As the summer approaches, major conference events will start cropping up everywhere. Conferences can be as productive and fun as they can be overwhelming and draining. The investment of time, energy, and money required to go to a conference, makes it all the more vital that the experience be rewarding.
One of the best ways to help ensure that you get the most out of attending a conference is to go into the event prepared. Here are five tips to help you get there:
1. Make a list of all the key people you would like to meet. Do some research before event and find out who is going and which of these people you would like to connect with. Even if you don’t have such a list, you should spend some time thinking about the kinds of people you would like to meet and why.
2. Create a plan for exchanging contact information. Don’t just quickly print out some business cards and assume that the other people will do the same. Think through how you plan on exchanging contact information. This is even more important if you have a hard time remembering people’s names and details. Aside from business cards, you could connect via LinkedIn or exchange email. You could have Evernote ready to jot down a few notes about who this person is, what he/she does, and other interesting facts or information.
3. Plan to attend formal and informal social events. Most conferences have some social events and mixers baked into their schedules. See which ones speak to you and decide which ones you would like to attend. Additionally, keep your eyes and ears open for informal get-togethers among conference attendees. You could try to create one yourself, by say, sending out a Tweet with a hashtag branded for the conference asking if anyone is interested in joining you for coffee or beers.
4. Plan some down time for after the conference. This is particularly important if you are introverted. You will need anywhere from 1 to 3 days to process the experience. But, even if you are extroverted, simply attending a conference is going to throw you off-schedule
5. Create a follow-up plan. Many conference attendees make the mistake of following up with new connections right away after the event has ended. Likely, they are motivated either by the fear that they or their new connection will forget about their interaction, or they believe that it shows an extra willingness to move the relationship along. The truth is, however, it’s probably best to wait anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks after the conference before trying to reach out. This gives both you and the other person some time to settle back into a schedule and normal routine, thus giving you a better mindset to take things to the next level.
Now over to you… What things do you do to get ready for your business conferences?