How to Prepare for a Conference
There’s never a dull moment at Grandma Cuddles Day Care Center. Chief Financial Officer “Chip” is attending a conference of controllers in Boston. He’s hoping to learn something about how to keep expenses at the center within budget. It turns out, for example, that aluminum chain is lighter and cheaper than chain made out of galvanized steel. Who knew?
As dedicated as he is, Chip wants to get the most out of the conference. Sure, getting high-quality information is important. But any web site on the internet can give you great information about how to treat children, right? At a conference, you get information and you get to meet like-minded people!
But in order to get the most out of a conference, preparation is important. In addition to having a content agenda, you’ll get the most by having a participant agenda as well.
Define Your Goals
You can’t know who you want to meet without knowing what you want to accomplish. What do you want to get out of the conference? Are you there for personal development? To keep up on industry trends? To find possible new job opportunities?
Chips is very, very happy at Grandma Cuddles. So he’s looking for day care tips and tricks, ideas for improving the Cuddles infrastructure, and ways he can improve at his job.
Know Who Will Be There
If you’re going to a conference, presumably other movers and shakers in your industry will be there. Find out whatever you can about who’s going to be there an advance.
Find out about the other guests. Some events share a list of attendees available before things kick off. But even if you don’t have a readily accessible list, check out the social media accounts of people in your industry. People often mention things they’ve been to or are going to. Don’t let their disregard for personal privacy be wasted! Use this intelligence to figure out who’s going to be there.
Find out about exhibitors. The exhibit hall may be filled with players in your industry who you’d like to get to know. Look at past programs to see if there are any sponsors, advertisers, or exhibitors you’d like to meet.
Find out about speakers. The one list you can be sure will be available is the list of people who are speaking. The keynote speeches are generally done by people who are famous or influential in the field. They are often “big picture” people. Breakout sessions are usually led by people who have more on-the-ground experience.
Decide Who You Want to Meet … and How
Once you’ve got your list of guests, exhibitors, and speakers, do some research to decide who you’d like to meet. Find out who they are, what their interests and specialties are, and decide if meeting them fits with your agenda for the conference.
In doing his homework, Chip has discovered that Stacy Rodriguez is going to be giving a presentation called “Eliminating Red Tape From Your Organization.” Chip is always interested in eliminating red tape, and he suspects that Stacy can help him learn to remove the tape without leaving scars.
One of the sponsors in the exhibit room is Playpal Pet Posts. They make aluminum chains that can be connected to posts to keep your pets from roaming too far. They’re great for dogs, cats, and wolves. Someone from Playpal can help him identify budget-conscious installations for the day care center playground.
And in the attendee list, he spots his old friend Yun, who has a reputation for being a strict task master. Yun establishes and maintains total control over an organization through budgets. Yun always has words of wisdom and Chip is eager to spend time together.
Call Them in Advance
Reach out in advance to the people and organizations you want to meet. Drop a line, introduce yourself, and express curiosity. Tell them you’d like to meet and suggest a time, maybe over coffee. Make sure to frame your request in a way that benefits them. At the very least, offer to buy the coffee.
Chip hops right on the phone and calls Stacy. “Red tape has always been my passion! Would you like to grab coffee and trade some tips on adhesive removal. I have a novel technique I’d love to share.” With the offer of new information, two minutes later a coffee date established.
The next call is to Playpal Pet Posts. “Could we explore how Pet Posts can be used to keep curious little primates from straying too far?” As a vendor, they’re always happy to talk to a potential customer.
The call to Yun is easy, of course. “Let’s catch up! Your financial discipline techniques make me shiver in anticipation.” Flattery will get you everywhere—including a dinner in Chinatown that Yun has graciously offered to pay for.
Be Memorable
Once you have the meetings set up, make the connections at the conference. Remember that people’s favorite topic is talking about themselves. So ask questions and listen raptly. Establish relationships. Help them pursue their goals so you can pursue yours.
Every conference is an opportunity for learning, but even more, it’s a chance to expand your power network far and wide. If you’re going to achieve world domination (you know you want to), the right network is essential to getting it done.
Chip knew his goals. He identified vendors, attendees, and presenters who could help him reach them. He did his pre-work and arranged to meet them all. And having asked questions and established himself, he’s leaving with everything he wants: new tips on red tape removal, new ways to keep the kiddies from straying too far, and a plan for making himself indispensable to Grandma Cuddles.
Now it’s your turn. What do you want to accomplish at your next conference?
I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re an entrepreneur, self-employed or otherwise need to control your own time, Get-it-Done groups help you start finishing what’s important, and develop the habits you need to be hyper-productive. Learn more at Stever Robbins com.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
Conference image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
