Quick snapshot of the pilot event

• For the event you want to trial, which type best describes it? Options: Annual conference, Regional meeting, Training or workshop, Association conference, Sales kickoff, Other
• How many attendees do you expect for that pilot event? Options: Under 100, 100–249, 250–499, 500–999, 1,000 or more
• When is the event scheduled and how firm is that date? Options: Within 30 days, firm, 30–60 days, somewhat flexible, 61–90 days, flexible, More than 90 days, planning stage
• Who on your team will own day-to-day decisions and vendor coordination for this pilot? Options: Event manager, Director/VP of Meetings, Program manager, Procurement liaison, Shared responsibility, Other
• Tell me about the last comparable event you ran, one success and one frustrating moment

Where the current workflow is slowing you down

• If you could remove one recurring bottleneck in sourcing or registration, what would free up the most time for your team?
• Walk me through the last time venue sourcing extended past your expected timeline, what happened and who scrambled?
• How often do inconsistent proposal formats force you to follow up manually with venues? Options: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Which task creates the most repeated rework across your team, sourcing, contracts, registration, or reporting? Options: Sourcing comparisons, Contract redlines, Registration setup, Attendee data reconciliation, Post-event reporting
• What single breakdown in your current process would make you halt a portfolio rollout immediately?

Who must sign off and how approvals really play out

• Name the procurement or legal concern that tends to delay deals the most Options: Insurance and indemnity, Payment terms, Data processing and export, Termination and liability, Other
• List the stakeholders who regularly review or approve event contracts and integrations Options: Procurement, Legal, IT/security, Finance, Event leadership, Regional operations, Other
• How many internal approvers are typically required across legal, procurement, and IT for an event contract? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4 or more, Varies by region
• Tell me about an approval that took longer than expected and what caused the delay
• Who on your team can pause a contract or implementation, and under what condition would they do so?

How your systems need to behave for the pilot to work

• Name the single system failure that would cause the biggest business harm if attendee or budget data were lost Options: Primary CRM, Marketing automation, P&L/budget system, Venue management, Other
• List the systems that must receive attendee and budget data during and after the event Options: Primary CRM, Marketing automation, ERP/finance, Custom analytics, Data warehouse, No integrations required
• Do you have API access or a middleware team that manages integrations today? Options: Yes, APIs and middleware team available, Yes, but limited API access, No, only manual exports, Unsure
• Identify the role responsible for holding API keys and the role that would run an integration test
• Could a manual CSV import be acceptable for the pilot, or would missing an automated connector stop the engagement? Options: CSV acceptable for pilot, Need automated connector, Prefer automated but CSV possible, Unsure

Where this could stumble, and how you'd want contingency handled

• What single technical, legal, or resourcing risk would make you stop the project immediately?
• Walk me through a recent event where a vendor, venue, or system failure required last-minute fixes and what you had to sacrifice
• Which regulatory or compliance reviews typically add weeks to your timeline Options: Data protection/privacy review, Vendor security assessment, Financial approval, Regional regulatory filings, None
• How would a venue clause that blocks attendee data export affect your rollout and reporting Options: Stop rollout, Limit integrations to anonymized data, Require legal negotiation, Manage via alternative workflows
• Is there anyone in your approval chain who currently opposes using an outside platform and why?

The other paths you are weighing

• Which alternatives to an outside platform have you evaluated or are still considering? Options: Incumbent vendor, Homegrown tools and spreadsheets, SaaS event marketplace, In-house build by IT, Do nothing/pause, Other
• List any internal teams that have proposed solving this without an outside partner Options: IT/application development, Program operations, Data analytics, Procurement, No internal proposal
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to keep it instead of changing to a vendor solution?
• Which feature gap in the alternatives would force you back to evaluating other vendors Options: Automated venue comparisons, Standardized proposals, Direct CRM integration, Budget actuals tracking, Portfolio dashboard, Other
• How soon do you expect to decide between these alternatives? Options: Immediately, Within 30 days, 30–60 days, More than 60 days, Undecided

What would make you say yes next week

• If the pilot meets your attendance and time-savings targets, what remaining obstacle would still prevent you from signing quickly?
• List the measurable acceptance criteria you require for the pilot to be considered successful, including thresholds for time savings, cost variance, and data delivery Options: % reduction in sourcing time, Time to contract, Attendee data delivered to CRM, Budget variance within X%, Adoption by core users
• Name the roles that must sign the final purchase documents and IT or procurement approvals
• By when do you need the pilot launched to remain in your decision window for portfolio rollout? Options: Immediately, Within 30 days, 30–60 days, 60–90 days, Longer than 90 days
• If a budget line exists, can it be committed to the pilot this quarter, or is budget approval a gating factor? Options: Can commit this quarter, Requires new budget approval, Partial funding available, Unsure

• Solution Experience Session

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm that the demonstrated workflow eliminates the manual rework and inconsistent proposal comparison you described.
• Provide a tailored pilot plan that lists the pilot event, success criteria, timeline, and required seller deliverables.
• You confirm that attendee data can be routed into your systems without manual entry and that this meets your integration requirements.
• Walk through an actual event RFP and sourcing flow
• Share a sample RFP and current registration page for the event chosen as the pilot.
• You agree on the remaining evidence required to approve a pilot event and the criteria that will prove the pilot succeeded.
• Show proposal standardization and contract term alignment
• Deliver a proposed integration dependency checklist outlining required endpoints and data fields for attendee routing.
• Demonstrate registration and attendee data routing
• Identify procurement and IT approval milestones and any known contractual constraints that must be addressed before pilot kickoff.
• Validate the future state

• Solution Experience Session
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Migrate Single Event Data
• Complete Portfolio Onboarding
• Configure Venue Network Access
• Send and Manage Venue RFPs
• Standardize Proposal Comparison Reports
• Build Event Registration Pages
• Sync Attendee Data to CRM and Marketing Automation
• Activate Live Budget Tracking
• Deploy Portfolio Dashboard
• Configure Standard Contract Templates
• Assign Dedicated Success Manager
• Deliver Team Training Sessions

Migrate Single Event Data

• How many total records must be migrated for the pilot event (attendee rows, session records, vendor entries)? Options: Less than 500, 500-2,000, 2,000-10,000, More than 10,000
• Which data files will you supply for migration and in what formats (registration CSV, budget spreadsheet, contract PDF, session schedule)? Options: Registrations CSV, Budget spreadsheet (XLSX), Contract PDFs, Session schedule CSV, Other
• What is the format of your attendee export that must be mapped to the platform? Options: CSV with header row, XLSX spreadsheet, Legacy event platform export, API extract / JSON, Other
• Which specific registration fields must be preserved during migration (email, ticket type, payment status, dietary restrictions, company cost center)? Options: Email, Ticket type / registration category, Payment status, Dietary restrictions, Company / cost center, Other
• What acceptance criteria will confirm a successful migration of the single event (for example, data match rate, no missing required fields, functioning registration list)? Options: >98% attendee record match, All required fields present for migrated records, Sample registration page displays migrated attendees, Migration runbook handed to your team, Other
• Who on your team will be the primary contact for validating migrated records and resolving mapping questions? Options: Event manager / planner, Data owner / admin, IT integration lead, Procurement contact, Other

Complete Portfolio Onboarding

• How many events should be included in the initial portfolio onboarding scope? Options: 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 200+
• What timeline do you expect for full portfolio onboarding from pilot start to portfolio cutover? Options: 4-6 weeks, 6-8 weeks, 8-12 weeks, 90+ days
• Identify the event types to be onboarded first (internal meetings, external conferences, trade shows, training classes). Options: Internal meetings, External conferences, Trade shows, Training classes, Other
• Specify the source systems we must connect during portfolio onboarding (your CRM export, accounts payable exports, legacy event tracker). Options: Source CRM export, Accounting / AP export, Legacy event tracker export, Marketing automation export, Other
• What acceptance criteria will confirm portfolio onboarding is complete (for example, % of events migrated, dashboard coverage, data accuracy threshold)? Options: >90% of targeted events migrated, Portfolio dashboard displays spend and attendance for migrated events, Data accuracy >= 99% for key fields, Stakeholder sign-off on sample events, Other
• Are there specific out-of-scope items we should record for the fixed-fee onboarding (for example, custom API builds, onsite logistics, extended change requests)? Options: Custom API development, Onsite execution or staffing, Post-go-live change requests, None / include all, Other

Configure Venue Network Access

• Which cities or markets should be prioritized when we configure your venue network access? Options: North American HQ markets, Regional hubs (list specific cities), Global markets, All listed markets
• Specify the access controls to apply for venues (for example, by region, by business unit cost center, by approval level). Options: Region-based access, Cost-center or business unit, Role-based approval level, Open to all event teams
• List the standard contract clauses that must be enforced when exposing venues in the network (insurance minimums, ADA compliance, F&B minimums). Options: Insurance limits, ADA and accessibility requirements, F&B minimums, Cancellation penalties, Other
• Who will provide your approved venue list and any existing preferred partner agreements for configuration? Options: You will provide a list, We extract from your RFP history, Combination of both, Other
• Identify the venue metadata required for apples-to-apples comparison (room capacity, AV capabilities, peak vs shoulder rates, F&B options). Options: Room capacity, AV capabilities and pricing, Peak / shoulder rates, F&B menu options and minimums, Other
• Are there contractual or sourcing constraints to enforce when matching venues (exclusive agreements, blackout dates, preferred supplier commitments)? Options: Exclusive supplier agreements, Blackout or embargo dates, Preferred supplier commitments, No constraints

Send and Manage Venue RFPs

• What content must be included in your standard RFP packet (attendance estimate, room block, tentative agenda, A/V spec, target budget)? Options: Other, Attendance estimate and room block, Tentative agenda and session times, A/V and staging requirements, Target budget and payment terms
• Who must approve the RFP distribution list before proposals are sent to venues? Options: Event lead / planner, Procurement reviewer, Legal reviewer, Executive sponsor, Other
• What number of venues do you typically want solicited per RFP to ensure good competitive leverage? Options: 2-3 venues, 4-6 venues, 7-10 venues, 10+ venues
• State the required response timeline you will give venues to return proposals. Options: 7 calendar days, 10 calendar days, 14 calendar days, Custom timeline
• Describe the internal routing rules for incoming proposals (auto-assign to event owner, route to procurement for review, send to negotiation queue). Options: Auto-assign to event owner, Route to procurement, Route to finance for budget check, Require manual routing, Other
• Which proposal import formats must be supported for automated parsing (vendor PDF, structured proposal XML/CSV, venue portal export)? Options: Vendor PDF (manual parse), Structured proposal CSV/XML, Venue portal export, Manual data entry only, Other

Standardize Proposal Comparison Reports

• Which cost and contract metrics must appear on the standard comparison report (total event cost, cost per attendee, F&B minimums, cancellation terms)? Options: Total event cost, Cost per attendee, F&B minimums and fees, Cancellation and attrition terms, Other
• Which normalization rules should be applied when comparing venues (standardize F&B per person, include taxes and service, normalize room set assumptions)? Options: Standardize F&B per person, Include taxes and service, Normalize room-block assumptions, Apply buyer discounting rules, Other
• What currency and tax treatment should the comparison report use for multi-market proposals? Options: Buyer default currency, Venue local currency, Both with conversion, Custom per report
• Who must sign off on the comparison before the award decision is made? Options: Event lead / owner, Procurement, Finance, Executive sponsor, Other
• What export formats do you need for the proposal comparison outputs (PDF briefing, spreadsheet with line items, presentation slide deck)? Options: PDF briefing, Spreadsheet (XLSX/CSV), Slide deck export, API feed to downstream system, Other
• Which stakeholders require access to the comparison report view for review (event ops, procurement, finance, executive sponsor)? Options: Event operations, Procurement, Finance, Executive sponsor, Other

Build Event Registration Pages

• Which registration page templates are required for your events (single-track, multi-track with session selection, exhibitor registration, paid ticketing)? Options: Single-track registration, Multi-track with session selection, Exhibitor / sponsor registration, Paid ticketing flow, Other
• List the mandatory registration form fields for your events (email, company name, job title, dietary restrictions, cost center). Options: Email, Company name, Job title, Dietary restrictions, Cost center / GL code, Other
• Which payment flows must be supported on the registration pages (credit card checkout, invoice processing, internal chargeback to cost center)? Options: Credit card checkout, Invoice / PO flow, Internal chargeback to cost center, Free / RSVP only
• Specify the branding assets you will supply for registration pages (logo, color palette, privacy policy, hero images). Options: Logo, Color palette / design tokens, Privacy policy text, Hero images / photography, Other
• How will you validate that a registration page meets requirements prior to publishing (test registration by event owner, QA checklist, mobile responsiveness check)? Options: Event owner test registration, QA checklist sign-off, Mobile / browser compatibility testing, Stakeholder preview link
• What capacity controls are required on registration pages (max capacity, waitlist behavior, per-company seat limits)? Options: Max capacity with auto-close, Waitlist with auto-notify, Per-company limits, No capacity controls

Sync Attendee Data to CRM and Marketing Automation

• Which integration endpoints should receive attendee data (your source CRM, marketing automation endpoint, data warehouse API)? Options: Source CRM endpoint, Marketing automation platform, Data warehouse / BI, Custom API endpoint, Other
• Which specific attendee fields must flow into the CRM and marketing automation (email, registration type, session selections, attendance status, ticket type)? Options: Email, Registration type, Session selections, Attendance status, Ticket type, Other
• What sync cadence do you require for attendee data (real-time, hourly batch, nightly batch)? Options: Real-time / webhook, Hourly batch, Daily batch, Custom schedule
• Provide mapping rules for company fields such as account name to CRM account or cost center codes to GL segments (example: cost_center -> GL segment 3).
• Which security and compliance controls must be enforced for attendee personally identifiable information in transit and at rest (TLS, encryption at rest, IP allowlist)? Options: TLS in transit, Encryption at rest, IP allowlist / VPN, Data processing agreement required, Other
• What error handling behavior do you prefer if a record fails to sync to the CRM (automatic retry, push to error queue, notify assigned owner)? Options: Automatic retry, Send to error queue for manual review, Notify record owner by email, Pause sync and alert IT

Activate Live Budget Tracking

• Which budget structure does your organization use for events (individual event cost centers, pooled portfolio budget, project-based budgets)? Options: Individual event cost center, Pooled portfolio budget, Project-based budgets, Hybrid
• Specify the general ledger coding convention required for event expense line items (provide sample GL segments or cost center list).
• What refresh cadence do you require for actuals versus planned budget (real-time, daily, weekly)? Options: Real-time, Daily, Weekly, Other
• Which spend approval thresholds should be enforced inside budget tracking (for example, amounts that trigger procurement or finance approval)? Options: $5,000, $25,000, Custom thresholds per business unit, No thresholds
• Which finance sources will supply actual spend data for reconciliation (accounts payable export, corporate card feeds, procurement PO feed)? Options: Accounts payable export, Corporate card feed, Procurement PO feed, Manual upload by finance, Other
• Who will own ongoing budget reconciliation after go-live within your organization? Options: Event finance contact, Corporate finance, Event operations, Shared responsibility

Deploy Portfolio Dashboard

• Which portfolio KPIs must the dashboard surface (total spend, attendance, satisfaction score, cost per attendee, event margin)? Options: Total spend, Attendance, Satisfaction / NPS, Cost per attendee, Event margin, Other
• Identify the drilldowns and filters required on the dashboard (by business unit, by city, by event type, by date range). Options: Business unit, City / market, Event type, Date range, Other
• What maximum data latency is acceptable for dashboard reporting (under 5 minutes, under 1 hour, under 24 hours)? Options: Under 5 minutes, Under 1 hour, Under 24 hours, Daily snapshot only
• What acceptance criteria will validate the dashboard deployment (for example, number of data sources connected, percent of events visible, stakeholder sign-off)? Options: All required data sources connected, >95% of targeted events visible, Stakeholder walkthrough completed and signed off, Performance SLA met for dashboard load times, Other
• Which user groups should have access to the portfolio dashboard (event operations, procurement, finance, executive sponsors)? Options: Event operations, Procurement, Finance, Executive sponsors, Other
• What export or integration capabilities are required from the dashboard (scheduled PDF reports, CSV export, API endpoint to BI)? Options: Scheduled PDF reports, CSV/Excel export, API feed to BI, Embed view for intranet, Other

Configure Standard Contract Templates

• Which contract templates do you need configured (venue contract, speaker agreement, exhibitor contract, master services agreement)? Options: Venue contract, Speaker agreement, Exhibitor contract, Master services agreement, Other
• List the contractual clauses that must be mandatory in templates (insurance minimums, indemnity, force majeure, cancellation penalties). Options: Insurance minimums, Indemnity, Force majeure, Cancellation penalties, Other
• What approval workflow should be enforced for contract execution (event owner submission, procurement review, legal sign-off, e-signature)? Options: Event owner submit then procurement, Procurement then legal, Legal review mandatory, Direct e-signature after approvals
• Do you require e-signature integration or will executed contracts be uploaded manually? Options: E-signature integration required, Manual upload of signed PDFs, Both options acceptable, Undecided / need recommendation
• Where should executed contracts be stored and indexed for retrieval (central contract repository, event folder, linked to CRM account)? Options: Central contract repository, Event folder storage, Linked to CRM account, Other
• Are there recurring non-standard terms we should template (local labor rules, union conditions, data residency clauses)? Options: Local labor rules, Union conditions, Data residency clauses, None / standard terms only, Other

• Subscription Order Form
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Pilot & Implementation
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Regulatory Compliance Addendum
• IT Integration & Security Approval
• Mutual Go/No-Go & Acceptance Criteria
• Change Order Agreement

• Go-live Health Check (Weeks 1-4)
• First Outcome Measurement (Weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate Review (Around Day 90)
• Quarterly Success Review

• Close or assign resolution dates to the top three operational blockers identified during the review.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Produce a documented acceptance decision for each acceptance criterion recorded in Solution Scope, with pass or fail noted.
• Agree remediation work and fixed resolution dates for any unmet criteria so the loop is closed.
• Confirm the incumbent wind-down plan is documented and scheduled to prevent dual-operation and adoption leakage.
• Publish the Acceptance Gate record showing pass/fail per Solution Scope criterion and store it in the shared workspace.
• Open remediation tickets with explicit success tests and resolution dates for each failed or conditional criterion.
• Execute the incumbent data archive or decommission plan and publish the completion confirmation when finished.
• Review metric trends and anomalies
• Confirm adoption and ROI metrics are stable or improving toward the Solution Scope targets for events managed, time saved per event, and budget variance.
• Clear the top operational blockers or agree concrete timelines to resolve them within the quarter.
• Agree the priority enhancement items that will be delivered or scoped in the next quarter and how progress will be tracked.
• Update the shared dashboard to surface the quarterly metrics and automated alerts for regressions.
• Publish the prioritized enhancement backlog with target delivery quarters and acceptance criteria.
• Re-confirm success criteria and named owners
• Deployment and pilot event data are validated as usable for live operations or a short remediation list is agreed.
• Initial adoption signals are identified and any critical blockers have assigned remediation actions and target dates.
• All acceptance criteria recorded in Solution Scope have named owners confirmed for the onboarding window.
• Publish a short remediation tracker listing each blocker, its impact, and expected resolution date.
• Deliver a sample data validation report showing migrated records and integration sync status.
• Circulate a user access and training completion summary for the pilot event.
• Present first measurement data
• Determine whether average venue sourcing cycle time (days) and registration completion rate (%) are moving toward the Solution Scope targets.
• Agree a prioritized remediation plan with clear resolution dates to correct metric shortfalls before the Acceptance Gate.
• Confirm measurement methodology and data sources to ensure consistent reporting at the Acceptance Gate.
• Deliver a data-source and calculation methodology document for each metric presented.
• Create a remediation plan that lists tasks, acceptance criteria, and target completion dates for each identified root cause.
• Implement a dashboard filter that isolates pilot-event data versus broader portfolio data for the acceptance review.
• Deployment and migration validation
• Surface persistent operational issues
• Diagnose gaps and root causes
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• Document pass/fail per criterion and buyer decision
• Manage enhancement requests and prioritization
• Early adoption signals and usage patterns
• Confirm readiness timeline to acceptance gate
• Blockers and open issues triage
• Agree remediation items and resolution timeline
• Action burn-down and next steps
• Incumbent system wind-down confirmation
• Agree immediate remediation actions