Maximize Your Conference (Part 2 of 10) "Be Present"

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Networking Catalyst". He regularly speaks at industry conventions and trade shows where he inspires the audience (and vendors) to maximize their participation at the event. One of the top reasons people attend business conferences is for the "Networking Opportunities", and yet once there they fail to create connections that will have any meaningful impact on their career. Thom sets the tone for the culture of the conference which becomes the foundation for a more meaningful set of interactions.

Maximize Your Conference (Part 2)

Be Present
by Thom Singer

When you decide to attend a conference it is a commitment of your time and attention. In order to receive the most value from participating in the event you must be present and actively engaged.

When you plan your travel arrangements make sure that you arrive in time for the opening and that you do not leave early. Very often people look at the schedule of a multi-day conference and make decisions to shave off part of their time to accommodate a better flight (or other priority). The problem with that is that you might be missing the most important part and you would never know it.

A conference is a mini-community. If you are not attending the opening ceremonies you will miss out on shared experiences that will be discussed, joked about and understood by all the other people. Leaving early could cause you to miss a powerful nugget of information from a speaker or connecting with others at the final social gathering. The "final good-byes" expose you to how others feel about their desire to continue to an ongoing relationship. If you are not there, they will focus their attention on others. You cannot predict in advance when or where you will find the highest value at a conference, thus you need to participate for the whole time to get the most from your investment.

The same is true for the time in between. Very often people review the agenda and make decisions to blow-off large portions of the conference schedule. They either go to their hotel room to work (or sleep), or jet off property to golf, visit friends, or sight-see around the city. The problem is that the purpose for being at the conference (and the reason that your boss is investing the money) is for your education and networking opportunities. When you are not present, you are undermining your ROI. If the conference schedule is not value based, then do not attend in the first place.

Being away from the convention area means you are not an engaged member of the community. This will limit your chance to be invited to off-hours social events, VIP parties, dinner groups, etc... If you are not interacting with other attendees you will be left behind. People spend time with those they know, like and trust. If you are late to arrive, run to your room during breaks, and skipping the happy hour, you will be a conference ghost.

Additionally, when you are there you must be present in your mind. Pay attention to the speakers and be attentive to those you are having conversations. Allowing your mind to wander and being aloof will mean that you will not be approachable to others. Smile, listen, ask questions, and be excited to be there and you will draw other people to you.

You owe it to your company, who is funding your participation, to actually participate!

Have A Great Day.

thom

ProductCampAustin

Next Saturday (August 7, 2010) is ProductCampAustin.

What is ProductCamp?

In the spirit of BarCamp, ProductCamp is a collaborative, user organized unconference, focused on Product Management and Marketing topics. At ProductCamp there are no "attendees," since everyone participates in some manner: presenting, leading a roundtable discussion, helping with logistics, securing sponsorship, setting up wifi, or volunteering. ProductCamp is a great opportunity for you to learn from, teach to, and network with professionals involved in the Product Management, Marketing, and Development process! From ProductCampAustin experience, it is understood that everyone has something they can teach and everyone has something they can learn.

While the original ProductCamp was in Silicon Valley, California, we in Austin, with inspiration and leadership from Paul Young, think we've done a good job of maintaining that participant-centered, creative and fun style, but are expanding ProductCampAustin into a more comprehensive scope. ProductCampAustin conducts several ongoing event series - the original ProductCamp format, and two Austin originals, ProductPotluckAustin and ProductPartyAustin. Planning is underway for other means of building and serving a following around ProductCampAustin. Call it a brand, community, experience or whatever, ProductCampAustin is "the place" for active, novice and experienced Product Managers and Marketers to develop their craft, learn from each other, network in meaningful ways and have a lot of fun.

I have submitted a possible presentation for ProductCampAustin:

Your Personal Brand Is Tied To Your Company

As an early stage entrepreneur you cannot separate your brand from that of your company. People are watching you and judging your business based on the reputation you bring to the table, and the actions you take along the way. Your network is a key tool to expand the success of your business. Many early stage entrepreneurs and their key team members get so busy working on their product or service that they ignore the people who could help them succeed. All opportunities come from people. Those who do the best job of establishing honest, long-term, and mutually beneficial relationships will find people lined up to help them succeed. But if you do not invest in others, they will not care about helping you.

Have A Great Day.

thom

Maximize Your Conference (Part 1 of 10) "Know Your Purpose"

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Networking Catalyst". He regularly speaks at industry conventions and trade shows where he inspires the audience (and vendors) to maximize their participation at the event. One of the top reasons people attend business conferences is for the "Networking Opportunities", and yet once there they fail to create connections that will have any meaningful impact on their career. Thom sets the tone for the culture of the conference which becomes the foundation for a more meaningful set of interactions.

Maximize Your Conference (Part 1)

Know Your Purpose
by Thom Singer

There are many reasons that business professionals attend their industry conferences, conventions and trade shows: Learning new information, networking, maintaining skills levels, getting continuing education credits, viewing new products, discovering new trends, attending the parties, getting away from office, to present new ideas, participating in trade show, hearing great keynote speakers, building name recognition, visiting with top clients / prospects, meeting competitors, looking for a new job, etc....

Any of these reasons are legitimate, but to get the most out of your participation in a conference, you must be honest with yourself about why you are attending. There is a sizable investment of money and time that is necessary to go to the event, and thus is you do not have a clear purpose, you will never know if you achieved your return on investment.

A clear purpose helps you to make the hard choices that come with attending a large conference. Which breakout sessions to attend become clear, as does the amount of time you spend walking the trade show floor, networking, attending social events, sleeping, etc....

A friend attended his industry's big annual conference with the goal of assessing the trade show (he was considering having a booth in the future) and finding one new idea for his company. He had never attended before and had heard conflicting reports about the value that came from participating at the event.

Before he arrived he had also pre-scheduled meetings with some vendors, friendly competitors, and customers who he know would be present.

His experience at the trade show was a disaster. He did not like the way the booths were arranged and he found no useful ideas that would help his company. He did not meet any new vendors that interested him. His purpose of discovery was achieved, albeit with negative results. However, his pre-set meetings were all successful, and made the investment to fly across the country worthwhile.

If he attends in the future he knows his purpose will be to have face-to-face meetings with existing contacts (having so many people from one industry in a city at the same time is a great bonus). His attending one time before being a booth sponsor also saved him a lot of money and frustration.

I believe that attending industry events are an important part of being successful in your business. But to experience real benefits from a conference you must know why you are there and what you expect from your participation.

Before you register for a conference meet with your whole team (those attending and those staying at the office) and discuss a how you and the company can gain from sending one or more people. Decide who will attend and why they are the best choices to represent the organization. Identify the purpose of participation and define the actions they will take while in the city where the conference will take place. The more clear you are about the "what and why" the more success you will have from the attending a conference.

Have A Great Day.

thom

Marny Lifshen - Guest Blogger

Today's Guest Blogger is Marny Lifshen.

Are Your Networking Expectations Reasonable?

By Marny Lifshen, Author

“Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women”

Recently, a colleague recommended me to a prospective client, and I was very happy to be hired as a marketing consultant for their company. I immediately e-mailed the colleague that referred me to let him know the good news, and asked if I could take him to lunch as a thank-you.

During lunch, I filled him in on how things were going with the new client, and then made a point of asking him about his business, and how I might help him. I learned quite a bit about his business goals and made a few suggestions about people he should meet and organizations that might be a good fit for him.

After lunch (I of course picked-up the tab), I followed up with virtual introductions to the people I had mentioned, and the websites of the organizations I recommended.

A few weeks later, I saw him at an event. As we were chatting with some others, he told them about giving me a lead and then jokingly (sort of) said he hadn’t gotten anything back from me yet. I was rather shocked! I felt that I had helped him, and I was certainly looking for ways to give him a direct lead to business.

This led me to think about networking expectations, and how having unrealistic ones can cause you frustration, and eventually hurt your professional relationships and reputation. So, here are some suggestions for how you can keep your networking expectations in line.

1) Networking SHOULD be a two-way street. It must be a give-and-take relationship in order to be successful -- but it doesn’t always happen consecutively or immediately. It can take time to get something back from someone you helped, so be patient and don’t have that “tit for tat” mentality, or you will alienate your colleagues.

2) Networking is not always about LEADS for clients, customers or jobs. The benefits of networking are vast and varied, so don’t keep a narrow focus. Your network can help with resources, advice, access, support and opportunities that don’t necessarily relate to leads – but can be hugely helpful to your career.

3) In order to get the benefits of a powerful network, you have to ASK for what you need! Not everyone is good at proactively looking for ways to help people in their network. So if you need something and you think someone you know can help, ask them – you’ll be surprised how willing people are to help if they just know what you need. Don’t assume they know intuitively what to do.

There is no doubt that a strong network can have a huge impact on your career. If you keep your expectations realistic and reasonable, you will ultimately enjoy better results.

Have A Great Day.

Three Mistakes Made When Giving A Speech

As a successful business professional you will find the higher you climb on the ladder, the more often you will be asked to give a speech. Since you are not a "professional speaker", you might believe it is okay to "wing it" and babble on to the audience without investing the time to craft a meaningful presentation.

Heck you are smart and you have accomplished great things - people will want to hear what you have to say, right?

WRONG!

Always remember, just because someone is smart or they have done something interesting does not mean they belong on a stage talking to an audience. We have all sat through too many presentation where the audience would have rather stick needles in our ears than have to stay in the chairs.

Placing unqualified and inexperienced speakers on stage is a mistake that is made by countless amateurs who are coordinating meetings. Professional meeting planners know that you do not just put anyone on the schedule to fill a "spot", but instead you must vet everyone who will be on the platform to ensure they have public speaking skills.

A bad speaker can ruin your event and make people think twice before attending next time.

Here are the top three mistakes that executives make when giving a speech. Avoid these blunders and your audiences will be eternally grateful:

1. Opening with a joke. Somewhere along the line, about 50 years ago, a fable was told to public speakers that if you open with a joke, you will put your audience at ease. This only works if you are a professionally trained comedian. If you are not, it usually makes you look dumb. While using humor in your presentation is an excellent idea, there is a difference between humor and jokes.

On the flip side do not start by just telling the audience who you are and what you will be talking about. Someone else should do your introduction. The first few sentences out of your mouth will be the most important part of your whole presentation. Make sure you start strong.

Begin with a story. If it relates to your topic, and has the ability to spark interest in you and your presentation, it will have the power to win you the right to the audience's attention for the duration of your talk.

Yes it takes time to prepare a strong opening story, but if your audience is not worth the effort, do not accept the invitation to speak in the first place.

2. Not dressing the part. In our uber-casual society too many people feel they can show up to speak without giving any thought to how they are dressed. But the truth is that what you wear sends a message to the audience. When you dress correctly (and that will depend on the type of event, the venue, and how the audience will be dressed), it sends the message that you considered them before you showed up.

Too many speakers (even professionals) forget that it is called "giving a speech", which means anytime you address a crowd it is your gift. How you dress is the wrapping paper. You would not give your bosses daughter a wedding gift wrapped in old newspaper that smelled like rotten fish, so do not do the same thing when presenting your gift of a speech to an audience.

Many executive that I coach argue that "Steve Jobs" never dresses up when he speaks. My answer, when you bank account matches Steve Jobs' bank account then you can do whatever you want. In the meantime.... think seriously about what you wear.

3. Overuse of the word "I". When we are asked to come share with an audience, we all mistakenly think they want to hear about our accomplishments. Too many speakers only tell stories where they are the hero. Nobody would want to hear you brag about your life while sitting across from you at lunch, what makes you think that just because you are on stage they want to hear you profess your own greatness?

The best speakers provide a mix of their own successes with examples from other people. I suggest you arrive early and get some ideas from people in the audience. When you praise and quote someone from the crowd, the whole audience responds favorably because you are singling out one of them. It raises them all up. If all you can do is talk at them from your own high point, it makes them feel small in comparison.

Take a look at how often you talk about yourself and make sure that it is not the whole presentation. When you do site yourself as an example, have a motivating purpose that helps the audiences. Why do they care about what you did, and how can they learn from your experiences?

Reading books about speaking can help you become a better speaker, but nothing beats practice. If you want to become a talented public speaker then speak often, video tape your presentations, and review them regularly.

Also, every time you get the chance to see someone else give a speech, watch their elements of style in addition to listening to their content. I call this "Speaker's College". Anyone on stage can be my professor (professionals and amateurs), and I always learn something through observation. Never be afraid to try new things. Keep what works, and continue to grow your own unique speaking style.

Have A Great Day.

thom

You can purchase a copy of "The ABC's of Speaking" at Amazon.com.

Attention Sales Managers, Business Owners, and Law Firm Managing Partners - The Time Is NOW To Start Thinking About 2011 Business Development

If I was to ask you if you believed "your organization will have its best year ever in 2011?", how would you answer?

Perhaps you would tell me that you are unsure. You may sight the current economic conditions as a reason for your uncertainty. Maybe you would question the competition's roll out of new technology, and wonder if it would give them a leg up? And it is possible that after two hard years you are concerned about your firm's survival. Your answer might be that you are going to wait and see what the new year brings.

Perhaps you would respond that you were confident that 2011 will be fantastic. The reason for this is because you have no competition and your organization prints money quarter after quarter. Your CFO has never seen any hiccups on the balance sheet. Recession? What recession? You are on fire, and know it will continue into 2011 (if this is your answer - GOOD FOR YOU! Keep it up!).

Perhaps you would state that you are committed to doing just that, making 2011 your best year ever, and you would ask me if I could assist you in discovering the path to more success. Maybe you would share that you have a good team of people but they need more direction to be the great business developers you know they can become.

If the third answer sounds the closest to your response, now is the time to take action. To impact 2011 you have to begin to have the hard discussions with your people now. You have to lay the ground work for creating a business development culture that will bring in new clients and expand your brand in the marketplace. There is now wishing or hoping when it comes to changing the direction for next year. You must have the hard conversations, and the sooner you start, the faster you will receive results.

There is no magic bullet. Waiting to see what the new year brings will just leave you behind. It is always harder to catch up when the year is half over and you are panicking about hitting your numbers.

If you want to grow the visibility of your organization in your business community, and end up on more "short lists" with prospective clients, it takes a commitment from everyone who works with you. You cannot do this alone. Relying on a few "rainmakers" leaves you vulnerable.

As the person in charge of revenue growth you have to lead a cultural revolution that supports the efforts that bring in business. Allowing people to stay in the status quo will mean that nothing will happen.

If you are reading this post and feeling a tug in your soul that you have to take action, then quit rationalizing excuses and just do it. Uncover your path to success and lead your team out of the forest of mediocrity.

Have A Great Day.

thom

SXSW Interactive On the Road: Thom Singer part 2

In March of 2010 I was interviewed by the captivating Ingrid Vanderveldt before the SXSW Interactive Conference. Here is part two of our chat:

Enjoy the video.



Have A Great Day.

thom

SXSW Interactive On the Road: Thom Singer part 1

In March 2010 I was interviewed by the dynamic Ingrid Vanderveldt before the SXSW Interactive Conference. Here is part one of our conversation.

Enjoy the video.



Have A Great Day.

thom

Recent College Graduates Looking For A Job - The Answers To Employment and Career Success Are Closer Than You Think!

The power of business relationships and networking are not a mystery. If you are in college or a recent graduate you should read "Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Graduates" (New Year Publishing, 2010).

Establishing the foundation for a lifetime of mutually beneficial relationships with other professionals who seek to help each other succeed is key to your career. This book by Anne Brown and myself will make it all easier.

Do not wake up one day at 40 years old and say "Oh Shoot, I should have done this 20 years ago".



Available NOW at Amazon.com

Have A Great Day

thom

PS - Do you like this video? Are you an author looking to create something similar to promote your book?

Contact Paul Durban at Blazonfire. I went to high school with Paul over twenty years ago. This is proof that this networking stuff works, as when you keep in touch, the right people with the right skills show up when you need them!