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Being Present to Win

By Tim Searcy

I love contests and drawings that say “must be present to win!” They are laying it out for what it is: a clear albeit shameless ploy to have you come to the spot of the drawing at a specified time. They want you to be there, and the payoff is that you may win a prize.

A convention like the ATA Annual Convention or ITEXPO is similar. You have to be present to win. What do I mean by “win”? I mean to get everything out of the event that it has to offer. To be present means to show up with your head in the game and ready to engage. Here are the keys to being “present” at any event.

1. Go to sessions and interact with the attendees, panelists and speakers. I speak several dozen times per year, and nothing makes me happier than to spend time answering questions after one of the speeches I give. To actually interact with a participant and make sense of some detail so that they get the most out of my content is great. The sessions this year are awesome, but don’t let the session be the end of the learning. Get the cards of the people around you, ask questions of the speaker, and follow up with a note to begin a dialog with this industry expert.
2. Make an investment. I know that it is self serving to encourage attendees to also sponsor or exhibit, but this stuff works. At ATA, and I presume the same goes for ITEXPO, exhibitors and sponsors are going to receive the brand awareness and encouragement that makes the investment worth it. Whether you are rebranding the firm, or launching a new product, or simply preserving what people already know, a little sponsorship goes a long way, and a big sponsorship can put you on the map.
3. Talk to people and give them your business card. Strange to me, but lots of people forget their business cards when they go to a convention. I know in part it is a fear of becoming a salesperson’s target. However, that is the price of real participation … to make yourself accessible. Ideally, you will write the type of follow up and topic on your card before simply handing it to someone. If you take a pen and a moment of your time, you can make the further interaction meaningful and appropriate as you define it.
4. Go to everything, including all the receptions and the open hours in the exhibit hall. You have paid good money to be at the convention or conference, and to spend your time in your room working on a proposal or on your Blackberry responding to e-mail and IM’s is a waste. Put the other headaches of daily life aside, and truly show up to the convention. There is always lots of planned fun in these few days of activity. When in doubt, go to the fun stuff and have fun. Introduce yourself to people, and ask questions.
5. Plan your work and work your plan. This may be the most trite and overused comment I have given to salespeople for a decade or so, but it still holds truth. When I work with salespeople, I insist that meals are scheduled with prospects or current clients. Every break should have a scheduled meeting as well as drinks before the social events. I am looking for four to six scheduled meetings per day for every day they are going to be there. Additionally, I don’t want any more than one third of the meetings to be scheduled with current opportunities. Your firm is already going to spend plenty of money on current clients in your offices or theirs. Sure, you have to “cover up” your clients as a defensive mood to poaching, but these events are and should be about new business.
6. One last piece of counsel: Based on watching many of the so-called trade show “warriors” in the trenches… stop talking to each other. You can’t buy anything from each other, and complaining about too little traffic or too little quality traffic just makes you look like someone without a plan. A little camaraderie is a good idea, but then get back to the warrior side of your task, and go out and find some business

Anyone that goes with a plan for a conference usually has a successful event. Figure out what sessions you want to attend, people you want to meet, and leads you want to generate. If you are not sure how to get your goals accomplished, call me or a member of the ATA staff at (317) 816-9336 or at my e-mail at [email protected] and ask us to help.

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