Prep an event in Athel

Everything the loop produces — a complete record, defensible numbers — is shaped by decisions that cost fifteen minutes before the show and can’t be retrofitted after it. This playbook is that fifteen minutes.

You’ll need: an Athel account. If your team runs HubSpot and an admin has connected it, you can import the Event instead of creating it (step 1b).

1. Create the Event

1. Go to Events and tap New.
2. In the New event form, fill in Event Name (required), Event Type (Trade show, Conference, Webinar, Field event, Networking, or Other event), a short Description, and the Start Date / End Date.
3. Tap Add location, goal & budget to expand the details that make the after-math possible:
   • Format — In person, Virtual, or Hybrid
   • Location — e.g. “Moscone Center, SF”
   • Target leads — your qualified-conversation goal for the show
   • Budget — the all-in number: booth, travel, sponsorship
4. Tap Create Event.

Don’t skip Target leads and Budget. Setting them before the show is what makes “17 of 20, at $1,059 per qualified conversation” a pre-committed measurement instead of a post-hoc story. If you don’t know the budget to the dollar, estimate — a defensible denominator beats a blank one.

1b. Or import from HubSpot

If the Event already exists in HubSpot (as a HubSpot Marketing Campaign or a custom-object record), a company admin can tap Import on the Events screen instead, pick the records, and confirm. Imported Events show a HubSpot icon and keep their HubSpot identity — the HubSpot playbook covers the source setup and what the import creates on the HubSpot side.

2. Design the label groups

Labels are the qualification system, so design them deliberately — the fundamentals article covers the theory; here’s the mechanics:

1. Go to Settings → Workspace tab → Labels (on a personal account: Personal → Labels). The screen is titled Interaction Labels.
2. Starting fresh? Tap Use defaults to seed the four standard groups — Engagement Status (“Did they engage?”), Engagement Depth (“How deeply?”), Funnel Intent (“Who are they to us?”), and the outcome group (“What happened?”).
3. Add your labels to each group with the inline Add field, or create your own groups with New group — one question per group, single-select unless the fact is genuinely plural.
4. Make sure every group has an honest exit — Didn’t engage, Not a fit — so a no costs one tap at the wrap-up.

The label-group starter kits give you ready-to-copy sets per event type. If HubSpot is connected, the Labels screen shows a Sync now banner that pulls your HubSpot association labels in, so qualification taps map straight onto CRM segments.

3. Brief the team

The tooling is now ready; the norm is what makes it work. The pre-event brief that fits on one message:

This show runs on Athel. Set {Event} as your active event on the Meet screen. Capture every conversation in the moment — card, name, or voice, under thirty seconds. Answer the label questions when they pop up. Wrap-up happens before your flight home, and the Event isn’t over until it hits 100%.

If you’re running a booth with prize draws, build it now too — that’s its own playbook.

The pre-show checklist

Done	Item
☐	Event created (or imported), with dates and location
☐	Target leads and Budget set
☐	Label groups reviewed — questions right, honest exits present
☐	HubSpot connected and labels synced (if you run HubSpot)
☐	Booth built and prizes loaded (if running one)
☐	Team briefed: active event, thirty-second rule, wrap-up deadline

The longer version — T-2 weeks, T-2 days, morning-of — is a ready-to-copy template. Next in lifecycle order: running live capture on the floor.