Relationships Over Transactions: The Referral Economy of Meetings & Events

Referrals Are the Real Revenue Stream

When Portals Replace People, Something Gets Lost

Technology has streamlined sourcing. Booking portals like CVENT have made it easier than ever to submit RFPs in bulk. Efficient? Sure. Personal? Not even close.

MacMullen puts it plainly: “You’re submitting an RFP through a portal and then somebody’s answering through a portal and there’s a really good chance that you’re not even gonna talk to the sales person until it’s down to a short list.”

That’s the transactional trap.

Meeting planners are juggling more responsibilities than ever. Sales managers are fielding “12 RFPs through CVENT” at a time. Everyone’s busy. So everyone defaults to process.

But process doesn’t build loyalty. It builds shortlists.

And in a referral-based ecosystem, shortlists don’t sustain careers. Relationships do.

Becoming the First Call, Not Just Another Option

Paul Bashaw reframes the goal. Don’t just compete for business. “We want them to call us first.”

That’s a radically different mindset.

Instead of chasing isolated wins, they aim to become a source. With a portfolio of 200+ properties, the objective isn’t simply to fill rooms. It’s to be the trusted advisor a planner turns to, even if the answer isn’t within their own portfolio.

“If we didn’t have a property in where you’re looking,” Bashaw explains, “we may know about someone who’s working at that property… So we become a source even when we’re not sourcing our own properties.”

That’s confidence. And generosity.

Ironically, that willingness to refer out is what drives referrals back in.

The Most Underrated Sales Strategy? Dialing

MacMullen’s advice for building strong property-level relationships isn’t fancy. It’s old-school.

“Pick up the phone.”

He calls it a simple test.

Call the sales manager. Two things will happen.

Either they answer and engage: “Now you’re going to start a conversation. You have their direct attention.” Or they don’t call back, and that’s your answer.

It’s blunt. It’s effective.

In hospitality, instinct kicks in when someone calls for help. “Our first instinct is to serve,” MacMullen says. That instinct rarely gets triggered by a portal notification.

And here’s the kicker: responsiveness is predictive. If a sales manager won’t return your call during sourcing, what happens when a real issue arises during the event?

You’re not just evaluating space. You’re evaluating behavior.

Give Them the Gold Star

Planners answer to stakeholders. Their reputations are on the line with every venue decision.

“We wanna get them the gold star,” Bashaw says. “We wanna make sure that they’re answering to their people, saying, yeah, we chose this property because of this relationship.”

That’s the emotional layer most transactional approaches miss.

It’s not just about square footage and F&B minimums. It’s about confidence. It’s about knowing the service will “come through.” It’s about believing someone has your back.

And that belief compounds over time.

“We care about the first meeting,” Bashaw says, “but we actually care about number twenty.”

Repeat business isn’t luck. It’s engineered through trust.

Referrals Start with Rapport, Not Availability

What turns personal connections into referrals?

“Rapport,” MacMullen answers without hesitation.

A strong salesperson doesn’t cling to a deal they can’t accommodate. They redirect it. “Any good salesperson should refer you to a competitor… that can accommodate your meeting.”

That kind of honesty builds credibility.

Bashaw compares it to scanning the Cheesecake Factory’s encyclopedia-sized menu. Is everything good? Hard to say. So you ask the waiter.

“Trust your waiters,” MacMullen jokes.

Salespeople are the waiters of the hospitality world. They know what delivers. They know what fits. When you trust them—and they prove worthy of that trust—you stop ordering blindly.

And when they trim the “menu” down to three or four strong options, decision fatigue disappears.

Care Isn’t a Strategy. It’s a Signal.

Their most powerful example didn’t involve a contract. It happened during COVID.

As the industry shut down, MacMullen and Bashaw didn’t start with pipeline questions. They started with people.

“The first thing Paulie and I did… is call them and check on ’em… and just actually demonstrate true care and concern.”

Not a pitch. Not a probe. Just care.

“You can tell right off the bat if a salesperson is calling you because you showed up in their traces,” MacMullen says, “or if they’re just calling to check on you.”

That difference is obvious. And unforgettable.

Bashaw shares a 22-year relationship with June Roslak of GP Harmon. He booked her first national sales meeting decades ago. Since then, he’s worked on 18 of her programs. Even when his portfolio didn’t fit, she called him for guidance.

That’s not vendor status. That’s advisor status.

She’s retiring soon. Her note for her successor? Call Paulie and JMac first.

That’s generational trust.

The Long Game Always Wins

Relationships outlast properties. They outlast roles. They outlast market cycles.

The meetings industry may operate faster now. RFPs move quicker. Decisions compress. But trust still compounds slowly.

Transactional thinking chases the immediate win.

Relationship thinking builds the next twenty.

In a business where “everybody knows everybody,” reputation travels. Referrals multiply. And the people who consistently pick up the phone, provide solutions, and care beyond the contract become the steady names that planners return to again and again.

So yes, use the portal.

But if you want to separate the wheat from the chaff?

Dial.

Ready to build a partnership that lasts longer than a single event? Let’s talk. Connect with us today, and let’s make your next meeting the first of many.

Let’s Connect.