Conference going advice?

Question

This is a big conference month for my wife (@Elizabeth Wilson) and I.    I'm curious to know if others have any special tips or tricks to make the most out of these great networking opportunities?

(ps. We are finally getting out of Memphis for a few weekends and going to be at both the BP conference and at the MidAtlantic Summit - so if you will be at either, let's connect now and the meet face-to-face then!)

Chris Clothier · Answer

Hey Sam,

Not sure if this is exactly what you meant with your post, but I just met with my Memphis Invest team that is traveling to the BP Conference this weekend.

My advice was pretty generic, but first and foremost, you're never going to meet everyone in attendance and will be hard pressed to make more than a few deep connections each day and that is if you're lucky.  I told my team not to try too hard, but rather to relax and focus on learning about the other attendees.  I told them to focus on listening and meeting others and just see where you stand at the end of the day.  If you come out of a conference with a few good connections who you can actually benefit from knowing you or you can benefit from knowing them, then you have done well.

I also try to send emails at the end of the day to anyone who asked to connect with me.  If someone asks to connect, I'll get a card or an email address and I send an email at the end of the day.  Then I'll see how interested they actually were in connecting.  So I uphold my end of the bargain and then let anyone who wants to connect go from there.

I rarely if ever drink at a conference.  That is a personal decision, but I look at it from the standpoint that I am there to accomplish something.  I want to make connections and may have one drink at the end of the day - maybe. It seems ironic that we are hosting the cocktail party on Monday night, ha!  But personally, I prefer not to drink so I can be clear headed the whole time.  Now, Tuesday night when the conference is over, I may have a second...

Lastly, I usually come into an event with 1-3 outcomes in mind.  I gave a keynote at PM Grow 2019 earlier in the year in Austin.  I went in with one goal outside of giving my talk.  I had two companies that I had seen were attending and I made it a point to meet with them.  I spoke at Five Star in Dallas last week and did the same thing.  Later in the year I'm speaking at IMN in Phoenix and have already set an appt. with one company that I want to meet with face to face.  So I generally have a very small, but specific list of outcomes or meetings that I want to have and that makes it a lot easier to know that I had a successful event when it is over.  I may have made great connections, or from time to time an event may be a dud for me.  But, if I came in with a handful of tasks to accomplish and I hit them, then I was successful either way.

Be sure and come by and say hi while we are all in Nashville!  Hope you guys have a great conference.

best - Chris

Alexander Felice · Answer

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/benefit-most-biggerpockets-real-estate-investor-conference

6 tips to maximize your BP experience (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Lawrence L. · Answer

@Sam Wilson See you in Philly Sam. Have a great time in Memphis.

Sam Wilson · Answer

@Owen Dashner - Thank you.  That is a great point.  After what @Chris Clothier recommended, I'm really going to be more diligent with immediate after meeting action!  Thanks!

Merle Brubacker · Answer

@Alexander Felice this is great video, thank you! Get hyped!

Owen Dashner · Answer

Above is great advice.  In any group networking meeting or conference, I always make it my goal to have meaningful conversations with at least 2 people in the room during the allotted time.  I try to also make some Clif Notes on my conversations with bullet points about the person to help jog my memory either on my phone or in a small notebook (and enter into a CRM later).  This helps immensely if I follow up with the person or want to connect with them via social media (or real life).

Above all, just have fun, enjoy the experience, and try to meet some cool people along the way.  But, don't force it or be the guy who just collects and hands out business cards.  That never works.

Travis Watts · Answer

@Sam Wilson I agree with Chris. I always shoot for the deeper connections (1-3) per day rather than meet everyone for 60 seconds and hand out business cards. I suppose either strategy can work, but that is my preference. Best of luck!

Sam Wilson · Answer

@Chris Clothier - Thank you!  You are always such a wealth of information about real estate and beyond!  I appreciate you taking the time to share all of that - especially knowing how busy you are.

And those are great tangible goals/plans.  I really like the point of following up with an email that same day.  I'll incorporate that in my plans.

And thank you for hosting the cocktail reception (even though you won't be imbibing)!!

We look forward to see you again (it has been a while since the Best Ever Conference) and meeting the rest of your team.  We have expanded our REI outside the Memphis market and I'd love to chat with you about that too.

Hope you all have a successful conference as well

Sam

Mark Gliebe · Answer

Anyone looking for cool places to go or local insider information outside of the conference? Send me a DM and I would love to share some insight.

Sam Wilson · Answer

@Lawrence L. - Awesome!  Looking forward to meeting you.

Conference going advice?

Most Popular Reply