Posted on October 1, 2025
The $25 Gift Card That Exposed a Bigger Pipeline Problem
When Incentives Go Too Far
Sales often comes with tactics. Promos. Giveaways. A little bait to open the door. And in the world of B2B SaaS—especially enterprise event tech—it’s not uncommon to offer a coffee voucher or a gift card to get someone on a call.
But what happens when someone walks through that door pretending to be something they’re not?
That’s exactly what happened at InEvent.
“At one point, our AE finally asked: ‘You’re here just for the gift card, right?’ Her answer? Yes,” said Pedro Góes, CEO of InEvent.
The lead had created an entire fake event—complete with past client history and a polished backstory. But a quick glance showed red flags: no LinkedIn footprint, a Gmail domain, and a Miami venue that didn’t even exist.
And yet, on paper? Everything checked out.
That $25 gift card exposed something much bigger than just one bad lead.
It revealed a growing tension in demand gen:
Are you attracting qualified buyers or just traffic willing to fake it for a freebie?
The Gift Card Trap
Good Intentions, Bad Conversions
On the surface, gift card incentives seem like a smart move. Offer a $25 voucher in exchange for a qualified meeting, and you’ve got yourself a full sales calendar in days—not weeks.
It’s a popular tactic across SaaS, especially when the pressure to fill pipeline is high. But in our case at InEvent, it backfired.
“It was elaborate,” Pedro recalls. “Gmail address, fake venue, no LinkedIn… but on paper, it checked out.”
This wasn’t just a flaky lead. It was a fully fabricated persona—built to claim a small reward.
And it turns out, that’s not rare.
Entire online communities exist purely to game incentive programs. They swap tips on bypassing qualification checks, share fake business templates, and even use AI-powered persona generators to simulate believable job titles and company histories.
Sure, gift card campaigns look great on dashboards:
- Calendars fill fast
- Attribution is easy
- Cost per lead looks manageable
But here’s the trade-off: you’re not building pipeline. You’re building a system that teaches people how to hack your pipeline.
And if your team doesn’t catch it early, these fake leads can waste hours of AE time, slow down your real buyers, and tank conversion rates down the funnel.
Why Fake Leads Slip Through
MQL ≠ SQL (And That Matters More Than Ever)
When your KPIs are built around volume, you get… volume. But not necessarily value.
There’s a fundamental difference between interest and intent. A fake lead clicking on your ad because they want a $25 gift card? That’s interest. A real buyer who’s been tasked with delivering their company’s flagship conference? That’s intent.
But too often, the systems we use blur that line.
Marketing qualifies based on form fills or page views. Sales is told to book as many calls as possible. And in between those two points? There’s not always time—or tooling—to sniff out what’s real.
Pedro puts it plainly:
“When someone lies about hosting a conference, it doesn’t just waste one AE’s time. It wastes hours across Sales, CS, and Product.”
That’s especially true in event tech, where every lead claims they’re “planning a major event.” But when that event doesn’t exist—or never had a venue booked—you’ve just sunk time, trust, and pipeline energy into a ghost.
And the damage compounds:
- ❌ Demo slots go to bad fits
- ⌛ CS builds decks for no-shows
- 🤯 Product wastes cycles chasing fake feedback
When MQLs are treated like SQLs without real vetting, it’s not just inefficient. It’s costly.
What This Teaches Us About Qualification
Fast Isn’t Always Smart
It’s tempting to optimize for speed—faster demos, faster deals, faster pipeline. But if the top of your funnel is wide open to anyone with a Gmail address and a made-up event, speed just gets you to the wrong outcome faster.
The lesson? Qualification matters. And it has to go deeper than just form fills or promo redemptions.
At InEvent, we’ve learned to qualify not just by who fills out the form—but why, how, and what for. Here’s how we approach it:
- Event size: Are they managing 100 people… or 10,000?
- Use case: Are they actually looking for AI-powered registration, facial recognition check-in, or badge printing—or do they just want social media promotion?
- Budget readiness: Can they invest in an enterprise-grade platform, or are they just shopping around?
- Timeline: Are they planning next year’s conference—or trying to go live in two weeks with zero assets?
Pedro put it this way:
“No magic question filters out all the wrong leads. But alignment—on need, timing, and value—gets you a lot closer.”
The real qualification test isn’t how fast someone says yes. It’s whether they’re ready to use your product the way it was meant to be used.
Because smart growth doesn’t start with a click. It starts with clarity.
The Better Path? Real Buyers, Long Game
You Can’t Incentivize Intent
Incentives aren’t the problem. The context around them is.
Gift cards, swag, discounts—they can work when used as a thank you, not a bribe. But if your pipeline depends on giving something away before someone even knows what you do? You’re attracting attention, not intention.
Pedro put it plainly:
“Sometimes it feels like the fastest path to pipeline is also the most vulnerable to hacks.”
So what’s the better path? Focus on real buyers. And structure incentives to reward meaningful milestones, like:
- Completing a qualified demo with a defined use case
- Sharing event timelines and attendee volume
- Engaging in a contract review, security walkthrough, or integration discussion
In short: reward progress, not just presence.
At InEvent, we’ve found that high-fit buyers don’t need gimmicks. When someone is planning a high-stakes conference—say, with 10,000 attendees, facial recognition check-in, and multiple tracks—they’re not chasing a $25 gift card. They’re chasing reliability. Security. Execution.
And that’s where your best deals come from.
So yes, play the long game. Because in B2B, intent doesn’t come from incentives. It comes from alignment, urgency, and readiness.
Are You Prioritizing Volume or Value?
Gift Cards Can’t Replace Fit
At some point, every marketing and sales team has to answer one hard question:
Are we chasing SQLs or just MQLs with a pulse?
Because there’s a real difference between someone interested in your freebie… and someone ready to buy.
Intent isn’t something you can fake—or force with a gift card. And when you’re selling event technology to organizations hosting high-stakes experiences, misalignment costs more than just time. It risks trust.
So, what’s your team optimizing for?
- Lead volume… or lead quality?
- High click-through… or high fit?
- Short-term numbers… or long-term pipeline health?
Pedro’s advice to fellow startup leaders:
“If you’re building demand for serious buyers—especially in event tech—we should talk.”
Got your own incentive horror story? Or pipeline lesson hard-earned? We’d love to hear it.
About the Author / Adedoyin
