For many of us, Q4 is conference season. As you rush from airports and Ubers to trade shows and meetings, how can you make sure all this travel and talking pay off? These events can be a great way to network, drive new partnerships, and even sign clients – but success isn’t automatic. The following best practices can help you get the most out of every event you attend.
Before the Event
Set a goal. Historically, salespeople “show up and throw up,” but there’s a better way. First and foremost, set a target. Are you seeking partnerships, new clients, or networking? Do you want a specific client to sign a contract or build an integration? Have a goal in mind.
Decide whether to have a booth. You might be surprised to learn that you can often achieve your networking goals without having a booth. If you’re entering a new market or debuting a new product, a booth might make sense. And having a booth is typically the only way to secure a speaking platform at the event.
But if those aren’t factors, a booth might be more time, trouble, and money than it’s worth. Technology has made it much easier for other attendees to “find” you even without a booth. Meanwhile, if you don’t have to worry about “manning the booth,” it’s often much more effective to do highly targeted networking as just an attendee (not to mention all the money you can save!).
Come up with a top 10 list – and do your homework. Prioritize the people and companies you want to meet with. Limit your list to a maximum of 10, and then be very clear about what your specific goal is with each person or company on your To 10 list. Prepare your elevator pitch that includes who you represent, your value proposition, and ideas about how you can work together. Then learn as much as you can about those companies, their pain points, and their leadership team so you can customize your pitch for each one. The more you know about their needs and plans, the better you can describe a win-win in each potential partnership.
Here are some tips on researching your Top 10 targets: Look at their website, get a handle on their business and value proposition, look at recent press about them, and learn about their leadership team. Are there any new members, or any recent interviews or quotes you can use in your conversation with them? If you want to talk to a potential client about your cybersecurity offering and their CTO has just mentioned a recent breach, for example, that’s an opening to a more meaningful conversation with that person than just making chitchat. It shows that you’ve done your homework and you’re serious about working with them. Tools like ZoomInfo can help you learn about the leadership team.
Use all the tools at your disposal. Modern software can be a huge help in preparing for an event. For example, these days, every conference you go to has an app, and that app has a list of all the other attendees. You can network in advance of the actual event. When you set up your profile on the app, use a good picture, include your full title, and indicate why you’re going to attend the event. Use it to set up meetings before the conference even starts, so that you’re engaging with the people on your top 10 list. You can use social media in the same way. I’ve used LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook to let people know that I’ll be attending an event and to get in touch if they’d like to have a conversation. I scour my LinkedIn to see if any of my contacts will be attending an event.
During the Event
Plan your time wisely. Be disciplined with your time and strategic about who you meet with and why. Try not to burn the candle at both ends, so that you have the energy to make the kind of impression you want to make. Build in some time to explore everything the event has to offer (like expos and breakout sessions) – you may discover innovative new tools and solutions.
Subtle Swag. Even if you don’t have a booth, you can make a lasting impression on anyone you meet by leaving them with some company collateral. Whether it’s a bookmark, a magnet, a coaster or a mini-calendar, a small bit of swag with your logo and contact info helps them remember you when they get back to the office.
Capture the details of your conversations. During the event, use tools that will help you capture your conversations with people so that you’re connecting with them, rather than furiously taking notes. We use Traq.ai to record conversations, sort out notes, and upload key information into our CRM system. That way, when Monday morning rolls around, a lot of the hard work is already done. (The only caveat is that you should ask before recording – in several states, there’s a law that says both parties in a conversation must agree to be recorded, so that’s not a step you should skip.) If for any reason you cannot record a conversation, build time into your schedule after each meeting to sit down and make some notes about key take-aways and next steps. A voice memo on your phone, a text message to yourself, or a notebook all work fine – just be sure to capture the notes as soon as possible.
Always agree to next steps. Next steps are table stakes. You want a reason to get in touch, build a relationship, pursue a mutual goal. So before you say goodbye, share with the other person what you intend to do next, and/or what you’d like them to do. There’s no need to be shy about it, either.
After the Event
Follow up as quickly as possible. The sooner you can get to your prospects with thanks, a recap of your conversation, and your next steps, the better the chance that they’ll remember you. We use a platform called Thnks, which allows you to enter a contact’s email address so you can send them a gift, like a Starbucks gift card or a Netflix credit. It doesn’t have to be big to have an impact.
Reprioritize your top 10 list. Some prospects may look more (or less) promising after the conversation than before. So take a minute at the end of the conference to re-rank your top 10, and follow-up in your new priority order. For every contact, however, make your follow-up personal. Which means referring to something specific that you have learned about your contact. It might be a business goal that they care about, a new initiative they are involved in, or something personal you learned about them during the meeting. That reinforces the relationship and helps you build from there. Follow up via email, text, LinkedIn – whatever you think will work, based on your conversation and what you agreed to as next steps.
Execute on your next steps. Nothing demonstrates reliability like doing what you said you’d do, so start like you mean to go on.
Summary
Trade events offer immense opportunities, but preparation is key to success. By setting clear goals, planning your time strategically, and following up promptly, you can maximize your chances of success and build lasting relationships with clients and partners.
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Many years ago, I had the idea that airplane ticket jackets were the biggest missed opportunity for advertisers. So, I did what I’ve done so many other times in my life: I started a new business. We made deals with airlines to take over printing their ticket jackets, in exchange for being able to sell advertisements on them. It seemed like a pretty smart idea.
But we had a tight window to actually sell the ads, though, so we came up with a game plan. A close friend and business partner flew up with me to New York City, and we spent the next two weeks in a whirlwind of meetings and conversations.
In the worlds of networking and sales today, conferences are a great way to go, and this article gives some great tips for coming up with your game plan before you attend your next conference.
Fran Tarkenton
