Portfolio · Marketing Systems · Industry Conference Template

Conference &
Tradeshow
Playbook

A complete end-to-end system for turning a conference into a pipeline engine — from the first ROI campaign to the last closed-won deal, fully tracked in Salesforce.

$11M

Revenue Generated
2025 – 2026

$45M

Active Pipeline
2025 – 2026

Phases + Pre-Step

100%

Salesforce Attribution

ROI Campaign Setup

Pre-Conference Outreach

Booth & Lead Capture

Post-Conference Nurture

Salesforce & CRM

Begin

Before Everything Begins

ROI Campaign Setup

The master container that makes attribution possible. Before any list is touched or email is sent, the campaign is built — and every cost, lead, and dollar of revenue will trace back to it.

First action before any outreach

All costs loaded upfront

Year-end ROI report fed from here

Step 01

Create SF Campaign

A dedicated Salesforce campaign is created as the master container for the entire conference lifecycle.

Before any outreach begins, a Salesforce campaign is created and named for the specific event. This becomes the single source of truth — every lead, every touchpoint, every piece of revenue generated will be attributed here. Without this foundation, none of the downstream attribution is possible.

Salesforce CRMCampaign Object

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Step 02

Load All Conference Costs

Every cost associated with the conference is entered: registration fees, booth cost, sponsorships, and any other spend.

All-in costs are loaded into the campaign before anything else moves. This is the denominator in every ROI calculation that follows. Registration/attendance fees, booth rental, sponsorship packages, travel, shipping — everything that went into attending the event lives here from day one.

Campaign Cost FieldsSalesforce CRM

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Step 03

Log Event Metadata

Conference name, dates, location, and website URL are recorded. Campaign is now live and ready for Phase 01.

Event details are added to complete the campaign record — name, dates, venue, website URL. This metadata makes it easy to identify the campaign in reports and ensures leadership can instantly orient when reviewing the year-end conference dashboard. Once this is done, the full playbook can begin.

Campaign FieldsEvent Metadata

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Step 00 Output

The Attribution Foundation Is Set. The Clock Starts Now.

A single campaign object in Salesforce now holds all costs and event metadata. Every lead, touchpoint, and dollar of revenue generated by this playbook will trace back here — making year-end ROI reporting possible at event, business unit, and company level.

Revenue at start

All

Costs loaded

Source of truth

Phase 01 · Starts 30 Days Out

Pre-Conference Outreach

A systematic 30-day engine that turns a raw attendee list into a segmented, scored pipeline — before the doors ever open.

30 Days before event

3–5 Emails per drip sequence

3 LinkedIn touchpoints

Custom Scoring in Salesforce AE

Step 01

Acquire Attendee List

Secure the required membership tier to access the full conference attendee list.

Purchase or negotiate the appropriate membership or sponsorship tier that unlocks the attendee list. This is the foundational data asset the entire pre-conference engine runs on — without it, you're cold outreach. With it, you're precision outreach.

Conference PortalMembership Tier

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Step 02

First Pass Scrub

Remove known non-targets — competitors, wrong industries, irrelevant orgs.

Before anything touches Salesforce, the raw list gets a manual review. Known competitors, adjacent-but-irrelevant industries, and obvious non-buyers are removed. This protects deliverability and ensures the sales team only sees qualified names from day one.

Excel / SheetsManual Review

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Step 03

Two-Track Team Meetings

Separate syncs with Account Mgmt (existing clients) and Sales (net-new prospects).

Account Management track: existing clients attending are flagged so AM can proactively reach out — a high-value retention touchpoint.

Sales track: every potential new customer is identified and flagged, with decision-makers earmarked for SVP-level outreach.

Internal SyncSalesforce Lists

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Step 04

Load to Account Engagement

Full prospect list imported into Salesforce Account Engagement. Campaign created and tracking begins.

All net-new prospects are uploaded into Salesforce Account Engagement (Pardot) and added to the conference campaign created in Step 00. This activates engagement tracking — every behavior is recorded from the first email open.

Salesforce AEPardotCampaign Setup

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Step 05

Email Drip Sequence

3–5 email drip sequence launches 30 days out. Educational hooks, pain points, or legislative news.

Content is tailored to whatever is most resonant at the time — industry pain points, recent legislative changes, or a compelling data angle. Every email references the conference. Sequenced over 30 days — cadence is spaced to avoid fatigue. All mentions we will be at the conference with a soft CTA.

PardotChatGPTAccount Engagement

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Step 06

LinkedIn Campaign

2 organic company posts + 1 sponsored ad targeting a matched audience from the attendee list.

Organic posts build credibility with the broader audience. The sponsored post targets a LinkedIn matched audience built from company and industry data from the scrubbed attendee list — reaching the right people even before they receive email.

LinkedIn Campaign MgrMatched AudiencesOrganic Posts

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Step 07

Landing Page Build

Conference-specific landing page in Salesforce AE. Pain point content + book-a-meeting CTA.

Built directly in Salesforce Account Engagement. Content is always relevant — industry data, legislative news, or a pain point the product addresses. The primary CTA is booking a meeting at the conference. The page visit itself triggers the scoring engine.

Salesforce AEPardot PagesCalendly

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Step 08

Scoring Model Activates

Custom AE scoring fires on every action. Email opens, page visits, link clicks — all accrue points.

A custom lead scoring model in Account Engagement assigns weighted point values to every trackable behavior: opening an email, visiting the landing page, clicking a link, returning to the page. When a prospect crosses the threshold, they automatically surface on the Hot Prospect list.

Pardot ScoringAE Automation RulesCustom Thresholds

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Step 09

Hot List Pulled & Distributed

Decision-makers go to SVP. Others distributed to reps + LinkedIn InMail audience created.

The scored list is reviewed with the sales team. Decision-makers who crossed the threshold get assigned directly to the SVP. All others are distributed to reps for pre-conference InMail outreach. A LinkedIn matched audience is simultaneously created from the hot list for sponsored targeting.

Salesforce ReportsLinkedIn InMailMatched Audiences

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Phase 01 Output

A Warm Pipeline Before the Event Starts.

By conference day, every prospect has been touched multiple times across email and LinkedIn. The sales team walks in knowing exactly who to find, who gets escalated to the SVP, and who is already booked — before a single badge is scanned.

Days of runway

3–5×

Touchpoints per prospect

100%

Tracked in Salesforce

Phase 02 · Conference Days

Booth & Live Lead Capture

The physical command center. Three simultaneous lead capture channels, all flowing directly into Salesforce in real time — while the sales team focuses entirely on conversations.

20×10 Booth large conferences

3 Capture Channels simultaneously

Real-Time Sync to Salesforce campaign

Full Logistics managed on-site

Step 01

Booth Setup & Logistics

20×10 vendor-built for large shows. Pull-up banners and tabletop displays for smaller events — set up personally or coordinated.

Large conferences: A booth vendor handles fabrication, shipping, setup, teardown, and storage of the 20×10 display with integrated TV screens and interactive kiosk stations.

Smaller conferences: A logistics company holds pull-up banners and tabletop displays. Jeff arrives a day early to set up personally or coordinates on-site setup. All swag ordered, inventoried, and staged before doors open.

Booth VendorLogistics Co.Swag Ordering

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Step 02

Screen & Content Management

All booth screens managed on-site. Interactive savings calculator, product video, and brand content across displays.

Jeff controls what runs on every screen. Kiosk stations feature an interactive savings formula where visitors plug in their own numbers and see live output — a high-engagement conversation starter. Other displays run product video and brand content. All content is configured before the show opens each day.

Kiosk StationsTV DisplaysInteractive Calculator

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Step 03

Three-Channel Lead Capture

Badge scanning, Salesforce Mobile, and kiosk web-to-lead forms all feed directly into the campaign simultaneously.

Channel 1 — Badge Scanning: iCapture or native conference app. Fast, frictionless.

Channel 2 — Salesforce Mobile: Configured via Mobile Scan Builder to process business cards, QR codes, and NFC badges anywhere in the venue.

Channel 3 — Kiosk Forms: Web-to-lead forms hosted on tablets in kiosk mode. All three sync directly into Salesforce — no reconciliation needed post-event.

iCaptureSF MobileMobile Scan BuilderWeb-to-Lead

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Step 04

Strategic Swag & Email Capture

General swag freely available. Premium giveaways used strategically to capture additional email addresses.

General branded swag drives foot traffic and brand impressions. A select set of premium giveaways are reserved as a value exchange — prospects provide an email address to claim the item. This captures contacts who visited but weren't scanned through primary channels.

Swag VendorEmail Capture FormSalesforce AE

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Step 05

Hot Prospect Elevation

Pre-warmed leads who get scanned at the event automatically cross into hot territory via campaign scoring.

Prospects already in the campaign from Phase 1 who then get scanned at the conference have crossed two engagement thresholds. Combined with prior email opens or page visits, the scoring model automatically elevates them to hot prospect status. The sales team on the floor is already working these people live.

Pardot ScoringSF CampaignAutomation Rules

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Step 06

Command Center Operations

Jeff manages the entire physical operation — vendor coordination, screens, swag, booth scheduling, and all on-site logistics.

Every operational element runs through one person. Booth scheduling ensures sales coverage at all times. Swag is inventoried and replenished. Screen content is managed and updated. Vendor and logistics coordination is handled on-site. Leadership check-ins happen informally as needed. The sales team stays focused on conversations — everything else is handled.

Booth SchedulingVendor CoordinationSwag ManagementOn-Site Logistics

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Phase 02 Output

Every Lead Captured. Every Channel Synced. Nothing Left on the Floor.

By the time the booth closes, every contact is already in Salesforce — scanned, scored, and ready for Phase 3. No manual data entry. No reconciliation. No leads lost to a stack of business cards.

Live capture channels

Manual syncs required

100%

Leads in campaign

Phase 03 · Within 72 Hours

Post-Conference Nurture

Within 72 hours of leaving the floor, every lead is scored, segmented into one of three tracks, and receiving tailored follow-up — while Einstein quietly surfaces who's most likely to close.

72-Hour follow-up window

3 Segmentation tracks

Einstein AI opportunity scoring

Full Attribution back to ROI campaign

Step 01

Score Review & Segmentation

Every lead reviewed against their campaign score. Three distinct tracks assigned immediately post-event.

The campaign score tells the full story. Leads are segmented into three tracks: Zero score — removed to protect deliverability; Engaged, no booth visit — interacted with content; Booth visitors — scanned or submitted a form at the event.

Salesforce AECampaign ReportsPardot Scoring

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Step 02

Conference Recap Email

Sent within 72 hours to everyone with a non-zero score. Key themes, team insights, and a product tie-in.

Marketing creative and communications handle copywriting and design — key themes from the conference, anything notable the team observed, plus our own insights and product perspective. Assets delivered to Jeff, who builds them into a Pardot email and deploys. Sent to all non-zero scored contacts.

Pardot Email BuilderCreative / CopywritingSalesforce AE

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Step 03

Zero Score Removal

Zero-score contacts removed entirely. Protects deliverability. Re-engageable at future events.

If a contact never opened an email, never visited the landing page, and wasn't scanned at the booth, they've shown zero intent. Continuing to email them risks spam flags that damage deliverability for everyone else. They are cleanly removed — not blacklisted — and future conferences provide a fresh opportunity.

Pardot SuppressionDeliverability Protection

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Step 04

Content-Engaged Nurture Track

Prospects who engaged but didn't visit the booth enrolled in long-term AE nurture campaign.

These contacts showed real interest — opened emails, visited the landing page — but never made it to the booth. They receive the conference recap email and are then enrolled in an ongoing Account Engagement nurture sequence. Goal: sustained engagement that keeps the brand top-of-mind until they're ready to raise their hand.

Account EngagementNurture SequencesEngagement Studio

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Step 05

Booth Visitor Track

Rep decides: Path A into nurture, or Path B converted to lead/contact and assigned to a rep.

Path A: Not yet sales-ready — added to AE nurture sequence alongside content-engaged contacts.

Path B: Genuine prospect — converted from campaign contact to a lead or contact in Salesforce, assigned to a rep, and moved into the sales pipeline. Sales-driven; marketing provides the infrastructure, reps make the call.

Salesforce CRMLead ConversionRep AssignmentAE Nurture

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Step 06

Einstein Activity Capture

Every rep interaction automatically logs back to the conference campaign. No manual entry required.

With Einstein Activity Capture enabled, when a rep sends a personal email, makes a call, or books a meeting with a conference contact, that activity is automatically captured and logged to the Salesforce campaign. Once a prospect converts to an opportunity, pipeline activity reflects back to the conference ROI campaign — clean attribution all the way through.

Einstein Activity CaptureSalesforce CRMAuto-Attribution

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Step 07

Einstein Opportunity Scoring

AI scores every new opportunity from the conference. Reps and leadership know exactly where to focus first.

Once leads convert to opportunities, Einstein Opportunity Scoring analyzes behavioral signals, engagement history, firmographic data, and historical win patterns to assign a conversion likelihood score. The SVP and reps can prioritize ruthlessly — spending the most time on deals most likely to close, not just the loudest or most recent ones.

Einstein Opp ScoringSalesforce CRMPipeline Prioritization

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The Three Segmentation Tracks

Track A — Removed

Zero Score Contacts

No email opens, no page visits, no booth scan. Removed to protect deliverability. Re-engageable at future conferences.

Track B — Nurture

Content-Engaged, No Booth

Showed real interest through email and content but didn't make it to the booth. Recap email + long-term AE nurture sequence.

Track C — Sales or Nurture

Booth Visitors

Rep makes the call: convert to lead/contact and assign to pipeline, or add to nurture track. Einstein scores any opportunities created.

Phase 03 Output

Every Lead Has a Path. Every Opportunity Has a Score.

Within 72 hours, the full lead universe is scored, segmented, and routed. The sales team knows exactly who to call first. Einstein is surfacing the highest-probability deals. Every interaction traces back to the ROI campaign.

72hr

Max follow-up window

Distinct lead tracks

Scored opportunities

Phase 04 · The Infrastructure Layer

Salesforce & CRM Integration

The infrastructure layer that makes every other phase possible — built over nearly a year, leveraging Salesforce's native power without over-engineering what didn't need to be custom.

~1 Year build timeline

Cross-Functional team led by Jeff

3 Business Units unified

Full Attribution Step 00 → Closed Won

Step 01

The Salesforce Foundation

A near-ground-up implementation built over ~1 year. Cross-functional team led by Jeff across three business units.

Not built in isolation — this was a cross-functional effort involving a third-party Salesforce partner, internal stakeholders across three business units, and Jeff leading from the marketing and operations side. Custom field mapping, Account Engagement integration, and a unified data architecture were all required before any conference playbook automation could exist.

Salesforce CRMAccount Engagement3rd-Party PartnerField Mapping

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Step 02

In-Booth Capture Automation

Pardot automation rules process all three capture channels and add contacts to the campaign automatically.

Badge scans from iCapture, form submissions from kiosk tablets, and Salesforce Mobile captures all trigger the same Pardot automation rule on arrival. Contacts are added to the conference campaign with correct field values populated automatically. The sales team never touches a spreadsheet.

Pardot Automation RulesiCaptureSF MobileWeb-to-Lead

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Step 03

Engagement Studio Nurture

Post-conference nurture sequences built natively in Pardot Engagement Studio — behavioral, timed, branching logic.

Pardot's Engagement Studio is powerful enough that custom development wasn't needed — knowing how to use the platform correctly was. Nurture flows are built with timed sends, behavioral branches, and automatic routing based on engagement thresholds. The skill is in architecting the logic correctly from the start.

Pardot Engagement StudioBehavioral BranchingTimed Sequences

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Step 04

Executive Reporting Dashboard

Native Salesforce dashboards in one report. Three levels: per-event, per-BU, company-wide. Drives year-end budget decisions.

Built using native Salesforce reporting. Each conference gets its own dashboard showing leads added, hot prospects, pipeline generated, and ROI vs. total cost. All event dashboards roll up into a BU view, and all BU views roll into a company-wide conference report. Used by leadership at year-end to decide which conferences get budget the following year.

Salesforce DashboardsNative ReportsROI TrackingMulti-Level Views

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Step 05

Full-Circle Attribution

Every interaction — from first email open to closed won — traces back to the ROI campaign created in Step 00.

Einstein Activity Capture logs rep emails, calls, and meetings back to the campaign automatically. When a prospect converts to a lead, then to a contact, then to an opportunity, every stage of that journey is attributed to the originating conference campaign. Closed-won revenue flows back to the ROI dashboard. The loop is complete.

Einstein Activity CaptureCampaign AttributionClosed-Won TrackingROI Dashboard

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💡

A note on complexity: Not everything here required custom development — and that was intentional. Pardot Engagement Studio, native Salesforce dashboards, and automation rules were used because they're powerful enough to do the job correctly. Knowing when to use the platform's native capabilities — and when not to over-engineer — is as important as knowing how to build custom solutions.

Phase 04 Output

The Infrastructure That Makes the Whole Playbook Possible.

Every phase of this playbook runs on a Salesforce instance deliberately built to support it. Lead capture flows in automatically. Nurture runs without manual intervention. Attribution is clean from first touch to closed revenue. Leadership has the visibility to make data-driven conference budget decisions.

~1yr

Build timeline

Business units unified

Manual sync steps

From First
Cost Entry
to Closed Won.

This playbook represents a full-stack marketing operations system — built, owned, and operated from the ground up. Every phase connects to the next. Every lead is tracked. Every dollar of conference spend can be measured against revenue generated.

Built by Jeff Turner — Digital Marketing Manager & Sales Support, Gateway Health Partners & VytlOne.

ROI Campaign SetupMaster attribution container. All costs loaded before outreach begins.

Pre-Conference Outreach30-day pipeline engine. 9 steps. Scored, segmented, sales-ready.

Booth & Live Lead Capture3 channels. Real-time Salesforce sync. Zero manual entry.

Post-Conference Nurture72-hour window. 3 tracks. Einstein-scored opportunities.

Salesforce & CRM Integration~1yr build. 3 business units. Full-circle attribution.

Conference &TradeshowPlaybook

From FirstCost Entryto Closed Won.

Conference &
Tradeshow
Playbook

From First
Cost Entry
to Closed Won.