Business matchmaking: what should stand out at the event

There is a visible difference between an event that looks professional and one that looks improvised, and it is rarely in the budget. It is in four details the participant reads in seconds, without realising they are reading them.

1. The tables, numbered and visible

The table is the unit of the event. If the participant cannot find theirs in five seconds, the round change seizes up, and every slow change costs minutes taken from the rounds that follow.

What solves it:

• A large number, visible from a distance. A vertical display on the table,

with numbering legible from the other side of the room.

• Sequential numbering with no gaps. Table 1 to table 10, without skipping a

number.

• The operator's table identified. Whoever has a question needs to know

where to go.

• Room to stand up. Chairs pressed together turn a one-minute change into

three.

Do the arithmetic: with 10 rounds, two extra minutes at each change add up to 20 minutes lost, almost a whole round.

2. The participant's identification

Each participant should receive, at registration, a badge with three pieces of information: the name, the company and the identification number. And, with it, the sequence of tables they will go through.

That last item is what saves the most time in the room. Without it, the participant waits for the organisation's announcement at every change, and forty people waiting for the same announcement produce chaos.

A practical detail: print the sequence on sturdy paper, badge-sized. It is cheaper and more reliable than any alternative, and it does not depend on a phone battery.

3. The projection screen

A screen visible from every table showing the current round, the time remaining and the instruction for that moment resolves most questions without anyone having to ask.

What to project, in order of importance:

1. The current round. "Round 4 of 9."
2. The clock. Time remaining for the turn or for the round.
3. The instruction. "Wait for the signal to change table."
4. A map of the tables during the break. That is when people check where

they go next.

Watch out for a common mistake: a screen positioned where half the room cannot see it. Check that on the site visit, before signing the contract. See how to choose a venue.

In Rodada de Sucesso, that is the function of the second screen, which projects the round, the clock and the instruction, and shows the table map during the break. There is also an overview of the tables that opens full screen with F11 and lets you navigate between rounds.

4. The participant's material

A simple folder handed over at registration solves a real problem: the participant is going to receive dozens of cards, brochures and samples, and with nowhere to put them, they lose half.

What to put inside:

• the programme with times;
• the list of participants with company and field;
• a sheet for notes, with space per round;
• their sequence of tables.

The note sheet is the most underestimated item. It greatly raises the chance of the participant following up afterwards, and the follow-up is what makes them consider the event a success.

What to do about sponsors

A sponsor needs exposure, and exposure needs a rule. Agree in advance, in writing:

• where the banners and printed material go;
• whether there will be a speech and of how many minutes;
• at what moment that speech happens.

The most important rule: a sponsor's speech does not go in the middle of the rounds. It goes at the opening or in the break. Interrupting the format is what most generates complaints and what most delays the schedule. See how to sell sponsorship and how to run an event with multiple sponsors.

Setup mistakes that show up on the day

• Small table numbering. Nobody can see it from three metres.
• Registration with one person only. A queue at the door delays the whole

start. One person per 30 participants is a reasonable reference.

• A weak audible signal. It is what commands the room. Test it on site, with

noise.

• No side table for material. Participants end up piling brochures on the

conversation tables.

• No plan for absences. A table with one person alone is the worst possible

visual scenario.

What to record during the event

What is not recorded does not become a report, and without a report there is no convincing proposal at the next edition. Record:

• actual attendance, marked at registration;
• incidents, with the time and the round;
• conversations planned against held;
• table utilisation.

In Rodada de Sucesso, attendance has quick marking, incidents are recorded with the time and the round, and at the end the indicators come out along with ten documents in PDF and Excel, including schedules, labels and badges, the table map, lists of participants, of companies and of attendance, and the executive report.

The detail that separates amateur from professional

It is not the catering. It is the absence of repetition. The participant who sits down and recognises the person opposite concludes, there and then, that the organisation was not paying attention. It is the harshest judgement an event receives, and the hardest to reverse.

Continue with a matchmaking event checklist, participant and table logistics and the secret to a perfect flow.