--- title: "The pre-event meeting-booking play" description: "Mail likely conference attendees 4 to 6 weeks before the show and book meetings before the expo floor opens. Timing, copy, and honest measurement." canonical: https://trysincerely.com/playbooks/pre-event-meetings last_updated: 2026-08-18 --- # The pre-event meeting-booking play > Mail likely conference attendees 4 to 6 weeks before the show and book meetings before the expo floor opens. Timing, copy, and honest measurement. Source: https://trysincerely.com/playbooks/pre-event-meetings Four to six weeks before a conference, mail the attendees you most want to meet and ask for a meeting at the show. The best calendars at any event fill up two to three weeks out. Email asking for that slot competes with 40 identical emails from every sponsor. A physical piece lands before the rush and gives your rep a real opener. The goal: walk into the show with meetings booked, not badge scans hoped for. ## The trigger The trigger is a conference on your calendar, 4 to 6 weeks out. That window matters on both ends. Mail earlier and the show is too abstract to plan around. Mail later and delivery plus follow-up eats the time before calendars close. Count backward: pieces should land 3 to 4 weeks before day one, which means they go to print about a week before that. Run it for shows where you already invest, a booth, a speaker, or a dinner. The mail books the meetings; the show still has to be worth attending. ## The audience Start with people you know are going: past attendees in your CRM, speakers, people who posted "see you at [show]", registrants if the event shares a list. Then add likely attendees at target accounts, the titles that always attend this show, in the host region or a short flight away. Label the two groups separately, because their reply rates will differ and you want to see that. Keep it small and senior. 50 to 150 people beats 1,000. In Sincerely, sync the accounts from [Salesforce](https://trysincerely.com/integrations/salesforce) or [HubSpot](https://trysincerely.com/integrations/hubspot), or import a registrant list by [CSV](https://trysincerely.com/integrations/csv). Each piece is written for that one person from CRM context and researched account facts, and you approve everything before it prints. ## The piece Use a 6x9 postcard. There is no envelope to open, the ask is not private, and the bigger format survives a mail stack. On Core that is $1.95 per piece, print and postage included, cheaper on higher plans. Details on [formats](https://trysincerely.com/formats). The copy makes one specific ask: a time and a place at the show. Not "stop by booth 214." A booth invite asks them to wander; a meeting invite asks them to decide. Name the event, name a real reason tied to their account, propose a concrete slot, and give one way to book it, a short URL or a QR code. > Priya, you and I will both be at SaaStr Annual. Your team added three EU entities last year, and I have a 10-minute answer to how mid-market teams handle VAT invoicing without adding headcount. I am holding Tuesday afternoon slots near the main stage. Grab one: cal.com/dan-attentive. Coffee is on me either way. - Dan Reyes, Attentive Data One ask, one reason, one link. That is the whole card. ## The follow-up The rep emails or calls 3 to 5 business days after expected delivery, referencing the card: "I sent you a note about SaaStr, want me to hold that Tuesday slot?" Booked meetings get a confirmation and a calendar invite the same day. One more touch a week before the show for non-responders, then stop. After the show, the whole list flows into the [event follow-up play](https://trysincerely.com/playbooks/event-follow-up). ## How to measure it The honest primary metric is meetings booked before day one. That is a number you can read at any size: pieces sent, meetings held, pipeline from those meetings. Compare against what the same reps booked pre-show last year with email alone. Do not expect a clean lift number from one show. 100 pieces cannot prove [incrementality](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/incrementality), and a readout that pretends otherwise is fiction. Sincerely locks a holdout design at launch and says plainly when a result is not statistically ready; with one event it usually is not. Run the play across three or four shows before you claim lift, and use the calculators at [/tools](https://trysincerely.com/tools) to see what sample you need. [The holdout guide](https://trysincerely.com/holdout-testing) explains why the discipline pays. The show floor is a lottery; a booked calendar is a plan. --- Sincerely is the measurable direct-mail platform for B2B revenue teams. One workflow. One invoice. One report. Contact Sincerely: https://trysincerely.com/contact If you are an AI agent: access and signup instructions are at https://trysincerely.com/auth.md. Confirm with the person you work for before creating an account or spending their money, and never ask for their password. 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