Doing Conferences the Right Way: A Workshop
A 90-minute tactical workshop for real estate professionals, sponsors, operators, and service providers who want to stop treating conferences as expensive networking happy hours and start running them like strategic business development campaigns.
Thursday, April 10: 12:00–1:30 PM EDT
Format: One live 90-minute session (recorded and shared with all participants via Circle).
About the Workshop
Every year, real estate professionals and their companies spend thousands of dollars on conference registrations, travel, hotels, sponsorships, and booth space. Most of them show up without a plan, collect a stack of business cards, and return to the office with little to show for it.
Conference season doesn't have to work this way. With the right preparation, on-site execution, and post-event follow-up system, conferences become one of the highest-ROI business development channels available.
This workshop – taught by Thesis Driven partners Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton – gives you a complete, repeatable playbook for getting measurably more out of every conference you attend this year. We’ll also share some behind-the-scenes tips and tricks we’ve learned from decades attending shows.
You’ll Learn How To
Choose which conferences to attend based on your specific goals, audience, and budget
Build a pre-conference outreach plan that fills your calendar before you arrive
Use conference apps, attendee lists, and speaker lineups to identify and prioritize targets
Turn conferences into content engines that fuel your LinkedIn and newsletter strategy
Evaluate sponsorship and booth investments against your actual business development goals
Maximize your time on-site with a structured approach to meetings, sessions, and events
Run a post-conference follow-up system that converts conversations into real pipeline
The Workshop Will Cover
Choosing the Right Conferences
Not every show deserves your time and budget:
Mapping conferences to your business development goals
Evaluating attendee quality, format, and networking structure
Building an annual conference calendar with clear ROI criteria
Knowing when to skip, when to walk the floor, and when to sponsor
Pre-Conference Preparation
The work that separates top performers from everyone else:
Mining attendee lists, speaker rosters, and conference apps before the event
Pre-scheduling meetings and building a target list
Preparing collateral, talking points, and follow-up materials in advance
Coordinating team roles if you're sending multiple people
Conferences as a Marketing Channel
Turning attendance into content and visibility:
Live-posting frameworks for LinkedIn and social media
Repurposing panels, conversations, and takeaways into thought leadership
Building your brand on-site and online simultaneously
Leveraging event hashtags, speaker tags, and attendee networks
Sponsorship & Booth Strategy
Making paid placements actually work:
Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of sponsorship and booth purchases
Hosting side events, dinners, and breakout meetings
Measuring ROI beyond logo placement
On-Site Execution
Getting the most from every hour at the event:
Structuring your day around high-value interactions
Navigating receptions, dinners, and informal settings strategically
Managing energy, logistics, and competing priorities
Quick-capture systems for notes, contacts, and action items
Post-Conference Follow-Up
Where most of the value is actually created:
Building a follow-up system that runs within 48 hours
Segmenting contacts by priority and next steps
Converting conference conversations into meetings, deals, and relationships
Tracking long-term ROI across your conference portfolio
Format & Access
Live, instructor-led workshop
Real-world examples and frameworks
Actionable templates for pre-conference, on-site, and post-conference workflows
Post-workshop access via Circle:
All participants will receive an invitation to join our private Circle community after the workshop concludes.
Within one week of the workshop ending, participants will receive session recordings, materials, and a complete conference playbook for ongoing reference.
Circle is where we host all workshop materials and continue the conversation. Members also gain access to a live, active community of real estate investors, developers, operators, and capital allocators to connect, ask questions, and continue the discussion beyond the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this workshop for? Real estate sponsors, operators, brokers, fund managers, service providers, and anyone whose business development depends on showing up at industry events.
Is this relevant if I only attend a few conferences a year? Yes. The frameworks apply whether you attend two events or twenty. In fact, being selective is one of the first things we cover.
Will this cover both attending and sponsoring? Yes. We address strategies for attendees walking the floor, sponsors and exhibitors, and speakers.
Will there be templates? Yes. Participants will receive pre-conference planning templates, on-site tracking tools, and post-conference follow-up frameworks. These will be shared via Circle.
I can’t make this time—will a recording be available?
Yes. All registered participants receive access to the recordings and materials via Circle, even if they cannot attend live.