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When Anthony Iannarino called me back in 2016 to pitch a conference for sales professionals and their leaders called “OutBound” I bit immediately. From the get go, we imagined something different than the typical sales conferences whose stages featured speakers who paid to be there. Those sessions tended to boring infomercials for the speaker’s software or services. At other conferences speakers just blatantly pitched their products from the stage rather than delivering anything of value to the audience.
Our vision for OutBound was a conference that:
We launched the first OutBound Conference in 2017 and sold out. People loved it!
The success of that inaugural event validated what we suspected all along: sales professionals were hungry for authentic, value-driven content. They were tired of being treated as walking wallets rather than serious practitioners looking to elevate their craft. Our attendees came expecting transformation, not transaction.
What set OutBound apart wasn’t just what we included, but what we deliberately excluded. We said no to vendor booths dominating the experience. We rejected the pay-to-play speaker model that plagued other events. Instead, we invested in curating speakers based purely on their expertise and ability to deliver actionable insights that attendees could implement immediately.
The speaker-attendee interaction requirement became one of our most beloved features. Rather than celebrities who disappeared after their keynotes, our speakers stayed engaged throughout the entire conference. They ate meals with attendees, participated in impromptu hallway conversations, and were genuinely accessible. This created an atmosphere where learning continued long after the formal sessions ended.
As word spread about OutBound’s unique approach, we began attracting a different caliber of attendee. Top performers from major corporations, successful entrepreneurs, and rising stars in sales all gravitated toward an event that respected their intelligence and invested in their growth. The networking became organic and powerful because everyone in attendance was serious about their profession.
We discovered that when you eliminate the noise of constant pitching and vendor distractions, something magical happens. Real conversations emerge. Genuine relationships form. People share strategies, challenges, and victories with unprecedented openness because they’re not worried about being sold to at every turn.
The food and experience elements weren’t just nice touches—they were strategic decisions. Great food and thoughtful logistics signal respect for attendees’ time and investment. When people feel valued, they engage more deeply with the content and each other. It’s a virtuous cycle that elevates the entire experience.
Running OutBound taught us that the sales community was starving for authenticity. Professionals wanted to learn from practitioners who had actually done the work, not just theorists or software vendors masquerading as thought leaders. They craved environments where they could let their guard down and learn from peers facing similar challenges.
The success also reinforced that quality trumps quantity every time. By keeping our focus narrow and our standards high, we created something truly special. Attendees became ambassadors, spreading the word organically because they had experienced something genuinely different and valuable.
The principles that launched OutBound in 2017 remain as relevant today as ever. Perhaps more so. In an era of information overload and digital fatigue, the hunger for authentic, high-quality professional development experiences continues to grow. The OutBound model proves that when you put attendee value first and maintain unwavering standards, you create something that transcends a typical conference—you create a community and a movement.