Why pre-booked meetings beat chance encounters
At most events, networking means hoping to bump into the right person in the coffee line. Pre-booked 1:1 meetings turn that into a plan: attendees know before they arrive whom they will meet, when and where. For investors and founders, buyers and exhibitors, or partners in a B2B ecosystem, those meetings are often the main reason to buy a ticket.
That is why formats such as startup events, trade shows and business conferences organize networking around booked meetings. We cover the B2B side in detail in our business matchmaking playbook.
The meeting flow, step by step
- Profile: every attendee creates a profile with role, company, goals and interests.
- Discovery: the app suggests relevant people through matchmaking; attendees can also search and filter the directory.
- Conversation: a private chat clarifies whether a meeting makes sense.
- Request: one attendee picks an open time slot and sends a meeting request.
- Confirmation: the other attendee accepts or declines; both see the meeting in their schedule.
- Reminder: shortly before the meeting, both get a reminder so nobody misses it.
In Conferras, chat and 1:1 meetings are included on every plan, and attendees see conflicts with their schedule instantly when they book.
How matchmaking feeds the meeting schedule
Meetings are only valuable with the right counterpart. Matchmaking compares what attendees say about themselves, for example what they offer and what they are looking for, and suggests the people with the best fit. With AI matchmaking, available in Conferras from the Growth plan, every suggestion gets a compatibility score, and the matches update as more attendees complete their profiles.
Read more in event matchmaking: match your audience with event apps.
How organizers get more meetings booked
- Open the app early: send the link one to two weeks before the event so meetings are booked before people arrive.
- Ask for goals in the profile: "looking for" and "offering" fields make matches specific.
- Plan meeting time in the agenda: dedicated networking blocks give people slots that do not clash with talks.
- Define a meeting spot: a meeting lounge or numbered tables make it easy to find each other.
- Remind with push notifications: a broadcast like "Your matches are ready" brings people back to book.
More engagement ideas: event engagement strategies that drive real attendee interaction.
Meeting formats that work
- 15-minute meetings: the standard for investor and buyer meetings, enough for a first conversation.
- Exhibitor meetings at trade shows: visitors book a time at the stand instead of queuing.
- Speaker office hours: speakers offer slots after their talk for follow-up questions.
- Peer meetings at summits: attendees with the same role meet to compare notes.