Last week, we talked about how to Make the most of being at a conference. Now, let’s talk about what to do when you get home.
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| Aliza Sherman making notes at the first ever 140 Characters Conference in NYC |
Here is my best piece of advice.
Immediately after the event, write down the top five ideas from the event: five business ideas and five blog posts.
Take the five most promising people you met, and follow up with them. Send them an email that starts by reminding them of the details of where you met and what you discussed, and ends with a next step to move forward.
Report out
Report on the event online. Post it to your blog, Facebook, and any local forums that welcome event reports.
Report to your sponsors or potential sponsors for next time. Now, the champion at this has to be Adele McAlear. Here’s what she did:
I videotaped sessions that my sponsors were interested in, then transcribed the video so that the content could be sliced, diced and searchable. I also went out of my way to meet people that were pertinent to my sponsors’ businesses and provided a report of those conversations and their contact information. I did an executive summary of the experience, relevant to my sponsors’ needs, and had the whole thing (1 1/2 inches thick) spiral bound. I burned the video to DVD and sent that along too.
Connect with others
Find the time
Afraid you’ll never get this done? I know about that post-conference rush to get back to work. The solution is to make an appointment with yourself. In fact, make several so you can do this in small bites.
Update: See the new after-conference 2-to-1 rule for another way to find the time.
And that’s it
That is the end of our events series. What did we miss?
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
I’d add building a Twitter list and adding everyone you met on that Twitter list, even the people you don’t follow up with.
It’s always useful to be on top of what they’re doing and jump in whenever you feel you can help
Dragos, that is a terrific suggestion. You can also search for lists created by other attendees. You may not choose to follow everyone, but certainly look for those who you met and connected with. And don’t feel limited to twitter. Look for other social ways to connect as well.