Fix event data chaos and recover 40+ hours per event

The success of your event starts with who you invite. The best way to get the right people in the room is to use event target list data that goes beyond basic job titles.

Instead of guessing or cobbling together lists from spreadsheets and old records, use Cognism’s real-time filters and intent signals to build smarter, high-conversion audience lists in minutes, not days.

Here’s how:

1. Layer your filters: Include foundational criteria like job title, seniority, and industry. Then add enrichment layers like tech stack, company size, or revenue to narrow in on ICP-perfect targets.
2. Use intent data to time it right: Filter for companies showing intent around key topics (e.g. B2B data, CRM hygiene, outbound campaigns). These accounts are actively researching, making them far more likely to attend and engage.
3. Pair technographics with timing: See which tools your prospects already use (e.g. competing data providers or sales platforms). Monitor how long they’ve been using a competitor—renewal cycles often open a window for consideration.
4. Track new joiners and champion movement: Identify when a key decision-maker joins a target account, especially if they’ve used your product before. These contacts are often open to familiar solutions in a new role.
5. Monitor business activity triggers: Funding rounds, hiring spikes, or mergers and acquisitions can signal a company is scaling fast—and looking for new tools to support growth. Great for event relevance and timeliness.
6. Bonus tip: For top-tier accounts, use Diamond Data® to get phone-verified, dial-ready, phone-ready contacts. No guesswork, just high-confidence data.

Smarter list-building means:

• Fewer no-shows.
• More engaged attendees.
• Higher-quality pipeline post-event.

And it sets you up to follow through with context that connects.

You’ve identified the right accounts, but now you need to invite the right people within those accounts. 

Inviting generic or misaligned contacts often results in poor attendance and low post-event conversion. This step ensures you multithread intelligently and engage the personas that will move the deal forward.

Here’s how to do it right:

• Start with “Recommended Contacts” in Cognism Sales Companion: Once you’ve selected a target account, the Cognism browser extension shows you a ranked list of contacts based on role relevance, seniority, and activity data. These aren’t random names - they’re intelligently selected to match your ICP and buyer personas.
• Identify personas with intent: Look for three types of contacts within each account:
  • Decision-makers – e.g., VP of Sales, Head of RevOps, CMO. These are your buyers.
  • Champions/Users – people who will use your product daily, or who’ve worked with your solution before.
  • Potential blockers – legal, procurement, or internal champions of competing vendors. Knowing them helps you prepare objections early.
• Check for buying signals at the contact level: Combine account-level intent with contact-level context. Has this person recently joined? Did they previously use your product? Have they engaged with any of your content? These signals elevate cold invites into warm outreach.
• Enrich and route with one click: Once your event list is finalised, export the contacts into your CRM, MAP, or event platform. There is no manual entry or formatting drama. Bonus: phone numbers and verified emails are included for easy multi-channel touches.
• Multithread using your event contact data for better show-up and post-event ROI: Inviting multiple stakeholders from the same account increases attendance, improves follow-up traction, and gives your sales team more surface area for outbound.

Your event is over, but the real work is just beginning. This is where most teams drop the ball.

Instead of turning warm attendees into the pipeline, they waste 1–2 days cleaning up Excel files of event data, chasing down contact info, and figuring out who to follow up with. By the time outreach begins, the buyers and the momentum are gone.

Let’s fix that.

Step 1: Upload your attendee list into Cognism

Drag and drop your exported list from the event platform or CRM into Cognism’s enrichment tool. Within minutes, you’ll have:

• Verified work emails and mobile numbers.
• Standardised job titles and departments.
• Clean company-level data (HQ location, revenue, industry, employee size).

No more copy-pasting between tabs or guessing which “VP Sales” works where.

Step 2: Segment by persona and buying stage

Once enriched, sort your attendees by:

• ICP fit - based on job title, seniority, company size, industry, etc.
• Buying role – decision-maker, influencer, blocker.
• Engagement level – attended live, dropped off early, asked a question, or booked time post-event.

This segmentation allows you to tailor your messaging—no generic “Thanks for attending!” emails.

Step 3: Trigger fast, relevant follow-up

Now that your data is accurate and segmented:

• Push leads into your CRM or sales engagement platform.
• Trigger persona-specific email cadences or assign to reps for 1:1 follow-up.
• Prioritise top-tier accounts for personal outreach (via phone, LinkedIn, or custom email).

Pro tip: Use Diamond Data® for phone-verified outreach.

When you need to follow up fast, nothing beats a direct mobile number.

Diamond Data® gives your reps access to phone-verified contact details, so they can call immediately, with confidence that the number will connect. Cognism reps see up to 87% connection rates using mobile-first to follow up after events.

Here’s how to drive engagement with timely, relevant outreach:

FAQs about managing event data

Here are some commonly asked questions about event data.

Why fix your event data flow?

Because pipeline shouldn’t die in spreadsheets, better event data management helps prevent this. The faster and cleaner your event data is, the sooner you can turn leads into opportunities. And the more likely you are to prove ROI to your CMO.

How is event strategy changing?

Event strategies are changing because teams are doing more with less. That means fewer events, but higher expectations. You can’t afford wasted time or low attendance. Every event needs to hit.

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