A current client shared an ad with me for a conference she believed I belonged at–Vanity Fair’s FOUNDERS FAIR: Women Entrepreneurs Tell Their Stories. Sign me up!

An interview with Reese Witherspoon (I’m loving her in Big Little Lies!) is the opening feature on the agenda. It closes with Graydon Carter in a one-on-one conversation with Tory Burch. In between are talks by women who have made their mark with global companies. All the more reason to be a member of that audience. I wanted in!

Not so fast… When I went to their site, there was a link requiring me to click to “request an invitation.” There might as well have been a guard standing duty at the gate. Not only was there this barrier to entry but, with some snooping around (it wasn’t in evidence), I discovered that the price of admission for this one-day event is $2000. Yes, you read that right. Vanity Fair has a clear audience in mind for their conference.

In spite of the hefty price tag, I clicked on the invitation link and requested one. Two days later I received a kind note back, clearly pro forma, from an editorial assistant (I wonder how she felt sending these words…)

This conference is specifically for people who have established entrepreneurial businesses with a national or international footprint. At this time, we would be happy to put you on the wait list and if space opens up we would be happy to send you a registration code to purchase a ticket.

Was I going to argue with her? I’ve been in business for myself since 1980. I’d call that established. How to measure one’s footprint? I let go of figuring that out, though I’m guessing 10,000 or more followers on twitter for starters may be their criterion.

My main reason for posting this is: how do YOU deal with prospects NOT in your demographic? Not everyone is our client. The higher you go in your industry, the more selective you may become (unless you’re Sears). How do you filter out the masses? I thought this was an interesting, albeit unwelcome for me, demonstration. Care to share any of yours?