Networking at Events
Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Next Conference
Before the conference:
Think about why you are attending this conference and what you hope to gain from it.
Try to come up with two to three personal goals that complete these sentences:
After this conference, I will be able to …
After this conference, I will know …
After this conference, I will have met …
Prior to the conference, read through the list of sessions and note the ones that look interesting.
Get organized. Organize your schedule, yourself, and your time at the event.
ID who will be at the event and who you want to meet
Determine what you want to talk to each person about
read his/her books and write down questions
Determine what they look like
Find a picture of each person before attending the event
Make sure you have plenty of business cards on hand. You can enter drawings. You can have materials sent to you later. You can have contacts follow up later with more detailed information. Most importantly you look professional.
Write down and memorize two descriptions of your business:
“Elevator talk” - 1 minute version
Longer 3 minute version
During
the conference:
Get out of your comfort zone! Go to a workshop on a topic you know nothing about. Eat with other people you've never met before. Talk with an expert marketer you've only recently heard about. This is your chance to meet successful & active marketers from across the country and around the world — take advantage of it!
Seize the opportunity. Ask questions of marketers you eat with about their experience (success & failures). Learn more about what's happening with their businesses. Remember that this is a group effort — you're not supposed to go it alone!
Conversations are more valuable than the sessions; informative and educational moments are not spent in the sessions themselves: it's in all of the other interactions with peers.
Have some fun! The social events are a great way to meet folks and have a great time in the company of some really amazing marketers.
Write notes on the back of other people's business cards. Things that you commit to do for them or things that help you remember them and your conversation with them.
Keep a journal. Spend some time each day writing about your experiences — things you learned from workshops, people you met, thoughts that occurred to you, etc. Make sure that you don't lose these bits of information and reflection in the craziness of the conference!
Before the conference is done, aim for the following takeaways:
New marketing ideas
Innovative ways to apply technology to your business
A good set of notes for yourself
Face time (with the presenters of sessions at the conference)
After
the conference:
Follow up with contacts you made at the conference. It is really important to nurture these relationships directly following the conference so that others remember you!! A brief thank you e-mail can go a long way!
Ask them what they've decided to do after attending the conference
Share with them your experiences at the conference and find out if they are interested in working with you to pursue your ideas.
Keep in touch! Follow up with the contacts you made at the conference a month later.
Ask them about their results from the actions they've taken since participating in the conference.
Ask what conference they plan to attend next.
Make sure to write up your notes, review them, and even share them with your colleagues and subscribers.
Remember
that many conference speakers provide their
contact information as a
part of their presentation. Most people don't take advantage of
that. Be different. Follow up.
These expert speakers are offering their expertise for free. Take
advantage.
