Virtual Roundtables for Australian Buyers: How B2B Sponsors Reach Senior Decision-Makers

A practical guide to running a virtual roundtable for senior buyers across Australia.

Why a virtual roundtable suits Australian buyers

A virtual roundtable is a moderated video discussion for a small group of senior people who share a problem. Eight to twelve guests talk to each other, led by a moderator, for about an hour. Nobody presents to an audience.

Australian buyers are a long way from most sponsors' offices, and few vendor events reach them. A virtual roundtable lets you bring senior buyers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth into the same conversation for one hour, with no flights.

How to run a virtual roundtable for Australian buyers

The method is the same in every market: choose the audience before the topic, build the group around one question, keep it to about ten guests, invite personally, moderate lightly and follow up within 48 hours. Our guide to running a virtual roundtable covers each step, and our roundtable questions guide helps you write the question. What changes is the detail around timing, calendar and language.

Run it in local time

Australia spans several time zones, and daylight saving makes it more complicated. From October to April, Sydney and Melbourne are on UTC+11, while Brisbane is on UTC+10 and Perth on UTC+8. A session at 11:00 am in Sydney is 10:00 am in Brisbane and 8:00 am in Perth. Mid-morning to lunchtime, Tuesday to Thursday, is usually best. The gap with the UK and the US is too wide for one joint session, so run Australia in its own slot and share one summary with all your guests.

Mind the Australian calendar

The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so finance and procurement buyers are busy in late June. Avoid Australia Day on 26 January, Easter, Anzac Day on 25 April and the summer break from mid-December to late January. In Victoria, Melbourne Cup day in early November is a holiday in practice for many people. School holiday dates differ by state.

Keep the invitation direct

Send each invitation as a short, plain note from a named person. Say who else is attending, what the question is and how long the session runs. A direct, informal tone usually works better than a formal campaign email.

Virtual roundtable or executive dinner?

A virtual roundtable is faster to organise and easier for guests to attend. An executive dinner builds a stronger personal relationship. Many sponsors use both, starting with a roundtable and inviting the best contributors to a dinner. Our guide to hosting an executive dinner covers the in-person side.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting daylight saving. Check the offset for each state before you send invitations.
• Booking in late June or over the summer break. Attendance falls.
• Choosing a product theme. Guests come for a problem they share, not for a demo.
• Skipping the follow-up. The session starts the relationship, and it needs a next step.

How ELN runs virtual roundtables for Australian buyers

ELN builds the guest list around your ideal customer profile, handles the invitations and registrations, and provides the moderator. We run virtual roundtables for buyers in Australia, the UAE, the UK, Europe and North America. See our B2B virtual roundtables page for how the service works, and our guide to virtual roundtables for US buyers if you also want to reach North America. If you need the right people recruited for an event of your own, look at our delegate acquisition service.

Frequently asked questions

How many guests should a virtual roundtable have?

Around ten. That is small enough for everyone to speak and large enough for a varied conversation.

How long should a virtual roundtable last?

About an hour. Shorter than that and the conversation does not develop, and longer and attendance drops.

What is the best time for a roundtable with Australian guests?

Mid-morning to lunchtime in local time, Tuesday to Thursday. Check the offset for Queensland and Western Australia.

Can we include Australian and UK guests in the same session?

Rarely. The working days barely overlap. Most sponsors run a separate session in Australian time.

Next step

If you would like ELN to build a virtual roundtable around your target accounts in Australia, get in touch and we will talk through the audience, the date and the format.