For every leader who has a full schedule and must attend industry conferences, I am sharing four of my recommendations for maximizing time:
No. 1 Identify two key people you want to meet during the conference and do it. This may include: potential clients, candidates for strategic partnership, new members, the keynote speaker, possible mentors, or a host of others who you can connect with and that may help move you closer to your goals.
No. 2 Stay at the host hotel if possible and stay during the key days. Even though this is not school and you can easily arrive late and leave early, you never know what you might be missing by doing this.
No. 3 Be an active participant, not a passive observer. You may not be a formal presenter, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have something to contribute. Make sure you ask intelligent/relevant questions and make comments when the format allows it.
No. 4 When entering a large conference, stay near the back until you identify your key people to contact and position yourself accordingly. This is what you will see seasoned conference attendees doing and most often key leadership will stay near the back of a conference (if they are not speaking) and in an effort to streamline their exit once the session wraps up.
Now it is your turn. Share one of your tips with our followers and enjoy a productive conference.