8 Tips for Getting the Most out of a Conference
While planning the 2018 GrowthHackers Conference, I started getting questions from attendees and people sending attendees to the conference asking for pointers on how they can get the most out of the conference.
Drawing on my past experience attending, sponsoring, speaking at and now hosting conferences, I have tactics I recommend everyone test out as they head into their next conference.
1. Leave the ego at home.
I say this first because it will make the following tips work much better. People go to conferences to learn and get inspired. It’s not every day you can leave all preconceived notions and ask questions that you otherwise might find too silly to ask. Use this to your advantage!
Don’t take yourself too seriously, talk to others about your challenges, and ask for advice. Whether or not you agree with the advice will be up to you, but an alternative perspective will help you build more thought-out opinions and give you new ideas.
Want to see me leaving my ego at home?
2. Bring your team.
I’ve gone to conferences solo and not only can it be overwhelming, but the amount of time I spent transferring knowledge and training my team after the fact added up to the cost it would have taken to send additional team members.
Now of course this depends on the type of conference you’re attending. If you’re attending a super niche conference that’s specific to your role (i.e. you won’t have anyone to explain it to when you get back to the office), than it makes sense to attend alone.
However, if you’re attending a conference like the GrowthHackers Conference, it’s best to bring a team so that everyone can immerse themselves in a full-day of companies kicking ass at growth. This will drive more alignment and momentum when you begin to rethink how your company approaches growth and identify the biggest opportunities to focus on right away.
Take it from a group that attended our conference last year…
“Our growth process in its most current form (focus on the full AARRR funnel, high velocity testing, cross-functional growth team) started after my entire team went out to the GrowthHackers conference last year. We immediately went back home — and started designing our own growth process for our specific context.” — Pranav Khanna, VP of Product @ Capital One
3. Attend with preset questions.
Show up to the conference prepared and on a mission to get answers to you and your company’s questions. Discuss with your team ahead of time and get buy-in on the questions you want answered. This will keep yourself accountable for getting the most out of the event AND make for an easy ice-breaker for anyone you meet at the conference.
A few questions that I’ve used in the past that might help you brainstorm some ideas for questions related to your own conference missions…
- I’ve had a hard time with (your biggest challenge), do you have any experience with overcoming that?
- This year we tried (something that did or didn’t work) and saw that (results), do you have any recommendations for making it better next time?
- What’s something you’ve tested recently that worked really well for your business? Why do you think it worked?
4. Use every opportunity to learn.
There may be sessions that you think don’t apply to you throughout the event. In my experience, it’s impossible to have an entire day that applies directly to each person’s situation, and that’s okay.
Instead of thinking “this session doesn’t apply to me,” ask yourself “how can I apply what this speaker is saying to my own company?” and if you fail to find ANYTHING in that question, then try “what can I learn from this speaker’s stage presence and how they spreading their message?”
Often times when you learn how others are approaching different problems in a vastly different way, new ideas to approach your own problems can spark. Learning from other industries and companies can help you find the disruptive idea that your company has missed due to years of comparative approaches based on convention, analogy or previous experiences.
5. Meet the exhibitors.
The marketing tech landscape is constantly changing. New companies are emerging, others are being acquired and it’s near impossible to stay on top of it all. The exhibitors are (typically) there because the audience is a good match for their solution.
It’s okay to tell an exhibitor it’s not a good fit for you and most exhibitors will appreciate your honesty. That being said, even if an exhibitor is not the right fit for you now, they may be down the road when your product goes through changes, your role changes, or your company changes.
By meeting exhibitors you gain a personal connection that might benefit you in the long-run, or even better, you may find a solution for your needs right now. A lot of companies now offer referral incentives, and it’s perfectly okay to ask about that in the event you might know someone that could benefit from their solution.
Not to mention the goodies a lot of exhibitors give away. :)
6. Study & connect with other attendees prior to the event
Networking can be hard when there’s hundreds of people with varying personalities all meshed into a room and no context on why you should talk to any of them.
That’s why it’s helpful to study the hashtags of an event, ask your own network if anyone you know will be attending, and engage in conference groups (Facebook, Linkedin, mobile app, etc) prior to the event.
Find out who’s going, what they do, and invite them to connect with you. You already have a lot in common since you’re attending the same event, so it’s a really warm introduction.
Invite someone to grab coffee with you at the breakfast or sit next to you during the first session. You can get started by asking them the questions you prepared ahead of time in tip #3. As you navigate the day, you can introduce this person to new people and help champion them at the event. Chances are you’ll have a life-long friend after the conference by doing this.
7. Engage with the speakers.
This is where the prepared questions come in handy. The conference planners already did their work to bring the experts to stage, so if you see them in the audience or at lunch, don’t be shy! Say hi, point out something you enjoyed from their presentation, and if they aren’t overwhelmed with other people, ask them a question.
By nature of big events, it can be easy for some speakers to be inundated with people and questions, so feel it out before asking a question. Instead a compliment on their presentation with a “I’d like to follow up and ask you a question” might go over better. You’ll need to feel out each situation.
8. Follow up.
You’ll meet a lot of people if you follow all of these tips. What’s worked well for me is keeping notes, either on business cards I’ve collected, or in a notepad, about the conversations I had with each person. I usually write one or two things about the conversation. For example…
- Complimented her on (something cool)
- Send (blog post, video, intro to someone)
- Had (hometown city, sports team, favorite animal, etc.) in common
When I follow up (usually on LinkedIn and email), I reference the note I took to help jog the persons memory to who I am and the value I can provide to them. These follow ups should always be personal.
Do you have any other tips for getting the most out of a conference? Comment below.
Want to put these tips to good use? Join us for a full day of learning with top experts in growth at the GrowthHackers Conference on February 6 in San Diego.
