Getting VIPs to the table

At lunch today, a friend asked how we can manage to get heavy hitters to our events. My true but incomplete answer is that I ask them. That sounds glib, but that is the biggest part -- I'm always surprised by what any of us can get when we ask for it.

Here are some thoughts about getting VIPs (or anyone, really) to your event:

• Ask.
• Don't just ask VIPs just because they seem important to you; ask the ones who make sense for your event. Will they get real value out of attending? Do they have something unique to offer?
• Follow the domino theory of events -- make a list of the VIPs you want, then do whatever it takes to knock one down/get the yes. Once one says yes, the next one is much easier.
• Build a track record and use it when the time comes. If people know your events are successful/fun/beneficial to people like them, they will be much more likely to come.
• Make your list of prospects as long as possible. Like most things, it is a numbers game. Pretty much no matter how important the people on your list are, if the list is long enough, odds are decent you can get one of them to say yes to you (then the second… then the third…)

There you go!

- sean