Conferences – Love Them or Loathe them

Shannon & Rory Fatt at the Info Summit

I have had the pleasure of attending various conferences a year for the past several years. I know what you are thinking – conferences yes they are fun, great place to network and even learn some new tools to help your business. BUT, they take up so much time and all the hassles of traveling… Yes, they do have good points and as I like to think, challenging points. However, I want you to think of conferences from another point of view: How I can maximize my investment? How can I take conferences one step further and enhance my business?

I have put together 12 secrets to achieving much more out of the conferences you attend. Here are the top 5: (if you want the whole 12 secrets leave me a comment or send me an email – info@marketingimplementer.com and I’ll send them to you.)

1. Have a specific focus on why you’re there. What do you want to accomplish at this conference? Write down some specific goals and outcomes from your conference.

2. Socialize – Don’t eat alone in your room. You’ve come a long way and need to maximize the most out of meeting new people and networking or JVing with other businesses. There will be plenty of time to sleep when you get home!

3. Bring a big note book, highlighter and even post-it flags. Take notes and highlight those things that you will take action upon right away or when you get home. Put together your action plan BEFORE you leave your conference.

4. Don’t forget to pack your digital camera or digital video recorder. Take note of specific rules of filming and photos at conferences. Take advantage of getting photos of people you want to

Shannon & Michael Cage at the Info Summit

be identified with when promoting your business. Have your camera with you at all times and don’t be shy about asking someone for a photo opportunity. Take these photos and use them on your web site and in your newsletters. Get as much out of attaching yourself to a celebrity as you can. This will pay off huge in the long run!

5. Make sure you pack enough business cards and that it has the right information for people to contact you. There are a few schools of thought on business cards, some don’t have them because they don’t want to be on everyone’s list or radar. Others have plenty and pass out like candy. My preference is to be in the middle of the road. Be calculated on who you give your card to and take notes on them so you can remember who they were when you get home. Also ensure your correct information is on your card.

Since I started my business 3 years ago, I’ve used conferences to help enhance my business more than 100%. When you really take them seriously, and write out your goals for what you want to achieve, conferences can really help your bottom line.In fact, I’m heading out the end of the month to the Glazer-Kennedy Marketing Superconference.

This will be the 4^th time I’ve attended this conference. And every time I go, my business grows because of it. Pick a few conferences in your niche and go to them once a year. I wouldn’t recommend more than 3 or 4 conferences a year because at some point it becomes overkill and there’s only so much you can implement and discover. So go to come conferences, get some great photos and above all, meet some great people and form some wonderful lasting working relationships and friendships!

Successful Keys to Productivity

How can you be more productive? There are so many ways to increase your productivity. Which one to choose? Hmmm…

What’s interesting to me, is my first job out of college was working in sales, out of my house. And I ended up doing that for about 10 years before I even entered an office building. I discovered some interesting things about myself and how I work. One thing: I really like my freedom of time and doing what I need to do on my own terms. And two: I’m much more productive and creative late at night. Now, these two things make it quite interesting and creative when working out of my house these days because I end up working many more hours than I ever did when I worked in an office – go figure!

So lately, I’ve been doing a lot of research to find out how I can be more productive with my days and get more done in shorter periods of time. I’ve discovered some good tools that have helped me and I got so much out of that I thought it would be fun to share with you!

One key that I discovered is that I need more balance between my work, having fun play time (like taking photos, reading, watching movies, playing games, etc.) family time and time to exercise. All of these are very important, yet balance is the key. When I work too much it takes its toll on all aspects of my life. The more balance I have, the healthier I feel, and the more productive I am.  For example, what I found immensely useful was creating a “morning success ritual” which I coined from Eben Pagan’s Wake Up Productive Program. His program has helped me immensely be more productive in my day. Why? Because I start my day with drinking water, exercising, meditating, and eating a healthy breakfast. So, when I get to my office in my house, my head is in the right place and I’m ready to rock-n-roll through my day to be more productive

Here's me and Eben Pagan and the Glazer-Kennedy Info Summit

Another key was doing a couple of exercises each week – (in addition to my morning success ritual.)

1) Taking 20 minutes each week and writing down ALL the things that are on my mind and bothering me. Then, going back through my list and putting a star next to the things that I have control over, and putting a check next to all the things that are out of my control. Next, I go back to all the things that are not in my control and take a deep breath and release. Some of the things that are on my list right now that are in my control are – the huge list of things that I have to do in my own business and for my clients business, need to get my plane ticket to the GKIC Superconference in Chicago, writing my blogs for the next month to get to my marketing coordinator to post and on and on…. What’s out of my control is my worry about will my IRA ever bounce back, what will happen with the economy, etc.

2) Then I write down all the areas of incompleteness in my life, lose ends that need to be tied and where I need to close the loop. Some of these may overlap with the list above. The key is recognizing what’s in your control and what isn’t. Then, planning some small action steps around closing the loops on the important ones. An example would be, maybe you have a bunch of opened email that’s nagging at you because you were away for a few days. So, plan some time on your calendar to tackle that nagging thing and close that loop.

3) Having a daily priority list of what I’m trying to accomplish. My priorities usually start with what actions will bring me income, recognition and help promote me and my clients.

Just doing these three things – has really helped ease my mental state. Plus, it has opened up a lot more space for my brain to then tackle so much more, including having fun!

I find when you’re an entrepreneur, the name of the game is being more productive and how to squeeze more out of each and every day. Experiment, see what works and let me know, I’m always open to new ways of being more productive!