Self-Presentation: How Should You Tell Listeners About Yourself?
communication
I prepared for the conference for two days, and it seems that it was not enough.
It is important to define your goals for the event: to collect leads, find partners or gain new knowledge from the speakers. I focused on finding leads and partners, but next time I will definitely refine my target audience criteria.
To be successful at an event, you need to not only set goals, but also strategize how to achieve them. For example, I made a list of companies that would be at the conference. Preliminary analysis helped me choose several pitch options for different target segments. I also used social media to identify significant conference participants and arrange meetings in advance. This made it possible not to miss out on the right introductions.
If you think there will be a lot of free time at a conference, you're going to be disappointed. A conference is a great opportunity to meet new people and companies. You can do this by joining discussions and presentations, participating in interactive activities, etc. But I was surprised at how quickly I got tired of endless conversations and searching for the right booths. So plan ahead for both the companies/people you want to meet and the lectures you want to attend.
It is important to realize that there is often bad internet at the event, so you should not plan for important calls. You can use this moment to your advantage and make personal contact with people who, like you, are without Wi-Fi.
Bad internet is no joke — don't forget to save important company and contact information offline.
It's hard to navigate quickly at a conference, so plan ahead who you want to talk to and what you want to talk about, and ideally agree what time to meet at the entrance or coffee point.
The work at the event doesn't end with the conclusion of the event. Afterward, it's essential to send out follow up, including to those you didn't get to meet at the conference.
Remember that you won't have time to have in-depth conversations with all the right people at the event, so don't count on it. It's better to use the event to network and start productive conversations.
Make a separate spreadsheet for networking and notes about people so you don't lose important information. Use social networks to find and add new contacts, send an email or message thanking them for the meeting and suggesting further communication. It's essential not to miss opportunities to develop your network of contacts, look into different social networks and hidden requests — after all, you too may have interested someone during the event.
In BEsmart blog I will leave a copy of Notion page, which I prepared to work with planning meetings and collecting contacts at the conference — you can use it as a template
And importantly — after the conference, you may need another day out of your normal routine to gather your thoughts and process the information you've received.
Conferences are potentially one of the best ways to get to know a new market, find leads and partners. However, to get the most out of it, you need to prepare well for the event and have a clear plan of action.
I hope that my experience will help you to perform well at your first conference and get the most out of it.
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