In a world where online applications are becoming essential to the smooth running of events across all business areas, it can be surprising to hear an event director say that 1:1 meetings are not relevant. Granted, if you’re organizing a discussion forum or an awards ceremony, 1:1s probably have no place at your event. But we’d like to share some of the comments we’ve heard against 1:1 meetings, and offer some reasons why these are not always true.

1. My delegates will spend all their time in meetings and not listening to my top-level speakers and sponsors

Well, if you let them, maybe they will! Instead, you can control when and where 1:1 meetings take place, with discrete meeting sessions and/or limits on the number of meetings per timeslot. You can impose limits on individual timeslots, delegates or meeting locations to maximize speaker audiences as well as business meetings.

2. It will cost me a fortune and take up all of my time

Everything will take up some of your time, but we believe that an online application is something you should only need to spend a few minutes on each day. Once set up, Meeting Mojo really does run itself as long as you upload new delegate entries in a timely manner and send out weekly reminders. We will respond rapidly if you have a problem but we won’t require dreary consultant meetings or lengthy catch-up calls. Everything is online so you won’t even need to print out delegate meeting schedules. And you can download reports instantly, at any time. Oh, and the total cost is usually less than that of a single delegate pass.

3. Most of my delegates already know each other, why would they need a formal meeting arrangement?

It’s true that some conferences are more like an exclusive club meeting and we certainly wouldn’t want to upset their harmony. For the most part, however, business is no longer done with just a Rolodex. Business conference attendees want every possible opportunity to meet potential new customers, collaborators, funders. Given the choice, they are more likely to attend events where they get to contact these targets several weeks out, and the convenience of arranging meetings with them at set times and places. 1:1 meetings attract new delegates, bringing ROI to you, your constituents and your sponsors.

4. I don’t want my delegate list to be available online for my competitors to copy

Nor do we… our system is designed to keep private information, private. You can make the entire list invisible to the outside world so that delegates need a login account to view it, or you can display a limited set – sponsors, for example. Whichever way, the system will never reveal contact details, even between delegates.

5. We’re doing fine already with our informal networking receptions and ‘speed-dating’

Congratulations! If your delegates are getting enough out of their informal interactions then you have struck the right balance. If not, they’ll be spending most of their time ‘badge-spotting’ in the hope of exchanging a few words with a potential client, and afterwards sifting through a pile of business cards, trying to work out relevant follow-up responses. An online meeting system does much more than set up 1:1s, your delegates will use it to engage in business conversations before and after your event – and, of course, they’ll want to come back for the next edition.

We’ll be the first to admit that conferences and expos don’t live or die by 1:1 meetings – but they can certainly succeed by bringing ROI to business delegates. Meeting Mojo has been supporting hundreds of business events for a decade – if you’re not sure whether 1:1 meetings could enhance your event, contact us for a straight answer.