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What I learned from Attending Over 100 Business Conferences (PART 1)
How to maximize the benefits of attending a business conference
STEP 1: PREPARATION
Conferences are a great business tool but many people don’t know how to get the most benefit out of it.
Conferences are key for networking and building business relationships, yet many people fail to understand how to maximize and reap the benefits of attending a conference and get a strong ROI.
Here are my tips to prepare you for your next conference:
1. Pick the right conference. Understand your target audience and identify which conferences it makes sense to attend. Do your research well. Surprisingly, many people skip this part and think “More is Better” when really you need to be much more strategic. A conference is a waste of money if your audience isn’t there. Exceptions: The goal may be something completely different, like professional development or vendor relationships. This is a task you can usually dedicate to an Assistant or Marketing Coordinator if you define your audience carefully.
2. Identify your goals. What is your purpose of attending conferences, in general, and how will you measure the return on investment? Especially if you are justifying the cost as a business expense (which I assume you are)…
