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.