I wish I enjoyed conferences more but I find them to be really exhausting. Maybe I’m just getting more introverted as I get older. That being said, they can be incredibly valuable if you go into any conference with a strategy. To alleviate the stress for myself, I set a clear outline for every conference I attend.

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Step 1: Ask yourself “What do I want to get out of this conference?”

Maybe it’s to gain knowledge in specific subject areas. Perhaps you’re job hunting, looking to build your network, find sales prospects, or sit poolside for a paid vacation from your company 🏖️. Whatever your priorities are, set your goals before the conference and make them clear.

Step 2: Make a plan for building relationships before, during, and after the conference. If this isn’t one of your priorities I don’t know why you’re wasting your time attending a conference.

The conference I’m attending right now has 1000+ people in attendance over 4 days. The average attendee will likely shake 100+ hands and spend an average of 5 minutes per conversation. You think that high priority sales target or industry expert is going to remember that 1 in 100 interaction with you. Hell no! Think like a marketer. I do the following:

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A. A week before the conference, I have a VA take over my LinkedIn and connect with every target attendee with a simple message “Hi <first name>, I’m really excited to meet you in person next week at <conference name>!” Don’t pitch your business or product here. Just drop the seed for a relationship.

B. Connect with people during the conference and be authentically interested in them. Don’t worry about pitching your business or product. They likely will not remember it. They are getting pitched all day! Be a friend. Focus on building a foundation for a good relationship while you’re in person. Focus on getting their business card. This is more important than you giving them yours. Don’t bombard people with your business cards!

C. Send an email 48–72 hours after the conference ends. Everyone needs to dig out their inbox post-conference. Sending an email right after is just adding more clutter to their life. That being said, this email is the final punch you’ve been waiting to throw. The person you’re connecting with will have seen or heard your name now 3 times over the past 10 days. You’ll stand out. You’ll be responded to. Don’t pitch your product or business in this email. The goal is to continue to build the relationship with a 15-minute virtual coffee.

My template. “Hi <name>, It was so awesome getting to connect with you in person at <conference name>. <Note something you discussed while you met them in person to help them remember you>. I’d love to continue the conversation and learn more about your goals for this year! Want to have a 15 min virtual coffee this month? Hope you had a safe trip home and looking forward to staying in touch!”

Step 3: This is a random one and may just be my issue — EAT!

Every event I attend I find myself not eating nearly enough or just eating garbage because it’s convenient. Networking sessions always have food but amidst the mingling, I find myself barely eating or I’m feeling self-conscious about stuffing my face with crab cakes during the opening keynote. My simple hack has been to just Insta cart an order of healthy food for the entirety of the conference to my room or AirBnb. Stay fueled! Conferences are a marathon.

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Those are my tips! Have tips that help you get the highest ROI from conferences you attend? I’d love to hear them. Grab me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Happy building!