Tips to get the most out of attending events
The end of summer is the start of conference season, and that means new opportunities to connect with new people, forge new partnerships and make new deals.
Conferences are important because they’re the only place where you can get direct access to the people and intelligence you need that’s crucial to the success of your business goals.
That’s why we produce SyncSummit – to bring people together to do business.
And, that’s also why, today, I’d like to share with you a quick guide for getting the most out of attending an event – and what we here at SyncSummit are doing at our events moving forward to make sure they’re the most effective forum for you to learn, connect and do business.
Conferences are all about learning and making connections. I feel if you're not making connections at an event, what’s the point of showing up at all?
After all, you’re in a place with a captive audience who you almost never get access to. Use that to your advantage.
Go over the agenda, see who’s speaking and who you want to connect with – and make an effort to do so. Be brief, polite and persistent. Remember, once the person you want to talk to is gone, that opportunity to make a connection is lost.
Learn a bit about what the sponsors and exhibitors do and speak to them. There’s usually some great resources out there from the exhibiting companies and sponsors – people who are there looking to do business.
Bring business cards, flyers with your info and website, flash drives (though probably not CDs) that you can leave behind. Bring things for people to take away, but don’t make them too bulky that people put them down right after they talk to you.
Practice a 10 second introduction of who you are and what you do. It’s essential to be concise and to the point – and it makes a better impression.
Ask questions at sessions. Too many people don’t do this – and if they did they’d get more out of an event and have a reference point to approach the speaker with afterwards to strike up a conversation.
Don't be shy. Go up to people, be friendly, ask THEM why they’re attending and what they do. The best way you can make a connection is through listening to someone’s story and goals before you start telling others what you want.
Don’t drink too much. This can be hard when you’re socializing, but limiting yourself to only a few drinks at receptions and networking events will keep you more focused and ready to do business.
Follow up within a week after the event. Make sure you get back to people before they forget what they spoke to you about.
I guarantee you, if you follow the pointers above, you’ll have a much more effective time at the events you attend, whatever events they are.
Of course, I’d hope you’ll attend one of our events, and to that end, here's a few of the things that we are doing to make sure our SyncSummits are the most effective forums possibly for you learn, network and make deals.
Opportunities to connect with speakers and attendees before the show. A lot of shows use internal messaging systems, which are great, but we go one better – we work on your behalf to connect you to the people you want to speak to at the event.
We send you lists of who’s attending, you tell us who you want to meet with and then they let us know when they have time to meet.
Why is this important? Because as the organizers, everyone gets back to us when we email. And, while we can't guarantee every request will lead to a confirmed meeting, we’ve found this method has a pretty good success rate in connecting attendees.
More receptions and breaks. We want to foster connections, so the emphasis is on making it possible for you to meet and talk to people at the event. That means more receptions at the end of day, and more breaks during the day so you can find time to speak to everyone you want to.
More one-on-one discussions, keynotes and case studies, less panels. We’re still going to have panels at our events of course, but we’re focusing more on case studies and one-on-one discussions that speak to the creative process of music in media, ads and brands so we can get in-depth insight and understanding from our speakers – insight that’s essential for everyone attending SyncSummit.
This means case studies, keynotes, a new “Ask Me Anything” nighttime reception/discussion and one-on-one conversations where you can ask questions and get the info you need.
It also means looking at subjects other events miss. Like a breakdown of the urban market. Or the growth of a market for music used in YouTube videos and by amateur artists in general.
SyncSummit Connect - connecting your music with speakers before the show. After our New York event, I decided we needed to do more to connect the music of our attendees to speakers and fellow attendees alike before the event takes place so that when people do arrive, they already know each other musically.
And, thanks to our friends at Music Gateway, we’ve made this idea real.
Starting with our Hollywood event, every person who registers for a SyncSummit will be able to submit two of their songs into our “SyncSummit Connect” system where they’ll be featured in playlists we’ll send to speakers and attendees alike.
And while we can't guarantee this will lead to securing meetings or placements, it certainly helps you to get your music exposed to the people you want to hear it – and that CAN lead to a sync and new business.
Focusing on relevant speakers. We’re relentless about this. Simply put, we put people on stage that work on projects, not professional pontificators.
People who have the understanding and insight to provide you with the intelligence you need to be successful.
And I promise you, we’ll continue to work to improve our events, and I always welcome your suggestions on how we can make them better.
Whether you’re attending our event next week in Barcelona, our Hollywood flagship event on November 9th and 10th, our New York event on June 12-13 in 2017, or our soon to be announced 2017 events in Europe and Asia, we want to do everything we can to make sure when you attend SyncSummit, you get results.
All the best,
Mark Frieser
Founder and CEO
SyncSummit
P.S. If you sign up for our Hollywood or NY event by September 20th, you’ll save $200 on the standard $699 rate. After that, this discount is gone for good, so I urge you to take advantage of this offer today.