Executive Summary
At a Glance
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$4.4M in qualified pipeline in Q2
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6,000+ leads captured across 5 events
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200x ROI on event spend
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38+ hours saved vs. manual data entry
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15-second badge scan-to-CRM sync
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Zero booth required
Why It Matters
In-person events can be expensive and logistically complex. Most companies think that the only event strategy is to hire an event marketing operations team to design, plan, and staff booths at industry conferences or trade shows.
Those same companies are so overwhelmed with event logistics (venues and menus) that they often take the shortcut of renting out their lead generation strategy by relying on siloed event-provided badge scanning kits, which cause delays, data loss, and missed revenue.
This year, Popl ran a bold experiment: no booth, no badge rentals - just our own custom-built lead capture system.
We equipped our sales reps with event-agnostic badge scanners & a simple mobile app to qualify and manage leads (more on this later, keep reading) - and what happened next was a playbook for every event marketer and GTM leader: leads were captured instantly, enriched automatically, synced to Salesforce/Hubspot in seconds, and routed based on lead intent. Oh, and hundreds of follow-up meetings were booked direct from the event floor.
The result? A $4.4M pipeline and a repeatable, scalable system for future events.
The Challenge: Legacy Lead Capture Was Broken
Popl’s field sales and marketing teams faced a variety of challenges and pain points when it came to in-person lead generation:
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Different app for every event resulted in lack of adoption by reps
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Inconsistent, event-specific badge scanners with slow data turnaround
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Leads missing job titles, emails, phone numbers causes extra research & time delay
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No qualifying questions meant missing key context for sales & marketing teams
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No CRM integration meant manual uploads & further delays
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Delayed follow-up = poor “speed to lead”
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No automation or routing of hot leads in CRM
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No way to easily schedule and book follow-up meetings from the event floor
Manual work killed momentum. Valuable leads went cold. Sales lost trust in marketing.
The Shift: Going Boothless
In Q2 2025, Popl made a decisive shift.
We went boothless.
Instead of a traditional booth setup, we deployed Popl’s own platform in the hands of every rep:
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AI-powered event-agnostic badge scanner on their phones (both iPhone and Android friendly)
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Custom lead qualifiers to capture key context in real-time
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Instant calendar demo booking with our ChiliPiper routing calendar
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Real-time Salesforce and HubSpot sync to activate leads
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Seamless digital business card sharing for a fully branded experience
No booth setup. No teardown. No headaches. No delays.
The Results: Pipeline, Unlocked
Over a 90-day period, the Popl team:
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Captured 6,000+ enriched leads
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Synced leads to CRM within 15 seconds
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Saved over 38 hours of manual data entry
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Generated $4.4M in qualified pipeline
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Delivered a 200x ROI on total event spend
And we did it without spending a single cent on booths or sponsorship.
10 Steps for How You Can Replicate Our System (and Our ROI)
1. Prospect Events in Advance
Before your reps ever set foot on the show floor, you have to set them up for success with efficient prospecting. It’s absolutely critical to protect your reps’ time and morale by making sure they’re spending their energy only on prospects who actually care about what you’re offering. Nothing kills motivation faster than constant rejection from people who were never a fit in the first place. Identify high-ROI industry events by researching attendee lists, speaker lineups, and exhibitor rosters to pinpoint warm accounts and real buying signals. Coming soon, Popl’s AI Prospector will automate this entire process — analyzing event data, surfacing the best-fit target accounts, and flagging key decision makers, so your reps can stay confident and focused on high-value conversations that convert.
2. Build a Smart Commission Structure
Motivate your reps to stay hungry and focused by designing a commission plan that rewards real outcomes, not just surface-level activity. Instead of paying for raw leads collected or meetings booked, tie commissions directly to the latest qualified stage in your pipeline — whether that’s a completed demo, a signed trial, or a high-value discovery call. This approach keeps reps laser-focused on finding and nurturing genuinely qualified leads who have a clear path to becoming customers. It discourages filler contacts that waste time and hurt conversion metrics. A clear, results-based incentive structure turns your field team into true revenue drivers, aligning every event conversation with meaningful pipeline growth.
3. Set Up Calendar Routing Automation
Speed is critical when it comes to converting warm conversations into real pipeline. Use a smart calendar routing tool — like ChiliPiper (which we use ourselves) or other options such as Calendly — to let prospects schedule meetings instantly, right from the event floor. Popl has a native integration with ChiliPiper, making it seamless to offer prospects a quick way to book time with your team on the spot. Automated scheduling locks in next steps before your reps even leave the event, reduces drop-off, balances meetings across your sales team, and keeps the momentum alive while interest is fresh. Whether it’s for a demo, a follow-up, or an intro call, instant scheduling helps you capture maximum value from every warm lead while they’re still hot.
4. Create Event Campaigns: Qualifiers, Auto-Tags & CRM Sync
Once you’ve locked in your target events, build dedicated campaigns in Popl to serve as your operational hub. Well-structured campaigns keep your reps organized, your data clean, and your ROI crystal clear. Each campaign lets you group leads by event, assign reps, and drill down on performance — both at the event level and by individual rep. Campaigns are time-based, so you’ll always know exactly when and where each lead was captured, and how it ties back to pipeline. Think of this as your command center for maximizing every dollar spent on in-person marketing.
Here’s how to get it right:
4a. Assign Auto-Tags
Set up auto-tags to automatically label every lead captured during a campaign. Tags make it simple to filter, segment, and follow up efficiently after the event — no manual sorting required. Common tag examples include event name, product interest, lead source, region, or vertical. Well-tagged leads mean smarter lists, better targeting, and more relevant post-event outreach.
4b. Set Smart Qualifying Questions
Add custom qualifying questions that prompt your reps to capture meaningful context in real time — no scribbled notes or half-remembered conversations. These questions appear in the Popl mobile app the moment a rep scans a badge, business card, or QR code. Great qualifiers uncover key details like pain points, decision-maker status, buying timeline, or current solutions used. Tailor your questions to align with your CRM fields so that routing and follow-up are clean and automated.
4c. Connect and Sync with Your CRM
Integrate your CRM — whether it’s Salesforce, HubSpot, or another platform — so that every scan, qualifier, and tag flows directly into your system. This removes the hassle of manual uploads, eliminates messy spreadsheets, and ensures that sales gets every lead while it’s still hot. Clean, real-time syncing means your follow-up campaigns can fire automatically, turning event conversations into pipeline with zero friction.
5. Train Reps to Get Past Gatekeepers
Even the best tools won’t deliver ROI if your reps can’t reach real decision makers. Equip your team with the soft skills they need to break through gatekeepers — especially when approaching other booths where the staff is usually there to sell, not to be sold to. Reps must respect the other person’s time: open with a genuine compliment, be pleasant but efficient, and get straight to the point.
Make sure they’re comfortable asking the crucial question: “Who’s the best person on your team to talk with about [pain point]?” or “Is there someone here who handles [relevant area]?” They should know how to ask this naturally so the first contact doesn’t feel cornered or defensive.
Once the right person is identified, reps should move quickly to connect live if possible — or at minimum, get accurate contact details for solid follow-up later. Teach them to ask smart, open-ended questions that surface pain points fast. Role-play common objections, refine elevator pitches, and practice reading body language cues to gauge if a conversation is worth pursuing further.
If possible, arm reps with a quick physical demo or compelling piece of social proof they can share on the spot — something tangible that builds instant credibility. With these skills, your reps can turn a polite interruption into a warm lead — even when the first person they meet isn’t the final decision maker — all while staying respectful, memorable, and efficient.
6. Capture Every Lead with Universal Lead Scanning
Every rep downloads the free Popl mobile app. This empowers them to scan literally anything - badges, business cards, QR codes, or add contacts manually. And the best part? It works:
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At every event (and doesn’t need access to read badge QR codes)
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With or without internet
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Whether you’re exhibiting or not
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Uses AI to read the text on a badge/card & then instantly
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Cross-reference with 50+ proprietary databases
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Deploy AI research agents to find and validate email addresses
7. Use Digital Business Cards to Engage & Attract
After every scanned lead, our reps digital business card gets texted and emailed ot the lead - allowing us to control Popl’s brand across every first touchpoint, ensuring that we make a strong first impression every time. Sharing a personalized, brand-consistent digital business card ensures:
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Memorable, tech-forward first impressions that leave people in awe
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Instant 2-way exchange of contact info (we get saved directly to their phone’s contact book)
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No awkward “sorry i’m out of paper business cards”
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Unified branding & up-to-date contact info for every rep
8. Act on Synced Leads in CRM Immediately
Speed to lead is critical if you want to turn event conversations into closed deals. With Popl, every captured contact — fully enriched with validated email, job title, company details, LinkedIn, and more — syncs instantly to your CRM, whether you’re using Salesforce, HubSpot, or another platform. No messy CSVs, no manual uploads, no waiting for follow-up lists to trickle in days later. The moment your reps scan a badge or card, your marketing and sales teams can act on that lead immediately — accelerating pipeline velocity and generating more revenue in less time.
Speed to lead is the name of the game.
9. Automate Follow-Up Emails
Every lead scan automatically triggers the sending of a professional, personalized follow-up email using dynamic fields, such as:
Hey [First Name],
Great meeting you at [Event Name].
Let’s stay in touch. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Attached is an overview of our product and it’s benefits.
Here’s my digital business card to contact me with any questions.
Best regards,
[Name of Sales Rep]
From there, our native integrations with marketing automation platforms like HubSpot and Marketo can trigger additional nurture email sequences based on qualifiers and CRM properties.
10. Track ROI by Event, Team, and Campaign
You can’t optimize what you can’t measure — and when it comes to in-person events, clear ROI visibility is non-negotiable. With Popl, you get full transparency into which events generate the highest-quality leads, how each rep is performing on the ground, and exactly how every interaction ties back to real pipeline and closed revenue. No more guesswork or gut feel — you’ll have the data you need to double down on what works, cut what doesn’t, and prove to the business that every dollar spent on live events is driving measurable, repeatable growth.
Popl gives full transparency into:
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Lead volume + quality by event
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Rep activity and performance
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Attribution to pipeline and revenue
No more guessing. Prove ROI every time.
Conclusion
The old playbook for in-person events is broken — costly booths, clunky scanners, and cold leads that slip through the cracks. But as this case study proves, you don’t need a fancy booth to unlock serious pipeline - you just need an effective playbook. With the right strategy, smart tools, and a clear system, you can capture every qualified lead, sync data instantly, accelerate speed to lead, and prove ROI down to the dollar. Popl’s 10-step playbook is your blueprint to replicate this success: no more wasted spend, no more missed opportunities, and no more guesswork — just scalable, repeatable event revenue.
Ready to turn every handshake into real pipeline? Let’s build your in-person growth engine together. 🚀
Schedule a personalized demo here.
