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Your Playbook for a Successful Event.  

This playbook is designed to ensure consistency, professionalism, and brand alignment across all company-sponsored events. It reinforces the importance of collaboration between Sales and Marketing to drive meaningful business outcomes and maximize impact. Attendance at events is a privilege earned through strong performance and a clear commitment to our brand values. These events are high-visibility opportunities to generate leads, build partnerships, and position our company as a trusted industry leader. Every interaction matters and should reflect the integrity, culture, and credibility of our brand. 

Before The Event

Expectations of Attendance

  • Attendance is a Privilege 
    • Event participation is based on performance, alignment with goals, and ability to represent the brand professionally. 
    • ROI from events is a direct result of strategic Sales and Marketing collaboration. 
  • Core Expectations 
    • Punctuality for all sessions and commitments. 
    • Full engagement during event hours. 
    • Accountability in post-event follow-ups.

The Sales Team's Role

  • Sale's Role Before Events
    • Represent the brand with professionalism and confidence.
    • Engage with Marketing on messaging and capture insights. 
    • Always follow company policies while traveling and representing the brand.
  • Ownership
    • Act as stewards of the customer experience.
    • Deliver feedback that drives event strategy refinement.
    • Honor the trust placed in you by being fully prepared and present.

The Marketing Team's Role

  • Marketing's Role Before Events
    • Event planning, logistics, and vendor coordination.
    • Booth design, signage, giveaways, and digital materials.
    • Pre-event communications, lead gen, campaigns, and post-event nurture. 
  • Sales Enablement
    • Provide product one-pagers, playbooks, messaging frameworks.
    • Train sales reps on personas and messaging prior to the event. 
    • Share booth traffic heatmaps, agenda, reminders, and interactions trackers.

Professional Procedures & Conduct

  • Before the Event
    • Attend all pre-event briefings. Use the meetings to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding of goals, themes, and key dates.
    • Look over the conference agenda, exhibit hall schedule, and identify panels and programming of interest. 
    • Review prospect lists, booth assignments, talking points, and scheduling tools. 
    • Study event-specific objectives and key personas. 
    • Engage with provided social media resources.  
    • Plan and book all travel and accommodations by required due dates using provided room blocks or company systems. 
    • Use event apps, attendee lists, and other tools to schedule on-site meetings with prospects or existing relationships.

This is a requirement. 

Before-Event Plays 

Pack For Success

Packing with purpose sets the tone for a successful event. When you're organized and prepared, you’re free to focus on connecting confidently, not scrambling for essentials.

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Practice Your Elevator Pitch

You only have a limited time to grab people’s attention and gain their trust, and it all comes down to your elevator pitch. We recommend tailoring this to you and your strengths and audience, but feel free to use the below as an example.

“Asset Based Lending is a private lender that specializes in funding real estate investors. We offer fast, flexible financing for fix and flips, new construction, and rental investments.  

We’re known for our speed, reliability, and strong borrower relationships — we’ve funded over 7,000 loans nationwide, totaling more than $3.3 billion.” 

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Connecting Ahead of Time

Making connections ahead of the event date is crucial to your success on the floor. Not only is there value in connecting with partners in our booth space, but it’s also important to use the tools available to you for maximum connections.

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Social Selling Boost

Your social media network can help you get a head start on scheduling meetings, finding people you should connect with, and letting people know they can find you at the event! Here’s 3 easy social posts you can make before, during, and after the event.

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During The Event

Expectations During The Event

  • Adhere to assigned booth schedules and meeting commitments. Ensure the booth is adequately staffed during all exhibit hall hours
  • While in the exhibit hall, stay attentive and approachable. Actively engage attendees in meaningful conversations that highlight ABL's expertise and solutions. Your energy and professionalism directly reflect our brand—represent ABL with confidence, clarity, and enthusiasm. 
  • Use CRM and event tools to track interactions in real-time. 
  • Collect qualitative feedback and leads efficiently. 
  • Take time to engage with other exhibitors, take note of their offerings, and standout experiences. Your observations can provide valuable insights and inspiration for future ABL events, so be curious and share thoughtful feedback with the team.  

Guidelines for Success

  • Event Etiquette
    • Always remain approachable, professional, and aligned with the company tone.
    • Never engage in negative talk about competitors, other vendors, or the event itself.
    • Avoid excessive use of mobile devices or stepping away from the booth without coverage.

Dress for Success

  • Brand-Consistent Attire
    • Required: Branded apparel (provided by Marketing), professional bottoms (black/navy/khaki slacks), clean shoes.
    • Avoid: Casual wear (jeans, sneakers unless approved), flashy accessories, or off-brand colors.
  • Personal Grooming
    • Neat hair, clean nails, minimal fragrance
    • Wear your name badge at all times during the event. Be mindful of fees associated with replacement nametags.

Networking with Intention

  • How to Network Effectively
    • Starting Conversation
      • What interested you in attending this event?
    •  
      • Do you have any projects you're working on right now?
    •  
      • What kind of projects are you focused on right now?
    •  
      • How are you currently financing your projects?
    •  
      • Have you heard of Asset Based Lending before?
  •  
    • Starting Conversation
      • Example:
        • Asset Based Lending is a private lender that specializes in funding real estate investors. We offer fast, flexible financing for fix and flips, new construction, and rental investments. 

          We're known for our speed, reliability, and strong borrower relationships — we've funded over 7,000 loans nationwide, totaling more than $3.3 billion. 
    • Ask engaging questions; listen more than you speak.
    • Don’t wait for someone to introduce themselves to you – if they’re nearby the booth, looking at marketing materials, etc, you should be introducing yourself. This requires you to be attentive!
    • Be curious, not pushy—focus on pain points, not just pitching.
    • Understand the audience—use provided resources and networking apps to learn the focus of the conference and identify potential connections.
    • Stay ready to connect. Opportunities can pop up anywhere, from the conference floor to hotel lobbies, nearby coffee shops, or even your rideshare driver.

Brand Awareness and Representation

  • Our Brand Promise
    • Innovation, Integrity, Trustworthiness, Partnership.
  • Do's and Dont's
    • Do: Speak confidently about our solutions and value.
    • Don't: Make speculative promises or overstate capabilities.
  • Storytelling Tips
    • Share customer success stories.
    • Tailor messaging to personas.
    • Leveraging Marketing's content and talking points for consistency.

During-Event Plays 

Attributing Leads & Opportunities to Events

When connecting with investors and referrals partners, both new and alike, it's important to attribute them to the event you're attending. Using this data, the marketing team can evaluate ROI and if we'll be returning in the same capacity the following year. Follow these instructions: 

 

1. Create Contact: If this is your first time connecting with this partner, you'll need to create their contact. 

 

2.  Associate Contact with Event: In the pop-up panel, fill out all fields like you normally would. Under "Investor Event Source," select the name of the event you're attending. 

 

Or, create lead from a contact. 

1. Create Lead: If you've worked with this partner before, you can create a lead and link it to your existing partner. 

 

2. Associated with Contact + Event: In the pop-up panel, search for your contact's name in the blue box. After selection, fill out the remainder of the fields and select the name of the event you're attending in the red box. 

 

For reference, here are some additional details defining contacts vs. leads: 

  • Contact: A contact should be created if you've made a connection with a new borrower, regardless of if they have a deal ready to share. This will establish a long-term connection to continue the relationship through their first deal submission. Any deals/leads that come from this partner in the future will be associated with the selected event. 
  • Lead: A lead should be created and associated with a contact if it's somebody you've already met, and you left your conversation/meeting with them at the event with a deal in hand. 
  • Lifecycle Stage: As you're creating these contacts/leads, you should be noting their lifecycle stage based on the following: 
    • Lead: This lifecycle stage should be used for contacts that you've met, but did not leave the conversation with a deal. 
    • Opportunity: This lifecycle stage should be used for contacts that you left the conversation with an active deal. 
    • Naturally, this lifecycle stage will progress as you continue to work this client, and eventually be attributed back to the event. 
Connecting Outside of The Booth

Connections don’t just happen inside the booth, but outside the booth too. Make sure you take a moment between your scheduled time to walk the floor, chat with vendors, connect in the networking lounge, whatever it takes to spread the ABL brand! Remember: These events aren’t just about leads, but they help us understand what’s happening in local markets, where our competitors are working, and what they’re offering. Talk to them, too!

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Capture the Moment

As our teams and event strategies grow, documenting the experience helps us celebrate wins, increase visibility, and share key moments with the broader company. Photos not only promote engagement but also highlight the value and impact of our presence at each event. 

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That's a Wrap

A smooth wrap-up sets you up for future success. Taking time to clean, repack, and organize your event kit ensures you're fully prepared and stress-free heading into the next event  




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After The Event

  • Post-Event Requirements
    • Complete lead handoff and follow-up documentation within 48 hours.
    • Participate in post-event debrief with insights and observations. 
    • Provide feedback on lead quality and messaging effectiveness. 
  • Performance Metrics
    • Leads captured
    • Meetings booked
    • Opportunities created
    • Referrals collected
    • Brand impressions and engagement
  • Follow-Up Protocol
    • Connect on LinkedIn within 24 hours.
    • Send personalized thank-you emails to high-value prospects.
    • Log all interactions with context into CRM.

After-Event Plays 

Follow-Up Blitz

Speed is king, especially when it comes to hot leads. Using your downtime after events wisely and follow the plan below to make the most of your follow-ups.

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Loan Officer Event Expectations & Kit Responsibilities

  • Your LO event kit includes
    • ABL branded tablecloth
    • Acrylic flyer display holders
    • Branded giveaways: tape measures, pens, bottle openers, tote bag
    • Your custom ABL name tag
    • Durable travel storage containers for easy, clean organization

This kit is designed to live in your trunk so you're always ready to seize business development opportunities at a moment's notice. 

LO Event Plays 

Show Up Sharp

First impressions matter. You are not just repping yourself, you're representing the entire ABL brand. Make sure you arrive fully prepared.

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Set the Table

Your table setup should promote organization and interest to everyone in the exhibit hall. Set the stage for quality interactions without distraction.  



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Capture the Moment

As our teams and event strategies grow, documenting the experience helps us celebrate wins, increase visibility, and share key moments with the broader company. Photos not only promote engagement but also highlight the value and impact of our presence at each event. 


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That’s a Wrap

A smooth wrap-up sets you up for future success. Taking time to clean, repack, and organize your event kit ensures you're fully prepared and stress-free heading into the next event.  



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Events are not just opportunities—they’re stages where the best of who we are gets to shine. Your presence represents our brand. Your preparation ensures our success. Your collaboration with Marketing makes all the difference.