Posts Tagged ‘events’
5 Tips for Networking Success after the ‘Live’ Event
Do you often attend in-person or ‘Live’ events? Seminars or training events, even meetups – whether local or requiring travel – can be a great way to learn and network with other business individuals. Referrals, contacts and even friendships can develop at events and seminars. After each event you’ll want to take a breath. But, don’t breathe too long. There is work to be done that mustn’t wait. Seize the day!
The tendency is to think about the exciting things you learned and the people you met – for a while. After a week, you seem to lose your enthusiasm and settle back into life before the event. That is the last thing you want to do especially where your business is concerned.
Now, is the time to cement that lasting impression that you believe you made on the people you met at the seminar. Don’t let a moment go by, from the time you get home, that you are not harnessing the power of that meeting. Besides you know yourself that out of sight truly does mean out of mind if there is no contact for a while.
Here are a few tips to help you get the ball rolling on that pocket full of business cards, that camera full of pictures and that briefcase (or tote) full of helpful handouts and resources.
- Create a new plan. Now that your head is swimming with ideas, take out that handy notebook and look at what you’ve jotted down. If you have been putting off a new program or service for one reason or another, this may be the perfect time to get going. Find out a new way to streamline the process and create a plan to get the ball rolling right now.
- Email your new colleagues. Each business card in your hand should contain the website and email address of the one who handed it to you. Contact each person individually and tell them what a great time you had meeting them. To give them a mental picture of you, include your picture at the end of the email. What will impress them is if you can recount one tidbit from your conversation with them and include it also.
- Get involved in online social networking. Find your new connections on all the social networks: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Invite them to be friends or followers (depending on the site) so you can keep in contact.
- Blog about the experience. Get your readers interested in the event happenings. Share your experiences and any new business takeaway advice you received.
- Develop new products. Talk about leveraging! You can turn that one seminar presentation into a wealth of digital products. Create an e-course on your topic. Use the handouts as filler for your monthly newsletter, content for your site or new topics for video media. Those brainstorming techniques you developed at the event will come in handy now.
What did you learn at your last live event? Did you do anything with the knowledge? Hopefully you did. If not, use these five tips to reawaken the enthusiasm and create new action items.
Choosing an Event or Conference to Attend
Whether you are a Brick and Mortar Business or an online business – events are happening everywhere – Online, Live and Local. Live events are a great way to network with others in your business field. Human interaction builds strong relationships especially relationships that have a foundation online. They are also a great way to practice networking skills in person. But what events are right for you? The trick is knowing where to look. Here are a few suggestions:
• Check local Business organizations for posted events.
• Visit your favorite blogs/websites for information. If these people are speaking or attending a conference they will want to let their readers know about it.
• Visit online forums. Business forums usually have a place where they list upcoming events both online and offline.
• Visit social networking sites. These are great for business connections – Facebook is one main place where many people or groups post events and send out invites.
Now that you have found some options, how do you choose one? Look at what your goal is for attending the event? You will want to choose live events that are relevant to your business. You wouldn’t attend a crafting seminar if you sell gardening supplies. And, you probably would pass on a seminar that highlights how offline businesses can get into online markets if you already own an online business.
Here are some pointers to making a decision:
• Check geographic location – Your first time out, you might want to stay close to home to lower costs. Money is often tight when you are starting a business.
• Look at event registration costs – Will you recoup the fees?
• Look at the speakers – Who is coming to regale you with their business savvy? If the speakers involved are other business owners or role models in your industry that you have been wanting to meet, don’t pass up the chance to have your questions answered and gain some insight. Adding a face to face will really help gel your connections as well. Contacts made at events can have long lasting benefits.
Choosing a live event to attend doesn’t have to be a hard decision. Gather as much information as you can about upcoming events, their location and fees so you can map out your networking strategy. And it should all be about strategy – why you want to attend and what you will gain from attending.
I recently attended NAMS in Atlanta – Niche Affiliate Marketing Systems. I chose to go for a few reasons:
1. I wanted to learn more about Affiliate Marketing and how it works.
2. It was an opportunity to meet two of my clients in person – one from British Columbia and one from California.
3. There were many other top internet marketers there I have been following for more than one year and it was a chance to listen to their wisdom in person as well as meet them face to face.
When you make conference/event choices by strategically choosing reasons why or why not to go you will find your investment well worth it!
Tawnya Sutherland of VAnetworking
- Denise Wakeman of the Blog Squad
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