At Trident, we’re kicking off GovCon conference season by attending  AFCEA West, so we figured this would be a great time to share tips and concrete steps for ensuring your 2025 GovCon event calendar helps you build strategic partnerships that result in business growth.

I often hear people say that events are a waste of time (and money). That depends on you and the effort you put into it. For those of you who show up to an event with no plan, no goal, or any follow-up in mind, it can be a total waste of time and money. To get any value out of an event, you must be deliberate with your attendance and see it as business development work. This means you should approach each event with defined goals and a clear plan, then follow up afterward.

What does it mean to be deliberate? The events you attend should support or help you advance your growth strategy for that year and beyond. How? By helping you connect with people and companies in the industry who can help you win more work.

So, before you begin building your event calendar for 2025, ask yourself the following questions: 

      1. How does my event plan tie into my business development strategy?   

• Events should be tied to a market of interest (who is your target customer? Will they be there?), your specialty (i.e., what you want to be known for), the direction you want to take your company in, and the kind of teaming partners you want to do business with. 

      2. How many events can we realistically attend in a year?

• This should be based on the size of your company.

• Do not over-book. For small businesses, I suggest one to three large conferences per year, then one or two small events the other months, such as industry days, matchmaking events, networking events, etc. 

• Identify which events you want to attend vs. participate in. Participating in an event as a volunteer, as part of a panel, or by submitting your white paper helps increase your exposure and establish your credibility.
• Identify any experts or company leadership who may attend these events.

      3. What is my event budget for the year? And who is going to execute the event plan?

• You should know how much time and money you are willing to spend on events per year. This not only helps you plan out your company’s budget, but it also helps you measure the return on investment (ROI) for event attendance.

• You should assign someone to help manage and coordinate everything; otherwise, it won’t get tracked or executed properly.

• Remember that your budget not only includes attendance and exhibit fees but also any preparatory costs (labor and materials), travel, follow-up, advertising, etc.

      4. What’s working and what’s not?  

• Your plan does not have to be set in stone at the beginning of the year. We encourage you to adjust as you go along by assessing what’s working and what’s not. At the end of the year, we encourage you to do a year-end analysis to see what worked and what didn’t then adjust your strategy for next year. For example, if a certain event didn’t have the kind of crowd you were expecting then you can remove it from the event plan next year. 

Based on the answers to these questions, now you can build your event calendar with confidence. The next pieces of advice I want to share with you are concrete steps to prepare for each of those events. 

What to Do Before the Event

Many people don’t realize that the bulk of event work is spent on pre-work (about 40% of your time and budget.) That includes registration, travel and lodging, setting up planning pages, coordinating with attendees, conducting attendee research, preparing marketing materials, reaching out to clients and colleagues to set up meetings, etc. These are the most important steps you can take to ensure an event doesn’t feel like a waste of time. Here are four steps to take before the event to ensure the event leads to business growth: 

      1. Create an event planning page (or collaboration site) that includes:

• Details about the event (date, location, etc.)

• Identify attendance "coverage" (schedule review)

• Review the Exhibitor list and Conference Program

• Create a target list (booths, panels, people) and assignments 

• Conduct research to identify targets based on alignment

• Review key messaging, talking points, and selling points

• Work with marketing for social media promotion, to update marketing materials, and any other marketing-related task

• Identify any additional or special tasks required

This event page will make it easier for event attendees to navigate through the event and achieve their goals at the same time. Here, they will be able to access talking points, enter notes, and reference important websites, links, and QR codes. It really comes in handy to have everything you need in one place. It’s also the place where you can track your follow-up tasks, outcomes, and reminders for later.  

      2. Conduct Attendee/Participant Research 

• Review the exhibitors and attendee lists (for industry partners and government personnel) so you know in advance who you want to talk to, where you can find them, and prepare what you want to talk to them about. You can even set up meetings in advance if possible. The event website or app includes a comprehensive list of attendees. You can use this list to find people on LinkedIn and send them a message to arrange a meeting during the event or at an event networking event (i.e., happy hour). It’s important to make concrete plans with people and not just leave it at “hope to see you there” - at least not for the contacts you really want to connect with. For those people, you should say, “I’d love to connect with you on Tuesday morning before the XXX panel - can I get your cell phone number for easier coordination?”

      3. Get Your Elevator Pitch Ready

• Make sure everyone and everything (e.g., your marketing materials) is telling a cohesive story about your company. Have your elevator pitch ready; make it compelling (i.e., what’s the benefit to “them”?) and professional. When possible, include supporting evidence of your claims (i.e., metrics such as for who, what, when, and outcome). 

• Ensure your sleek sheets, banners, postcards, stickers and/or trifolds are up to date (i.e., branding colors are correct, websites and phone numbers are correct, people who haven’t worked in your company for the past two years are removed, etc.)

• Avoid long lists of NAICS and services you don’t really do (Note: We know most companies have a lengthy list of NACIS codes. We recommend you tailor this list for each event so it’s hyper-focused on that audience)

• Update White Papers and bring them with you if you are attending matchmaking events. 

• Have some Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPAR) references handy. You can also reference quotes from the CPAR in your capability statement. 

• Have Past Performance references ready and know your Recency, Relevant, and Quality metrics). Include that information in your capability statement or just incorporate that information into your conversation.  

• Be ready to provide this information in multiple formats (paper, digital, QR Code, etc.). 

If you’re meeting with potential Prime contractors, don’t miss our recent blog on The Art of Partnering with Primes.

For a full story on capability statements, subscribe to our blog or check back later this month for the deep dive.  

      4. Advertise your attendance 

• Promote your attendance on social media (LinkedIn, X, YouTube, etc.) and let people know you’re going. Ensure you add the hashtags for the event so you can join the larger social conversation. 

• Use the event Social Media kit (if available). 

• Post before, during, and after the event. Selfies always get the most views, so snap a selfie at the event and either promote that you’re there or recap what you learned. 

What to Do at the Event

1. Bring the company experts or leaders to the event to ensure potential customers are meeting with those most knowledgeable about the business and technology.
2. Bring note-takers, helpers, and event buddies (actual humans who can take notes and remind you of follow-up actions and help divide and conquer if you have to meet with multiple people at once). The event buddy system helps ensure you cover as much ground as possible. They can also help you connect with people you otherwise might not have a good connection with.
3. Post on social media during the event (if possible) – make yourself relevant in the field/industry
   • Use your most compelling photos (selfies get the most views) and tag every person or company in the photo. No need to add a lot in the description
   • Note about this: Some events don’t allow photographs during the event. If that is the case, snap a photo outside the venue with the signage. Something to show you’re there and can join the conversation.
4. Take great notes. Who did you meet? What would you follow up with them about?
   • Make these notes memorable, including writing about what you connected on to make your follow-up communication personable.
5. Schedule follow-up meetings then and there when possible. Or connect with them immediately on LinkedIn and connect virtually (Note: If you use the LinkedIn mobile app, be sure to download the unique QR code for your profile to make it even easier to connect). This helps you not only remember what you discussed but also keeps the conversation going.
6. Walk around and talk to people! This is an excellent opportunity to try and talk to people you DON’T know. You never know when the next connection could occur … it may be at the line or that free drink.
7. Attend happy hours and other networking events. We know events are often a get-in/get-out situation, but try to attend the after-hours events. The atmosphere is more relaxed, and you can have business and non-business-related conversations that could lead to more business. Find an event buddy (i.e., another work colleague) to be your BD wingman (or woman) at the networking events; it feels less awkward than standing there alone.

What to Do After the Event

     1. Conduct an internal debrief

Conduct an After Action Debrief within 48 hours of the event so that all the information is still fresh in your mind (and theirs).

• Compare notes and update your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool/platform

• Assign follow-up calls (call plan)

• Assess Goals and Event
  • Is this event worth future consideration?
  • What went well? What needs work? 
  • What would you do differently?

      2. Start Follow-Up Campaign 

• Follow-up/keep the momentum going. People move on. The longer you wait, the less relevant you’ll be. 

• Engage with genuine follow-up
  • Personalize your communication based on the conversation you had. Connect at the human level and not solely at the business level.
  • Don’t create an “unsubscribe” moment by sending people mass-emails that have no personal touch.
  • Do not treat them like a scanned badge. Go back to our earlier note about sending a personalized message instead of a cold email or call without context. 

• Use a multi-channel approach 
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Call/text 

And last but not least, don’t forget to have fun at the event! Sure, it’s work, but enjoy talking to people and learning new things. 

How Trident Can Help

If you think your company doesn’t have enough time or resources to do all this, Trident can help with the following:

Research

• Government Organizations and People

• Opportunities

• Potential Teaming Analysis 

Marketing Materials 

• Review

• Graphics Support

• Tech Editing

• Writing

• Social Media Campaigns

Sales Pitch and Messaging

• Review and Feedback

• Write-ups and Edits

• Practice and Coaching

You don’t have to do it all yourself. We can help you in a flexible and scalable way. 

Additional Resources

If you want to learn how to Maximize the Return on Investment of Event Attendance, watch our past webinar. For information specific to business matchmaking, don’t miss this webinar recording.  

Alexis Romero https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-romero-10121b54/   

Alexis is Senior Government Contracting Consultant and Presentation Coach at Trident. She brings extensive experience in defense contracting, proposal management, business and pipeline development, orals coaching, and UI / UX to our clients. Based on the West Coast, she supports clients around the world as part of our globally dispersed team.