This blog article will help suggest a few things that you can do to make conferencing less of a hassle for business owners.
As a business owner, conferencing can come with its high sides and low sides. While they could be an excellent opportunity to learn new skills and develop new strategies that can be useful for your business, they could also be expensive. While they can give you a chance to meet new people and expand your business through networking, they can make you lose focus on your business.
So, the million-dollar question is how do you get the most out of any business conference you attend?
1. Have Clear Goals and Objectives
Conferences tend to move at the “speed of social” these days. People are moving from one conversation, session, or event to another, quickly. It is easy to get lost in the flow of things. Identify clear objectives of meetings to attend, who you hope to meet, and what you want to take away, before the event.
2. Be Prepared
You would run into people who can help grow your business. So be prepared for that. I could be either a client or someone who offers some services that you may need. It could either be a new mentor or a protégé. Just be ready for that. Make as many promotional materials as you can be available. This would make it easy for people to be able to contact you when the conference is over.
3. Avoid the Helicopter Approach
The Helicopter approach is simply a situation where when you begin to approach someone in a meeting only to stop a few feet away to go into “hover mode”. I do not understand why people do this. I believe if you want to go and talk to a person at a conference, walk up to the individual and start up a conversation. Hovering around would make you seem like a stalker, and if the person you want to approach notices this, he would almost immediately begin to form a plan to escape. Complete your approach and introduce yourself.
4. Be Approachable
Conferences are an excellent opportunity to meet people and network for the growth of your business. That cannot happen if you do not look engaging or approachable enough. So, stay off your phone and your tablet, wear a reassuring smile on your face. This would make it easier for people to approach you. Knowing “how to network”. “is just as vital when” to network.
5. Create a Schedule
Find out who the speakers are and what they are going to be talking about. Figure out the sessions that would benefit you the most and go for them. The truth is that it is impossible to go for all the available courses and the best ones fill up fast.
6. Carefully Pick the right Action Step After the Conference
After a conference, you would come back with so much information and skills that you would want to put to practice immediately. Relax first. The reason is that your enthusiasm may cause you to make so many changes at once. And when the changes become complicated, you may give up. Instead, before making any changes, go over the things you learnt and pick the right action steps that would help your business the most!