Negotiate a budget to attend conferences and trade shows

I attend a lot of conferences and trade shows. I attend so many, in fact, that the costs associated with attending them are an important component of the budget that I negotiate annually.

As a business owner, you should (in my opinion) be attending as many conferences and trade shows as possible. Yes, they are expensive and time-consuming, but the ROI is definitely worth it. And I recommend that you negotiate with your partners, board of directors or clients to add ?a line item to your budget for conferences and trade shows if you don’t already have one.

If you find yourself needing to justify attending conferences and trade shows, consider negotiating and/or making your case using the following reasons:

1.???? Networking. One event can put you in front of many potential clients. Consider the cost of traveling to meet each potential client vs. being in one place where all of those clients are gathered and you can develop relationships. Don’t underestimate the power of face-to-face interactions.

2.???? Education. Most conferences and tradeshows have an educational component. You will be able to learn from industry leaders and innovators. You can also offer yourself as a speaker or workshop leader. This will set you and your company apart and make you more visible because you will be included in the marketing efforts of the conference. You can easily make the case that the information you will learn about trends and challenges can put your business at an advantage.

3.???? Market research. You can try new pitch ideas and get information and feedback on new products. You can also scope out your competition and/or review the possibility of creating strategic alliances.

4.???? Brand visibility. People do business with people they know, they like and they trust. The more visible you and your brand are, the more likely you are to be remembered.

5.???? Lead generation. Be intentional about the number of contacts you want to make. Use technology to your advantage so you can capture contact information for future follow-up.

Still need help convincing your partners that you should have a pretty big trade show and conference line item in your budget? Present this idea as a strategic investment. Sometimes the ROI will be immediate, and sometimes it will take more time to develop and nurture relationships that lead to contracts. Either way, your efforts will pay off.

?Contact me if you need some help thinking this through or if you want to hone your negotiation skills.

I’m on a mission to help women business owners embrace creative thinking in business.