It’s Not Enough to Just Show Up

Many of us develop a schedule defining what conferences our firm will attend. The question is, “Do you have a conference strategy?” This is a plan, with tactics that you chose to employ, to advance your business development efforts. Plan ahead, to avoid these mistakes:

1. Choosing conferences that focus on peer group attendance
   Many of attend conferences for continuing education, networking, advertising and/or political pressure. Conferences attended for the purposes of advancing your business development efforts should be focused on groups of clients—not peers or competitors. “Fish where the fish are.” It does you no good to look for clients in a room full of peers.
2. Showing up without a game plan
   Before you ever set your foot on the convention floor, determine your purpose. Is it to make introductions, to follow up on previous conversations, or to guard your clients? Each of these are good reasons for attending a conference, but you need to understand your goal going in. If it is to meet a client, identify who they are, if possible send an email or phone call beforehand to ask if they are attending and set up a time to meet. If it is a follow up, clarify what you’d like to follow up on (i.e., the introduction of a Thought Leader or the timing of a new opportunity). If you are attending to guard your clients, arrange coffee, lunch or other activities with them to keep them with you and away from your competition. Don’t just show up looking for people and depending on spontaneous interactions.
3. Getting a booth
   Booths can be expensive. In addition to the cost of the booth, there is the cost to produce the booth and the marketing materials within the space, including “giveaways and brochures.” Staffing is another expense: you can’t have an empty booth. Determine if a booth is necessary to achieve your objective. A booth’s purpose is to increase visibility, but if your main objective is to meet a key client or clients, a booth is a poor strategic investment.
4. Failing to understand the cost vs. the ROI Conferences can be expensive, especially if they are outside your regional area. You must account for travel, subsistence and other expenses/engagements while there. Don’t ignore the conference cost. Calculate it, and then analyze the cost of that investment relative to the achievement of your objective(s).

A few weeks ago, a new client of mine said he had been attending conferences for years with nothing to show for it. When I asked for the strategy, he replied, “I’ve just showed up and tried to run into people.” Conference attendance is much like the Belmont Stakes or the Preakness. It’s not enough to just show up.

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.