How to Get the Most Out of a Conference: Making the Most of Your Time
It's not a good idea to completely book your schedule before you arrive at the conference, deciding upon sessions and scheduling all of your meetings. You want to leave some free time in case things come up unexpectedly. For each session you attend, a good starting point is to aim for three takeaways or points from the presentation. Additionally, you should always aim to connect with the person sitting next to you. You have no idea what kind of knowledge might be there, and you never know how that person could help you or vice versa.
"One of my principles, particularly in conferences today, is that I don't tweet or blog during any sessions," Maltoni says. "I'm not saying that's the best strategy, but I feel like if I'm playing around with these other tools, I'm not taking in all of the information from the presentation. Rather, you're only getting individual tidbits of information rather than the larger picture."
Perhaps one of the more intimidating parts of any conference, navigating the trade booth floor can be either a great waste of time or a great way to make new contacts and learn about the companies who are presenting. It's important to take at least one solid lap around the trade show floor. For some attendees, it's all about what booths catch your eye or are flashy. For others, it's about learning more from a company that you may have heard of or learned about previously in a presentation or session.
"You need to be quick but effective as you scan the trade show floor," Maltoni says. "If you do a little research ahead of time on what companies are going to be there and then you go in with specific questions, it shows them that you're not just the average conference attendee. Those people get so tired of repeating what their company does throughout the conference, so somebody different could make a mark. And you never know who the person at the booth is and how they could help you, or vice versa."
Often, key marketing contacts from companies can be found manning trade show booths, which offers an outstanding opportunity for you as an attendee or speaker to learn more about the company, but also to connect with someone at the company you likely would not otherwise meet.
Dig Deeper: How to Boost Traffic at Your Trade Show Booth
How to Get the Most Out of a Conference: Networking Strategy
When you're killing time between sessions and making connections, don't join another conversation unless you've read the body language of the people already talking. If it is open and inviting, introduce yourself and talk about something relevant to the event (perhaps a topic of one of the recent keynote speeches). Don't use these short meetings to try and pitch yourself, because you'll quickly alienate yourself from the other people and end the relationship before it even gets started.
On the topic of business cards, it's not a good strategy to hand a business card out to everyone you come into contact with during the conference, but rather with those you make a real connections with. It's better to make a few really solid business contacts that could lead to working together than it is to collect 50 business cards from different individuals. And a good trick to keep track of people, regardless of how many contacts you meet, is to take notes about the other person on the back of their business cards. This way, when you get back to your hotel room at the end of the night, you'll remember who each person was and what made them valuable to you. Some people even include photos on their business cards, to make themselves more memorable.
"It doesn't matter if you don't get back to your hotel room until 1am and you're exhausted," says Yu. "You absolutely need to follow up with each person you had a memorable conversation with that day. If you wait, it just won't happen. And you can catch up on sleep when you're back at home. "
Dig Deeper: How to Choose the Best Business Card for Your Company
How to Get the Most Out of a Conference: After Its Over
As previously noted, following up as soon as possible is vital to building and maintaining a relationship. It's always best to follow up with someone when your conversation is fresh in your mind, regardless of whether or not you plan on doing business together immediately. Yu's strategy of following up the same night of the initial contact is a great one, but you also need to make sure that you're in touch again within a few weeks, even if you don't necessarily have work to do together.
If you are at the conference with other people from your company, and even if you're not, you will need to report back to the office with what you learned and whom you met. Laying out a strategy ahead of time on who you want to talk to, what you want to attend and being efficient but memorable during the course of the conference can make that considerably easier. And that in turn makes you look smarter not only to your present employer, but to all of those other people you met, who you may need down the road.
Dig Deeper: How to Network Effectively
