PETER SHANKMAN
| POSTED ON August 25th, 2010 | 31 COMMENTS | + ADD YOUR COMMENT |
Conference season is upon us! It’s been a fun, relaxing summer, but welcome back to hell! With more conferences than ever before from which to choose (don’t these guys know we’re supposedly in a recession?) here are eight easy tips to help navigate the ones you do choose to attend.
1) Networking starts LONG before you get there. The second you register, use the beauty of social media to let the world know, and find new people who are going as well. Ask them if there’s a hashtag, then use it. You want to have at least ten new people you plan to meet over the course of the conference before you go to the conference. The rest of the people you meet will be nice bonuses. The end game for you is to come out with new contacts. I’d dare say that information you learn at the panels and such is second to really good contacts.
2) Don’t be a Business Card Ninja. Chris Brogan coined that term, and I promptly stole it from him. A Business Card Ninja walks into a networking event, throws 100 cards at the first 100 people he meets, and vanishes. He doesn’t talk about how he can help you, nor does he offer any insight into why it’s beneficial to know him. You know what happens to his card? After I pull it out of my chest (since that’s where it landed when he threw it at me) I throw it away. Meet people at these conferences and make it about HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM, not how they can help YOU. Help them, and they’ll help you by default.
3) For the love of all that’s good and holy, don’t drink. Conferences are funny. Take hundreds of stressed out people, fly them somewhere. Keep them up late into the night, ply them with free alcohol, then expect them to be at their best the next morning. I’m not saying don’t go to the parties. The parties are fun. Just get a glass of club soda with a slice of lime at the beginning of the event, and nurse it. Not only will you be much happier the next morning, but you’ll get to actually remember what you did at the party, who you talked to, and what you said. Plus, if you’re smart, you’ll keep a flip-cam with you to catch some spectacular blackmail opportunities against the people who didn’t heed this rule. Update: Make a date with your best friends for the day after you get home, go out, have a few Margaritas, and enjoy being back.
4) Bring: Vitamin C, Tylenol, and a ton of water. Before you get to the conference or the hotel, stop at a deli at least a mile away (Ask your cab driver to make a quick detour, or GPS it.) Bu a gallon of water for each day you’re at the event. Then make sure to drink it. Drinking water is the easiest way to avoid getting sick at the conference, and having it turn into a full-blown case of the Flu when you get home. Conference centers are dry by default. Drink water like you were Les Stroud in the Kalahari. And don’t wait until you’re thirsty. That means you’re already dehydrated. Also, don’t stock up on juice (empty calories, take a vitamin pill) or sodas (calories, plus the inevitable crash.) Just drink water. And for all those “company dinners,” eat on the lighter side. Steakhouses are the best – They always have incredibly small steaks off the menu – just ask for them.
5) Don’t forget about working out – Don’t give up your routine just because you’re on the road. The healthier you are walking into that first meeting, the more your brain works, the better you remember, the sharper you are in general. Get in that early workout - And you never know who you’re going to meet in the gym, too! Chances are, the most successful people are the ones in the gym in the morning. They didn’t get successful by sleeping in, you know.
6) Get there first. You know how crowds always form around the speakers as soon as they’re done speaking? They’re not listening to you. They’re smiling, and looking at the line behind you. So – Do the opposite – Find them ten minutes BEFORE their speech starts. Talk to them, tell them how excited you are to hear them speak – Then, when you say goodbye, give them a business card on which you’ve written “I’M THE ONE WHO SPOKE TO YOU BEFORE YOUR SPEECH.” Trust me – Your card will stand out when the speaker gets back home and looks at the hundreds of cards he or she collected.
7) Map out restaurants, hotels, gyms, (even hospitals) beforehand. Use Google Maps to map out anything you might need. Print it out and keep it with you. Hey, you never know – Imagine those people at the Jacob Javitz center on 9/11. Print it out and put it in your bag. Never have to use it? Awesome. But if something happens and you do? Even more awesome. Five minutes of prep time can be the difference between life and death – or hey, even just a reservation at a good restaurant, or apologizing for bringing people to an Olive Garden.
8) Lastly: Have fun. If you can, try and take a half-day to explore the city you’re in – Anything three miles from the convention center. The world is wonderful – Slurp up as much of it as you can!
Let me hear your best tips below – I’ll send you something travel-worthy for the best one.
Tweet
|
I stopped carrying business cards a long time ago because everyone else has them. I want to chat with you, build a relationship and then put your info directly into my BlackBerry or email you my stuff right away. If people ask me for my card, I say “I don’t have any on me, but give me yours or give me your info and I’ll email you my info so you have it!” I just received permission for a follow-up and can stand out amongst the crowd now when I email them my stuff and continue to build the relationship. It’s worked so far! |
|
Hey Peter, Here are a few tips that help me: 1.) Create a packing checklist. You’d be amazed how often you forget things if you don’t make a point of writing it down. My favorites: chapstick, breath mints and throat lozenges. Talking to people all day takes its toll. 2.) You can save a ton of money by using Priceline and searching the BiddingForTravel forums – http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/. I recently scored the 4* Intercontinental in downtown San Francisco near the Moscone center for $115 a night. 3.) Follow-Up. I know this sounds really basic, but most people don’t. I’ve gotten so much further by diligently writing notes on people’s business cards and emailing them a relevant note after the fact. Hope that helps! |
|
When you go to the lunch with the rest of the group, don’t order the blue-cheese burger with onion rings and a side of ranch. It’s too heavy. Instead, go for a tuna-melt or cobb-salad. Something light that won’t leave you feeling all bloated. If it’s along conference, you don’t want to feel heavy, bloated and tired the rest of the day. There’s nothing wrong with going back to the hotel room to take a nap mid-afternoon because you’re tired. But don’t be tired because you ate too much. Eat something healthy, and save your energy for the rest of the afternoon/evening. |
|
This is incredibly timely, since IFBC starts Friday. Although when you go to a food blogger conference, it is mighty hard to keep to #3. |
|
Peter, on the business card front, I love your casino chips & the use of Poken anything that makes it more memorable. I have two business cards on my desk all the time out of the hundreds that I have collected. Yours & Becky McCray (hers is attached to a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels. I keep them on the desk as object d’art not as business cards. |
|
Good post, Peter — and timely. Rules I live by in all networking opportunities, especially conferences: 1) Once you’ve received the conference attendee list, go through it with a fine-tooth comb to determine who you and/or your colleagues already know, who you want to know, and what competitors will be on-site. Once you’ve identified who you want to get to know, put together a short dossier on this person and his/her company, including preliminary thoughts on what problems/pains they might be having and what solutions you might be able to provide for them. 2) At the conference, LISTEN and ASK QUESTIONS. It’s all too common to see people at conferences speaking *at* each other, not to each other. As a consultant, my offering is being able to understand and alleviate someone’s pain, so to speak. So I need to know where it hurts. Instead of talking about me and my company and all the great things we’ve done, I ask questions. I draw people out. 3) It’s hard, but I avoid giving away too many freebies — I’m not talking about tchotchkes but about ideas. As a consultant, it’s very tempting to offer some of my intellectual property as bait to get a large contract, but it can easily backfire. So instead of saying something like, “Have you considered doing X,Y,Z” or “You should really think about A, B, and C”, I instead talk about how I’ve successfully worked with firms with similar issues, how this is an issue I’m highly familiar with, and leave it at that. Sure, I can mention specific services, but I’m not giving out bespoke advice. Get the next meeting, get into the proposal stage, and then go into some detail. Not only will this help you to avoid making bad suggestions based on scant information, but it also helps you to avoid giving away your ideas for free. |
|
Such good advice. Especially meeting someone BEFORE they speak. It helps the speaker too. I feel more comfortable speaking when there’s at least one familiar face (or fan) in the audience. But don’t let it stop you from talking to people after. I like being around because there’s the buzz after a good speech. Another point is to go to the exhibitor hall early or during less crowded times. People have time to spend telling you the details about what they do. This is how I learned about affiliate marketing – from a booth at AdTech during a slow time. I didn’t really get it right away but I wrote to the person who introduced me to it on/off for several months. I chatted with people around me. This is a lot harder when it’s crowded. I finally got around to writing about the last Affiliate Summit where you spoke and I met you and Mr. Bigfoot. I hope someone can tell me his name. http://www.newspapergrl.com/af.....big-heart/ Blog on, |
|
Hi |
|
On the having fun front, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to connect with people beforehand and find out who is staying on for the extra day of sightseeing. If it’s someone you want to connect with, invite them to something the day after (or before) the conference. You can’t beat facetime to find out how to help someone. |
|
Ask the waiters where they go to eat. Don’t rely on the front desk to give you their honest opinion about the best places to visit. If you are genuinely friendly with the employees paid less than minimum wage, you can se things that most people won’t in a city. |
|
“DOs AND DON’Ts” – FOR STRUCTURED NETWORKING EVENTS - When wearing a nametag, wear it on your right side – easier to notice when shaking hands - Take plenty of business cards and keep them within easy reach and make notes on the back of other people’s cards - Don’t spend too much time with any one person since you want to meet a range of people, and you don’t want to monopolize other people’s time - It is helpful to identify those people you want to meet in advance, so you’ll be sure to contact them - At a class, conference, or training session, you want to get to know the instructor - Keep a list of things you want to do after the meeting to follow up – such as sending e-mails, making phone calls, checking web sites, looking for books, etc. - When attending a longer or out-of-town conference, take along several file folders to help you keep track of information you collect - Take some time at the start to study the agenda and make the sessions and events you want to attend - Review list of attendees and exhibitors in order to plan your time and your networking - At conference/meeting meals, try to sit with people you don’t know to maximize networking opportunities - Share war stories and successes, which will help you bond - Perfect your pitch - Solid relationships can be cultivated at social events such as conference parties and last minute gatherings Bettina Seidman ▪ SEIDBET Associates ▪ 212.260.2026 |
|
I teach posture and I’ve heard from students that practicing healthy sitting alignment has made their conference experience much more comfortable, especially when you have to sit for hours at a time. One tip is to make sure you sit on your sitz bones – you know, those 2 hard bones underneath you. Many people sit with the pelvis tucked forward, and this leads to a collapsed back – sitting like a “cashew”. Instead, move your pelvis all the way back in the chair seat, relax your belly and your back, and let your back rest on the chair. Sitting can then be a rest, and you don’t have to feel sore or tired afterwards. It works! |
|
Peter – brilliant stuff. As a meeting planner I am going to share this on our industry’s forums. My tip is regarding the trade show portion of conferences. Map out the must-see vendors in advance and make it a point to visit their booths. Go a step further and email them in advance to let them know you will be stopping by. Also – do NOT go through the trade show area to collect tchotchkes. Nothing makes you look less professional than carrying a bag around like you are a trick or treater. I don’t care how many people are back at the office, buy them something on the way home. Trick or treaters are embarrassing to our industry! |
|
I have found that tea is better pick-me-up than coffee and it doesn’t leave an awful coffee breath! I keep herbal, green tea and black tea bags with me. They are small and easily added a hot cup of water on the way to the exhibit hall. I also bring a bag of Clif Bars or other healthy food items and offer them to my new contacts (and old). Everyone appreciates a healthy snack. Stack a few in the press room and tag them with your booth number and the latest news from your company. |
|
Wear comfortable dress shoes. If you are going to stand for hours at the reception/trade show floor/etc., you don’t want to be distracted by sore feet. In fact, make a point of only buying dress shoes that are also comfortable to walk and stand in. No one will be impressed by your $500 imported shoes if they are making you cringe in pain. As the movie line goes (after removing spike heels): “Those were Italian!” “Well, now they are practical.” |
|
Add to #4 – Tums and Visine for unpredictable food and artificial air. |
|
Pack standard size pre-stamped postcards printed with your company logo or other identifying graphic (authors, have the cover of your book printed on the front and a key concept or 1-2 line description of the book on the back). At the end of each conference day, write out postcards for the people you met that day. Drop them in a mailbox en route back to the airport or as soon as you get return home. People are always surprised when you take the time to send a handwritten note and the prompt follow up ensures you make contact before they’ve completely forgotten who you are. Of course, to do this effectively, be sure to check business cards when your receive them. Early on, I’d sit down to write a postcard and realize the card only had a web or email address (so I emailed instead). I’ve turn brief contacts into great long-term relationships using this technique. |
|
Hang back and scope out who’s sitting at which tables for lunch and dinner. Is there someone you want to meet? Or, find a table that looks like a fun group. If you’re avoiding someone, strike up a conversation with a fellow conference goer at the elevator on the way to lunch/dinner, and sit with them. Works best if you’re an attractive female! |
|
Peter, if you’re exercising in the morning, attending sessions and cocktail receptions, when do you catch up on email, return phone calls and squeeze in a little work? Are you superhuman? |
|
I find it terrible when a speaker does not leave ample time for questions and answers at the end, especially if they have talked too quickly or the topic you are most interested in wasn’t discussed. Many speakers miss the art of listening. It’s an act of caring, and will often bring the attendees back. |
|
I attended the Green Expo and wanted to meet Professor Cornell West, he’s an incredible human, speaker, author and more. After the event I contacted his offiec at the universtiy that he teaches at and was invited to come and sit in on one of his lectures and witness him in action at the university – and get a chance to talk with him up-close and personal. I now have a nice releationship with his right hand person as well and will be meeting Professor CW this fall (it took a year). I’ve read so many valuable tips from all of us above. Thank you, you are all a treasure! |
|
I’ve been a “Booth Babe” one too many times. Three additional tips: Eye contact is essential. Have you noticed how many adult professionals are looking at their crackberries while attending a reception, exhibit show, or waiting for a session to start? While it’s smart to wear the stick-on or clip-on style name tags on your right side I pack two resist-a-bands and a fitness DVD in my suitcase because I will often find the hotel gym too crowded during a large conference. Works in a pinch and I always feel better at the evening event. |
|
Peter, I LOVED these tips. I’ve been wanting to go to more conferences in the next year and I very much appreciate being given a better idea of how to approach such situations. Pre-emptive strikes are always the way to go! Hope to run into you somewhere soon! My tip: Ladies, don’t forget hair ties! Your hair may look pretty down, but if you have to keep brushing your it away from your face, it looks, like, totally valley girl, and not professional. Bernadette |
|
You forgot the biggest tip: Don’t go to them. Unless you are on the speaking circuit or selling a service, attending a endless list of conferences is a massive time and money suck. Many conference repeat the same themes, serve the same bad chicken breast sandwiches, and don’t offer any information that can’t be had in a simple Google search. Networking? Sure I suppose, but these days that can be done easily and effectively through social networking. We all have great “colleagues” we only know virtually. While meeting them in person always enhances the relationship, meeting them 4 times has no real marginal value, does it? My advice, save your time and money, research online and pick one or two key conferences a year. Thank me later. |
|
LOL @ “Business Card Ninja.” The phrase that I’ve used for those offenders is “throwing out business cards like candy.” They obviously didn’t get the memo that it’s quality over quantity; making 10 meaningful connections is more beneficial than collecting/donating 100 cards. I would like to add something about connecting via the Twitter hashtag. By using blastfollow.com and adding the hashtag, you can instantly follow the folks that are tweeting about the same thing as you. |
|
Personally I loved your funny tips! But I guess that if your company finds valuable conference centre, then you can always go to the break-out room and enjoy not only good coffee but also sweets and fresh fruits for free! |
PETER TO SPEAK
FOR THE NEWSLETTER
