Filling the last senior seats at an executive summit

Late registration is normal

A Maritz study of more than 360,000 registrations across 30 trade shows found that 45% of attendees in 2023 registered four weeks or less before the event, and 13% in the week before, with another 9% registering on site (TSNN). Trade shows aren't invitation-only summits, and the share varied a lot by sector. Still, it's a useful reminder that a quiet registration list a month out isn't a crisis yet.

Late yeses also tend to turn up. Within individual events, PheedLoop found almost no difference in attendance between early and late registrants (PheedLoop report 9).

Find out exactly which seats are missing

Writing for PCMA, Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes suggests profiling who has already registered, by job title and company type, to see which gaps are left before deciding what to do (PCMA). If the gap is at C-level, a general reminder to everyone won't close it.

Make a short list of the roles that would make the room work for the sponsors. That list drives everything else.

Where to look for the last seats first

With a few weeks left, start with people who already know the event. In our view these routes deserve a try before any new outreach, though we found no published data comparing them:

• people who said "not this time" earlier, with something new to tell them, such as a confirmed speaker
• your speakers' and sponsors' own senior contacts, invited in their name with their agreement
• a substitute from the same company when a registered guest drops out
• a short waiting list, so a released place can be offered the same day

Agree the substitution rule in advance

Substitutes keep a seat filled, but only if the rule is clear. Informa's delegate terms for Greenbuild, for example, allow a transfer to another member of the same organisation with written notice, at least 30 days before the event, for a fee (Greenbuild terms). A free invitation-only summit will set its own terms. Decide who can approve a substitute, how senior they must be, and the last day you'll accept one.