How to organise a conference

Conferences are events with supply chains: venue contracts signed a year out, speakers confirmed by month six, and delegates who book on the last possible day. The craft is sequencing — and B2B money mechanics that differ from every other event type.

The spine timeline

1. T-12 to 9 months: date (check industry-calendar clashes), venue contract (read the attrition and cancellation clauses hard), theme, headline speakers.
2. T-9 to 6: programme skeleton, sponsorship deck out, early-bird on sale — the early tier funds deposits.
3. T-6 to 3: full agenda published (the single biggest sales unlock), speaker logistics, catering numbers v1.
4. T-3 to 0: the corporate booking wave (delegates expense-approve late), final numbers at T-14 days, ops pack, run-through.

Delegate pricing that reflects B2B reality

• Tiers: super early bird → early bird → standard → late, each 15–25% up. Corporate buyers respond to deadlines more than discounts — enforce them.
• Group/team pricing (3+, 5+) sells to managers, your real buyer.
• Invoice payment matters: many companies can't card £500+ — a platform that handles invoicing/PO references captures bookings card-only checkouts lose.

Speakers and sponsors

• Industry speakers usually speak for visibility + expenses; professional keynotes £1k–£10k+. Confirm the expensive ones before pricing sponsorship — they're what sponsors buy proximity to.
• Sponsorship packages sell outcomes, not logo sizes: lead scanning, speaking slots, hosted dinners. Three tiers, priced against your delegate quality.
• Sponsorship should target 30–50% of revenue for first editions — it de-risks the delegate forecast you'll get wrong.

Delegate experience is logistics

Badge/check-in speed (scan-based, see door ops), wifi that survives 300 laptops, coffee at the breaks the agenda promises, and an app or printed agenda that answers 'what's next, where'. Post-event: slides and follow-up within 48h while badges are still in jacket pockets.