VIP Dinners

VIP dinners are an exceptional way to build community while driving both growth and retention. Here are my best practices and observations:

• Seating assignments are a must!!!!
  • Seat prospects between their salesperson and a happy client
  • Seat people next to ‘birds of a feather,’ people in similar roles from similar sized companies
  • Do not seat +1s next to their colleague
  • Use name tent cards. Simple is fine and handwritten is a nice touch.
  • Expect to scramble a bit right at the end to adjust for no-shows
• Strike a 50/50 balance between client and prospects
• Target dinners of 8-14 people including your team (net of inevitable last minute cancellations and no shows)
• Strive for attendee homogeneity in terms for job role, job level, and company size
• Strive for attendee heterogeneity in terms of all thing DE&I. Remember, your attendee mix will mirror your invitation list.
  I target 50/50 male/female as a rule.
• When people accept, encourage them to bring a +1. If a sis white hetero-normative male accepts, let him know you are supporting diversity and encourage him to help.
• Send personalize reminders both the day before and the day of the event.
• Do not pitch, present, give a speech, or even pause the table conversation to just “say a few words” during the event. This is all about building human connections by letting your happy clients sell to your prospects.
• Do not have sponsors.
• On invitations, I think both of the following can work:
  • Have the invitations come from your executive who is hosting the dinner. This is probably better due to the gravitas of his/her title and because it will come off as less sales-y.
  • Have AEs (or SDRs) send invitations
• On the dining experience:
  • Book unique venues. Hip/fun places and/or those with Michelin stars ideal. Restaurants should be at least 3 out of 4 $$$. Avoid steakhouses, chains, and especially chain steakhouses.
  • You do not need a private room. I’ve found dinners far more lively when you can feed off the energy of the main dining room.
  • Arrive early and host cocktails (informally) at the bar
  • Ensure beverages never stop flowing and food is plentiful. Order a selection of desserts for the table so the wait staff does not ask.
• VIP dinners are relatively easy to pull off in NYC even on a monthly basis. They are harder in the next tier of cities such sa Atlanta, DC, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Palo Alto, LA, or Austin. In most other cities in the US, they are impossible to pull off since you just cannot get critical mass. (Note: Traffic in the Bay Area is such that San Fran, Palo Alto, and San Jose are completely different locales.)