Three Tips For Getting The Most Out Of A New Industry Event – Forbes
By Tom Wozniak, Chief Operating Officer – published on Forbes on 7/17/24
As a regular conference attendee and speaker in my industry, many industry events become very familiar after attending them multiple times (sometimes more than 20 times). I have a pretty set game plan for approaching them—setting meetings, attending sessions, presenting and so on. But now and again, I attend a new event where I don’t always know the venue, the attendees and how the event will run in advance. When attending a new event, I take a slightly different approach to planning ahead to get the most out of the experience and determine if it’s one I should attend again.
Here are three tips for getting the most bang for your buck when you attend an event for the first time.
1. Dive into the event app.
Most professional events these days will take advantage of a mobile app designed to provide a ton of information about the event to attendees and sponsoring companies. Back when I first started attending professional conferences, all we had were event websites or printed material on-site with agendas and venue maps. Today, it’s typically all at your fingertips in the conference app. Don’t just take the app for granted and start using it when you arrive for the show.
As soon as you register for the conference or when the mobile app is available, get yourself registered and start exploring. At a minimum, it should provide you with an agenda and information about the venue. This is a great place to start, as you can select which sessions or parts of the event you plan to attend. Most apps will plug them right into your calendar as well.
Even more important than the agenda info is a list of attendees. If that’s available, take a deep dive into who’s attending. Look for people you might want to meet with (current or prospective clients and partners) or companies whose exhibit booths you might want to visit. You may want to keep an eye out for your competitors as well. Some apps offer networking or in-app messaging with other attendees, which can be a great way to connect with people you’ve never met. Conference attendees are more likely to respond to an in-app message from a fellow attendee than a cold email. Take advantage of this aspect to introduce yourself to other attendees in advance of the event.
2. Fill your calendar, but leave time for impromptu opportunities.
There are various reasons you might be attending an industry event. You may be looking to drive sales through meetings with current or prospective clients, or you might be planning to attend educational sessions designed to enhance your professional knowledge and expertise. Either way, you’ll be booking time on your calendar for plenty of activities (e.g., meetings and sessions). You always want to book as many of these meetings or sessions on your calendar as possible in advance.
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