Are You Ready for Conference Season?
The spring conference season is almost upon us. I have heard from many industry people that they get great ideas and are pumped up after attending a conference and then come home to face the daunting task of catching up on emails and other work and the glow of the conference fades quickly.
Your leadership spends a lot of money to send you to these events. Make sure it is worth the ding to your budget. If you don’t get at least one new source of business or a couple of new referrals from it, then you might rethink how you are executing the activity. It is not just about being visible and staying up on trends, it is about making those interactions count. How can you keep the momentum going from a conference? Establish a strategic plan.
Before you go:
Months before the event, offer to be on a panel or moderate a session.
Think about creating a small postcard-sized handout with your contact and market area information and other pertinent info that won’t fit on a business card. You can also put a QR code on there that leads them to your company or department website, or create a concise video about your market. If your marketing department doesn’t have time to help, Canva is easy to use and they can print it or use your company’s printing company. If you make it generic enough, you can use it for other events.
Consider ordering a small branded swag giveaway that is easy to pack and something people will actually keep. Think chocolate, flash drives, glasses cleaner, etc.
If you have the registration list before you get there, reach out to key people you admire and set up coffee or breakfast dates so you can be sure the week doesn’t go by without catching up.
Send an email to those you know who are attending telling them you are looking forward to seeing them and giving them some fun facts about the city where the event is taking place. Also, fun to include some restaurant recommendations that you have vetted.
Don’t forget your business cards
Make sure you pack layers and take some comfortable shoes.
While you are there:
Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. It’s easy with late-night parties and lots of cocktails flowing to find yourself exhausted early in the event.
Wear your badge everywhere, you can’t expect people to remember your name. If you can’t read their badge or they don’t have one on, stick out your hand and introduce yourself. If the badges are on lanyards, sometimes it is awkward to look at it so just introduce yourself.
Take a small notebook to take notes in. Or you can certainly take them in your phone or laptop, but sometimes people think you are just distracted on a device and may perceive it as rude. There is something about having that notebook staring at you on your desk to remind you of the event.
It is always shocking to me when I look around a session and some people aren’t taking notes. Even if the speaker doesn’t say anything I can directly apply to my business, I am always triggered by something they say to give me another idea that I can apply.
Be strategic with the sessions you attend. Go where the business is and the potential clients are.
Attend the event luncheons and be strategic about where you sit. They will be captive for an hour.
Make sure and visit the exhibit area. There might be some excellent new services you will discover.
If it is an RMC meeting, make note of every corporate representative and RMC employee in attendance and try and meet them face to face. Then link with them on LinkedIn, remind them where you met, and reference something you discussed or a session they did. Make it personal.
If you ask someone for a card and they don’t have one, just ask for their cell and email and create a contact for them on your phone. They are not likely to say no.
If it is a network meeting, get business cards from every broker representative in attendance, or just use the registration list to ensure you have them in your CRM and are connected on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Post on social media fun and educational events as they happen so everyone back home sees that you are engaged and learning. Tag everyone in the photo. Try and get some photos of the leadership of the company putting on the event.
At the end of each day of sessions, write down your five biggest takeaways.
Find an accountability buddy. If someone at the event has also expressed interest in creating a new program or service, promise to follow up with each other to hold each other accountable for making sure attention is given to the project.
If you have a free night, gather up those who have given you the most referrals and treat them to dinner or a show.
·Actually go to the sessions. There is time for the bar during off hours. Not sure why I need to say that, but there it is.
Have fun!
Once you are back in the office:
Shoot a thank you/congratulations email to anyone who made an impact on you or won an award.
Create a list from the highlights in your notebook of what you learned. Prioritize them in the order you feel is most important. Share that information with your staff and with your leadership to keep them up to date on what is going on with that organization and in the industry. It shows their investment was worth it.
Make a hit list of things that piqued your interest that you would like to achieve such as creating a new program or service. Give it a timeline to start and execute the project.
Revisit your highlights once a week to remind yourself of the information you learned and get the inspiration to move forward on the idea you have wanted to focus on for so long.
Now you can relax until the fall conference rush!
“Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.” ~ Unknown
