Event Choices That Work For Your Business

Event Quality vs Attendees Quantity: How to find a balance

Events and business travels are fun, aren’t they? Your family and colleagues say: “You are traveling again! Lucky you! Steak dinners, cocktail receptions, business class upgrades and frequent flier miles.” So many people (who do not travel as part of their jobs) think that events and business travel is luxurious. Glamorous. I could write a WHOLE post on why this isn’t true (the inside of a Marriott ballroom is the same whether you are in Paris or Detroit or Dubai — am I right?) but for today, let’s focus on what really matters: connections.

We go to events and shows to make personal connections with our professional world, and that is where the magic happens. Cold calling can only do so much. But there is something about a handshake, a shared story, and looking another person in the eye that just puts a relationship in another category.

I just returned from two events (CES 2018 in Las Vegas and IoT Evolution Expo in Orlando) and I have one more trip before January is over. When looking at where I spend Mainspire’s event travel budget for the year, I break it down into two categories: quality of content (learning) and quality of connections.

Notice I did not say quantity.

Sure, it’s nice if a program touts X thousands attendees or Y conference sessions with Z hundred speakers. But before you plunk down thousands of dollars of your company’s event budget on the show (regardless of level of participation: speaking, exhibiting, sponsoring, attending, etc.) I encourage you to take a step back and ask yourself what your goal is at this particular event.

Want to learn how to get the most bang for your buck before you plunk down a ton of cash on events? Click here to read the rest of the story…