Tips for Increasing Value of Attending Conferences

At the beginning of the new year, you will soon start to plan to attend a conference or two during 2015. As you look at various conferences, what can you do to maximize the value of your attendance? As we quickly approach Enterprise Connect Orlando 2015, here are some tips and ideas to consider.

BEFORE CONFERENCE
Review the conference agenda and identify the sessions you plan to attend. For each session, spend a few minutes and write down the following.

Review your company/organization goals:

• How would this session help your company/organization?
• Will it save money?
• Will it save time?
• Will it improve productivity?
• Will it provide your company a competitive edge (e.g. marketing)?

Review your personal development goals:

• What would make you more valuable to your company/organization?
• Product/service knowledge – What is important to know about this product/service? What has changed over the past year?
• Project management knowledge – What can you learn from others who have already undertaken the conversion/project? If they had to do it all over again, what would they do differently?
• Organization knowledge – What communications skills can you learn and develop to make you more persuasive within your company/organization?
• Industry knowledge – What trends are emerging? Is it hype or real?
• What are your personal networking goals? How many individuals do you wish to connect with on LinkedIn (1, 3, 5, or more)?
• How many vendor contacts do you plan to establish?
• How many peer (other IT/telecom professionals) contacts do you plan to establish?
• How many consultant contacts do you plan to establish?

Writing down your company/organization and personal goals will provide focus throughout the conference; with sessions, breaks/social gatherings, and vendor booths, it can be easy to get distracted, go off on a tangent, or get "buried" under a ton of information. Pulling out your written goals will help you stay on track and prioritize your time and attention.

Mark on your calendar, a couple of conference review appointments (10-15 minutes) with yourself. These self-appointments should be scheduled for both one week after the conference to do a review and three months after the conference to do a sort of post mortem (see below for more information).

DURING CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Often, the challenge of attending a conference is not the lack of information. The problem is that there may be too much information and not enough perspective. For example, a speaker may go through their presentation that consists of 20 slides. However, not all slides are created equal. Some slides (points) are much more valuable than others. It is up to you to learn how to look at the forest from the trees.

As you take/write notes, think about the following:

• What is the most valuable thing you learned?
• What is the most surprising thing you learned?
• What is (are) thing(s) you still wish to know (i.e. outstanding questions)? You may be able to email these questions to the speaker after the conference.
• What are the top 1, 2 or 3 items you learned from this session?
• On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), how valuable was this session? What made this session so valuable (or not so valuable)?

Provide feedback to the conference organizers with specifics, both positive (e.g. good overview of vendors) or constructive (e.g. too theoretical, needed real world examples).

DURING VENDOR EXHIBITS
Review your goals with respect to vendor visits. Which vendors did you plan on seeing? Develop a set of questions. In addition to specific questions about the product/service and how it relates to your specific situation, you may wish to ask some "generic" questions to gauge their response. For example:

• What is your target market?
• Is it based on size, industry, region, etc.?
• How does your product/service differentiate from others?

In most situations, you are likely to get a vague or no response. However, you may get a specific and interesting response that can provide valuable perspective. IT/telecom product/services, are no different than any other product (e.g. automobiles) or service (e.g. hair stylist/barbers). The better you can become an "educated consumer," the more valuable you become.

DURING BREAKS and SOCIAL EVENTS
Review your goals with respect to social networking. What type of contacts do you wish to establish or cultivate?

• Vendors – to learn more about their products and services.
• Peers – to learn about their specific situation at their company/organization. What can you learn from their experience (i.e. how their project/initiative went)?
• Consultants – Can you "pick the brain" of some industry experts?

As you interact with others, identify those you wish to connect with on LinkedIn. Ask if they would be open for further contact after the conference. Write down (i.e. back of business card) the most important aspect about your discussion (i.e. ask for copy of their project plan, follow up on why they like/dislike a vendor, etc.). If you don't write it down, you run the risk of forgetting some key points you wanted to ask/learn.

ON THE TRIP HOME
Spend 10 minutes to review your notes (and business cards):

• How well did you meet your written goals for each conference session?
• How well did you meet your written goals for professional development?

This quick review will help you solidify what you learned and increase the likelihood that you will continue to follow up after the conference.

1 WEEK AFTER THE CONFERENCE - REVIEW
Review your notes and business cards:

• Send out emails (and/or invites) to those you wish to network with.
• Identify those who require more time (i.e. follow up conversations, request for further information, etc.).
• Set up an appointment or time to compose an email or call.

3 MONTHS AFTER THE CONFERENCE – POST MORTEM
Review your notes and business cards. How did you do against your written goals for:

• Company/organization objectives
• Personal objectives
• Number of professional contacts

What would you do differently at the next conference?

File your notes for future reference. For your next conference, you can pull them out to set up your next set of company and professional goals.

CONCLUSION
Far too often, we are too busy to adequately plan for a conference. However, when you consider the cost, both in dollars and time away from the office, it behooves everyone to maximize the value of this "investment." Taking a few minutes before, during and after the conference to plan and review can greatly increase the value of your attendance.

"SCTC Perspectives" is written by members of the Society of Communications Technology Consultants (SCTC), an international organization of independent information and communication technology (ICT) professionals serving clients in all business sectors and government worldwide.

Remember to register to attend Enterprise Connect Orlando 2015, taking place March 16-19. The schedule builder tool allows you to personalize your conference session schedule, helping you be best prepared to make the most of the week.