What to do after a Conference by Thom Singer

I just came across this awesome article about appreciation, handwritten notes and what to do after you go to a networking event and/or conference.

Here is the link to his blog
http://thomsinger.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-to-do-after-conference.html

What To Do After A Conference

Imagine that you attended an amazing industry conference:


You sat through keynote talks and breakout sessions while filling your notebook with countless brilliant ideas that you know will have a material impact on your career.
You visited the trade show and encountered vendors who had products and services that inspired your mind for new ways of doing business.
You met dozens of people, with whom you "clicked", that are excelling in your field.

So What?

If you do not take action within the first week of returning home, you may never benefit from the opportunities that have come into your life.

To make sure that you seize the power from the experience, you must do four things within the first seven days: Review. Brainstorm. Execute. Follow-up.

1. Review. Take a few hours to go through your notes and review all the nuggets of information you wrote down and prioritize them. You can either re-type your notes, or use a highlighter if you have them on paper. Focus your mind on the points that can have the highest level of impact on your future.

2. Brainstorm. Find a quiet place and think about all the information, ideas, examples and people that you ran across at the conference, seminar, or convention. Imagine how you can take unrelated concepts from what you heard and connect them to your own business. Additionally, think about the people you met and how you can work with them in the future, or whom you can introduce them to where there would be a benefit for connections beyond yourself.

3. Execute. Make a "To-Do List" of the top ten things the you can (and will) do immediately. Now do them.

4. Follow-up. Meeting someone one time does not make them part of your network. Meeting someone once makes them "someone you have met". There is a huge difference between a person you met and a mutually beneficial contact where you both know each other and understand how you can help one another in the future. You need to own the follow-up if you wish to cultivate an ongoing relationship. Emails, handwritten notes, Facebook, Twitter, etc... are all ways to facilitate ongoing contact. I suggest that you take the extra time to send handwritten notes to the few people who really stood out in your mind. (Only once do you need to do this, you can use electronic mediums after that first contact!). This will show that you took the time to go beyond the short-cut filled digital world that we all have come to know and love.... and that they matter to you. (Note: If you did not get their business card, or they only had email contact info on their card, then digital contact is fine!).

Attending industry conferences can be a lot of fun and very educational. They are also a great way to make contact with others in your line of work. But if you do not take action after the event, you will miss the chance to maximize your ROI. You will also forgo making some great life-long friends. All opportunities come from people, and you never know who will be able to make a difference in your future.

Have A Great Day.

thom


Thanks Thom for writing this article. We all appreciate it.

Shay
Send Some Love Today

Did you Hear What They Said?

Guest post from my good friend Barbara Beal-Lopez. Thanks for the kuddos!

"Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with the very fun and awesome Shay Wheat and she hit on something so important that I just had to share.

I was telling her a bit about our new Networking Commercial Coaching Progam (helping business professionals to craft a 30-second networking commercial), and how much I enjoy helping people to be prepared, confident and effective in their 30-second "pitch". Shay then reminded me of something very important to keep in mind....

Although it's important to be prepared and ready to give your "pitch", it's just as important to listen to everyone else's networking commercials.

Why? Many reasons, which I'll share with you over the course of the next few posts:



1. By learning other business people's needs, you are able to make a much better connection, if you are able to help them meet their needs.


Although it's tempting to sit and ponder over what YOU are going to say in your allotted 30-seconds, by doing so you could be missing the boat on a potential business relationship with someone you can help - either with your own services, or with a referral for someone else's business.

Let's face it - you shouldn't be attending networking events for the sole purpose of giving your 30-second commercial. You should be there to establish new connections, and you can't do that if you're stuck in your own little world. You'll find that by listening and identifying what someone has to offer and how you can help them, you'll find your network growing in no time.

Your assignment:
At your next networking event (in which people are afforded an opportunity to introduce themselves to the entire room), listen to as many networking commercials as possible and see who you can help. Make a goal of approaching at least one person afterwards with a way that you can help them (bonus points if its referring out a business other than yours)!

Perk up your ears...I'll share more tips in this area in upcoming posts. "

BBL

Thanks Barbara! You Rock!

Please visit Barbara and BrightFarm Productions. There is a wealth of information on the site and I suggest connecting with Barbara.
Go here now!
http://brightfarm.homestead.com/


Keep Sending your love and Appreciation...remember...what you send out is what you get back.

~Shay