction, visitors tend to walk away instead of waiting in line for their turn. The result is a loss of potential leads and conversation opportunities.
Multiple Attractions To Control Traffic
As a remedy, Jen adapted her approach by introducing a variety of attractions to the booth.
She offered strategically positioned slot machines (3 in the front of the booth, 3 in the back). This not only eliminated attraction wait-time, but controlled how long attendees spent at the booth, allowing Delinea’s staff to engage them before moving on.
Multiple attractions were an improvement over a single one, but it was going to take more than well-placed slot machines to achieve the kind of lead generation goals she had in mind.
From the beginning, Jen recognized the need to engage and energize staff from various departments. Nothing short of unstoppable enthusiasm and collaboration could possibly bring in 10,000 leads during their time at RSA.
How Jen’s Team Generated 10,000 Leads in 4 Days at RSA
4 days at RSA totaled 23 business hours for Delinea. That comes down to less than 6 hours per day. To capitalize on such limited windows of time, the number of minutes each lead had to be qualified was estimated, followed by the number of seconds each staff member had to engage them in conversation.
All of this was calculated before the first day at RSA.
But that wasn’t all Delinea had prepared. To really show their commitment, the CEO decided to put up his personal vehicle as a prize attraction.
1. Gave Away the CEO’s Tricked-Out Jeep
To accommodate the physical size of the CEO’s Jeep Wrangler, an optioned-out mud-racing machine, Jen upgraded their booth size from 20×20 to 20×30, ensuring adequate presence and strategic placement of all attractions.
The slot machines would be used to not only give out prizes, but also a grand prize that entered attendees into the Jeep’s drawing. Whoever won placement in the Jeep lottery was invited to come back at the final trade show hour to potentially claim vehicle ownership.
While a big green wrangler served as a great center-piece, every aspect of the company’s booth was optimized.
2. Gamified Everything
To capture traffic and maximize attendee engagement, Jen implemented gamification tactics across the board.
Leveraging the popularity of slot machines replaced the spinning wheel. However, a dedication to keeping everything, even conversations, fun and interactive worked to build momentum of foot traffic to the booth.
Some of the staff members, ranging from engineers, to sales, to customer success professionals excelled at certain tasks while others struggled.
Keeping energy and enthusiasm levels up while staying focused on managing and qualifying leads was challenging.
To that end, Jen employed specialized service providers.
3. Used Engagify’s “Infotainers”
Another central aspect to gamifying her strategy was the utilization of “Infotainers” by Engagify. These were dynamic, professional presenters who captivated the crowd with informative yet entertaining presentations.
The normal lead qualification process was replaced with a fun question-and-answer approach to conversation that worked in gathering crowds, maintaining energy levels, and driving engagement throughout the event.
To better illustrate Engagify’s unique approach, here’s a breakdown of infotainment process:
- Gathered a Crowd: Chelsey Mark, Engagify’s Infotainer for Delinea focused on engaging passerby and hyping up potential prizes. Because the conference was packed with a bustling and noisy crowd, Chelsea used a microphone to gain attention from a large area and then converse with individuals.
- Engaged with Q&A: Engagify created a messaging component created from input from their “Message Engineering Questionnaire” to make conversation fun and engaging while also qualifying each participant. For Delinea, Chelsea asked product-related cybersecurity trivia questions.
- Qualified Leads: For the most part, RSA attendees were already qualified because Delinea offers a product that every cybersecurity company needs. The question was, “what are they currently using and do they realize what is at stake by using their current solution?” By asking pertinent questions in the trivia game, Chelsea was able to playfully connect and point out gaps in the booth visitors’ Privleged Access Management.
- Generated Leads: To gather foot traffic, qualify, and generate leads, we needed an active, vibrant, and optimized booth. Engagify’s Infotainers held the pace and energy-levels needed to be seen and noticed throughout the show. Without them, the slot machines would not have been played and the magnetic presence of the booth would have waned.
4. Held Daily Pre-Game Meetings
Ensuring daily alignment and motivation among team members was critical. To achieve this in such a limited amount of time, Jen conducted daily pre-game meetings to review what was working and troubleshoot challenges individual staff members faced.
Overall, these meetings served as an opportunity to bring the team together and set the tone for each day’s events.
5. Made a Final Push
As the conference drew to a close, and Jeep lottery ticket holders increased, Jen and her team found themselves 300 leads short (9,700) of their goal with only 30 minutes at RSA left.
Instead of calling it “good enough,” she rallied for a final dedication to hitting the 10k mark. This last-minute push not only demonstrated Delinea’s determination amongst competitors and colleagues, but resulted in them reaching slightly beyond their goal to an end total of 10,025 leads generated.
Jen’s Advice for Cybersecurity Firms Targeting Trade Shows
There’s no doubt that trade shows like the RSA conference are enormous opportunities for businesses in the cybersecurity industry. They offer a unique opportunity to showcase products, connect with a wide range of industry professionals, and generate highly valuable leads in a unique controlled setting.
That said, both the planning and the event itself can be overwhelming to those new to trade shows. Below are a few valuable insights we can take from analyzing Jen’s success.
Create a Lead Volume Strategy
One of the most foundational aspects of Jen’s success was having a solid lead volume strategy in place. That means thinking beyond how to attract, qualify, and convert leads, and how to actually manage the traffic, timing, and conversations in a trade show setting.
Anticipating a larger lead volume than initially estimated is also recommended for budgeting purposes and maximizing ROI.
By planning for a higher number of leads, you’ll also give yourself more space to follow up with leads generated during the event.
Diversify and Gamify Attraction
To stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of attendees, you need multiple attractions within your booth. These should also work to maintain engagement long enough for you to approach each and every visitor while preventing bottlenecks caused by lines.
Offer multiple attractions with different appeals. Gamify every element of your booth to build the excitement that encourages participation and interaction.
Commit to an Energy Marathon, Not a Sprint
Even though RSA is a relatively short-lived event, enthusiasm and energy levels burn fast. Additionally, lack of motivation leads to missed opportunities to engage prospects.
Daily motivation and support should be baked into your strategy. That could involve specialized personnel like Engagify’s Infotainers, who are skilled at continuously engaging and entertaining audiences, as well as offering on-demand support to your own staff.
Strategic Lead Generation and Management Wins the Trade Show
If there’s anything we’d have you take away from Jen’s success, it’s that trade shows like RSA offer opportunities to achieve transformational business goals.
As such, we strongly urge you to approach them strategically, showcase your products in an engaging manner, and make the kinds of connections that turn into lasting relationships.
In such a high traffic event, creating a solid lead volume strategy becomes the key to positioning your company’s presence for success.
If you’d like to discuss using Engagify’s Infotainers to help your business maximize lead generation at the next conference, book a call with us here.