Maximizing CDMO/CRO Lead Generation: Strategies for Contract Pharma Conference 2024

Introduction

For CROs and CDMOs, industry conferences remain one of the most powerful channels for generating high-quality leads. They bring together decision-makers, buyers, and influencers in one place—creating rare opportunities for meaningful conversations that can accelerate new partnerships. But as these events become increasingly crowded and expensive, simply showing up is no longer enough. Maximizing ROI requires a deliberate approach: preparing in advance, targeting the right prospects, and following up with precision.

This article is the exact playbook BioScoutr uses to help our clients squeeze the most ROI out of every conference they attend.

Pre-Conference Preparation: Setting the Stage for Success

1. Pre-conference prep that actually drives meetings

1) Build the master attendee list. Start with the conference website/app and assemble every company + person you can confirm is attending. If organizers don’t share a list, capture it from the app (manually or—where terms allow—via automated third-party tools). Normalize names, titles, companies, and add tags (e.g., “discovery,” “preclinical,” “BD,” “CTO”) so you can filter fast.

2) Prioritize and enrich. From that master list, carve out your ICP: the specific people and companies you actually want to meet. Run this subset through contact enrichment (Apollo, Airscale, ZoomInfo, etc.) to pull personal phone numbers and emails.

3) Start outreach 3–4 weeks out. Use a multi-channel cadence (phone first, then email, then LinkedIn) over 10–21 days. Make sure to create a special booking link with 20–30 minute slots that align with exhibit hours. Add a required mobile number field; in the form, state you’ll send a same-day reminder.

4) Keep your messaging short and concise for those phone calls and messages. Lead with relevance. One sentence is enough:

“Hi [Name] — saw you’ll be at [Conference]. Would [Company] be open to learning more about [product/service]? If so, we should set up a quick chat.”

Advanced Strategy: Personalize by track/poster (“noticed you’re attending the [Target ID/Track] sessions”) and propose a concrete on-site time block.

5) Lock logistics to boost show rates. In your confirmation page and calendar invite, include booth/location, a map pin, and your cell. Send a reminder email the day before and an SMS 1–2 hours prior; if they don't show up, call within 15 minutes and offer a nearby fallback time.

6) Equip the team. Prepare a one-pager and two case bullets tailored to each persona; pre-write talk tracks tied to the conference agenda. Assign owners for each meeting, and set a daily target (# dials, # new contacts, # meetings booked) so you can course-correct mid-campaign.

Real-world Case Study: Ahead of Discovery on Target, BioScoutr ran a one-month pre-conference campaign for a discovery & pre-clinical CRO. The prior year, the client had secured only two advance meetings. Using a phone-led approach with tight email follow-ups, we scheduled 8 meetings with net-new contacts before the event—a 4× jump in pre-booked conversations compared to the previous year.

Post-Conference Follow-Up: Nurturing Leads and Closing Deals

The week after a conference is where pipeline is made or lost. Treat it like a mini-campaign with a clock: the first 10 business days determine 80% of your outcomes. Build from the pre-conference list you already curated, then execute with discipline.

1) Lead with the phone (and make it your system, not a “nice to have”)

Prospects leave events to an inbox avalanche. Phone cuts through. Make phone the first touch on every priority record, with email/LinkedIn as reinforcement, not substitutes. Aim for a live conversation, not a perfect script.

Call opener (simple & disarming):“Hi [Name], it’s [You] from [Company]. We didn’t get much time at [Conference]—do you have 45 seconds for why I’m calling, and you can tell me if we should schedule time?”

If they say yes: reference their role/pain, propose a 20–30 min follow-up slot, and send the calendar in-call.

2) Segment fast: “Spoke With” vs “Didn’t Speak”

• Spoke With (Hot/Warm): People you met, scanned, or discussed specifics with.
• Didn’t Speak (Contextual Cold): Attended but you didn’t connect. Treat as cold with event context. Prioritize by ICP fit and signals (sessions attended, posters, titles).

Tag every record with: conference name, date, track/session, persona, pains mentioned, next step. Clean data now = faster closes later.

3) Build a 10-Business-Day Follow-Up Plan (multi-channel, phone-led)

Day 1–8 :

• Call 4 to 6 times→ if answered, book next step.
• If no answer after the last attempt: voicemail + short email that mirrors the voicemail.
• Optional LinkedIn connect (no pitch—reference conference context).

Day 8-12:

• Email Sequence: new angle (e.g., a relevant whitepaper, webinar clip, or short ROI snapshot).
• If meeting is booked: send confirmation with agenda, link, and ask for mobile to enable SMS reminders.

Day 13:

After Day 13, recycle non-responders to a light nurture (monthly insight email) unless there’s a trigger event. After a couple weeks, you can re-try Steps 1 and 2.

4) Templates you can paste today

Personalized recap (spoke with):Subject: Next step from [Conference]Hi [Name]—great meeting you near [session/booth]. You mentioned [specific pain]. Here’s a simple plan we can cover in 20 min:

1. Confirm scope for [team/use case]
2. Walk through how we’d deliver [outcome] in 30 days
3. Agree on a light pilot and success metricDoes [Tue 10:30–11 or Wed 2–2:30] work? Here’s a link if easier: [booking link].—[You], [Title], [Cell]

Didn’t speak (contextual cold):Subject: Quick intro from [Conference]Hi [Name]—we didn’t connect at [Conference], but we help [peer company/role] reduce [pain] in [area]. Attaching a 1-pager; open to a 20-min this week to see if it’s relevant? [booking link]—[You]

How BioScoutr Can Help

• We dial first, summarize in writing second.
• We separate “Spoke With” from “Didn’t Speak,” then tailor messages with specific references.
• We share relevant content (case studies/whitepapers) mapped to pain, and we float micro-proposals for A-tier leads within days—not weeks.
• Result: more live conversations, cleaner next steps, and materially higher show rates that translate into qualified pipeline.