30+ Events, 2.4M Revenue Through Relationship-Led Marketing: Taryn @ Fuel AI

Episode notes

Most B2B marketers treat events like a channel. Book a venue. Get people in. Hope something comes out of it. And that's also why they fail. In this episode of TLDR, I spoke with Taryn Talley (30+ events, $2.4M in revenue over 4 years). Her approach is completely different. She doesn't start with pipeline targets or event logistics. She starts with: "Who do we actually want to build relationships with?" Then she builds a system around deepening those relationships. B2B deals need 7-12 touches to close. Events are just high-value touches in that sequence. Her biggest deals came from people who attended 3+ different events over time. Not one big event. A deliberate sequence of events. Here's how the system works: Build a network, not an invite list: Start with 100-1,000 core relationships. Track them in a spreadsheet. Document engagement history, pain points, last meaningful touch. Goal: grow this network 20% annually. Vary the format : Mix intimate dinners (20 people), networking events (150 people), multi-day experiences (30-40 people). Don't hit the same people with the same format twice. The real work happens after: Track every conversation. Document pain points shared.