How to Step Up Your Conference Game -- and Make Real Connections That Pay Off

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After the chaos of the pandemic, in-person conferences made a BIG comeback in 2023.

Which means there’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs (like you) to take advantage of this…?

…by attending more conferences -- and leveraging them to get lots of new business.

To do this, though, you need a pre-game plan. Because unfortunately, most entrepreneurs aren’t making the most from their time at conferences, so they end up wasting time (and money).

And they leave these events with ZERO meaningful connections or new leads.

Which is why, today, I want to share a different way of doing things.

It’s a networking approach that our client, Bruce Browning , used before attending a recent conference. (And I want YOU to “steal it” and apply in your own business.)

This approach resulted in many prospective clients approaching Bruce during the event -- and messaging him in advance to arrange a meet up.?

Okay, let’s dive in…?

Before attending this conference, Bruce knew he didn’t want to leave it with a bunch of business cards stuffed into his bag that -- in all likelihood -- he’d never do anything with.?

So he decided to take a more proactive approach to making genuine connections… and attracting prospective clients.?

To accomplish this, Bruce created a list of almost 1,000 people who were likely to be attending the conference. And from there, he sent them two brief messages, which were along the lines of:

“Are you attending the conference? We should meet up!”

Now, this may seem like a simple approach, but it was actually incredibly effective.?

Because not only did Bruce get a nearly 10% response to those messages…?

…he also got two “at-bats” for major contracts with Fortune 500 companies -- all thanks to the simple messages he sent.?

In Review

As you can see from this example, outreach messages are not just useful for having sales conversations with prospects (like many business owners assume)…?

…instead they’re also a valuable tool for networking and making the most out of in-person events. Which then often leads to lucrative business opportunities.

In fact, a key reason Bruce got such a high response rate to his messages was:

They were NOT sales messages.?

Instead, he started a genuine conversation, and gave people the chance to build a relationship with him. Which, as you can imagine, is much more appealing to prospects than someone spamming them with sales pitches.?

So, my advice??

Next time you’re attending a conference, test out an approach like the one Bruce took -- even if it’s just with a handful of prospects.?

You’ll set yourself up for success long before you check into your hotel!?

Meredith Eisenberg | Head Coach at Connect 365

P.S. Make sure to share this newsletter with your network if you found it helpful. Then comment below, and tell me your #1 takeaway!