5 Tips to Maximize Attending Your Next Event

One way I’ve really been able to boost my business and get more new clients is by attending the same 3 conferences each year. Obviously there are many other benefits of attending conferences, which I will soon reveal to you.  The real key is that conferences are a great tool for networking and finding new business.  Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to people around you. It is always hard to take that first step but if you are like me, there is always someone that catches my attention and I really would like to talk to that person, ask them a question or two so just do it! And most importantly enjoy yourself.

Here are some quick tips:

1) Go where the majority of your clients are. This means attending clients where you’ll find your ideal client. For example, I belong to Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle and they hold 2 conferences a year. I’ve been attending these conferences for 4 years now and I keep running into the same people. So much so that this last conference in November, I picked up a bunch of new clients, just based on them seeing me and of course me being able to connect with them each time as well.

2) Which leads me to connecting with the people you meet at conferences. This is big, because it’s not about YOU, it’s all about them.  Ask them many questions, find out where their biggest frustration is, what their passion.  In fact, I wrote a whole article about Connecting, click here to see it.

Here are a few more ways you can get the most out of your conferences:

3) Have a specific focus on why you are there. Why did you choose this conference? What made it stand out for you and your business? This directs you to your focus and leads you down the road to what you want to accomplish while you are there. Be specific. Think about your goals and the big picture. How does this conference lead you to accomplishing these?

4) Make sure you have enough business cards and be sure the information is correct and up-to-date. There are many schools of thought on business cards, but I prefer to be a bit more calculated as to who I give my business cards out to. On the business cards I receive from others, I jot down a few key points on the back so I can remember who they are and what our conversation was about.

5) Don’t forget to pack your digital camera or digital video recorder. This is big for me!! Mainly because I am a photographer at heart, but I love to take pictures with all the people I meet! Pictures of you with key people in the business are great ways to promote you and your business. You do want to be sure to follow the rules of filming and photography as stated at the conference. But now is not the time to be shy, take advantage of any photo opportunity you can. And remember it could useful on your web site or even in your business newsletter!

I am actually headed out to my second conference this year. My first conference of the year I attended was Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Manager Training in LA in early February. And I walked away with 3 new clients.  Next week I’m off to Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets Reunion.

Stay tuned and in my next blog I will tell you all I learned and how I made the most of my investment in this conference!

Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle – Geaux Saints!

Another one of my favorite quotes from my amazing coach, Ms. Debbie Phillips (www.debbiephillips.com) – “Don’t give up before the miracle!” This quote has been around the corner whenever I needed or didn’t even know I needed it.  Funny how that happens, things enter our consciousness and our awareness usually when it’s something we need right then. (My second favorite quote is “Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles,” Mike Greenberg.)

I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone… I almost gave up, almost threw in the towel on my business.  It was 4 years ago. I had started my new direct response marketing business in the fall of 2006, and it was going well, but 6 months into I was getting so frustrated and tired.  I knew the first year was going to be hard, but not THAT hard!  I was at a breaking point and really wanted to just quit and go back to corporate America, even after they laid me off 4 times.

Yet, I just dug my heels in harder, and I drew my support team and my success team closer to me.  I knew the more I connected with like-minded entrepreneurs who were more successful than me, the better I would feel and I would soon find the mind set and mind frame for my own success. Because that’s what I truly believe, it was me standing in my way, no one else. I didn’t have the success mind set, knew nothing of what that meant until later. Yet, I knew I wasn’t a quitter…. For more on this, check out my newsletter article from last month called “Isolation is a Dream Killer.”

In fact, this why I said “Geaucx Saints!” because this totally relates to the New Orleans Saints. I was feeling a lot like them throughout my first year of running my own business.  The only thing is they’ve waited an incredibly long time before they reached their dream, much longer than me. I ought to know, since I did after all grow up in New Orleans.  I went to so many Saints games with Archie Manning as the quarterback playing in the superdome.  My dad had season tickets, so we went a lot!  This made itas even cooler to see them not just win the NFC, but get to the super bowl and then actually win it all! I really didn’t think they’d pull it off, but they did and you can believe they didn’t give up before the dream…

There are tons of examples of this, one from Bob Parson’s, CEO of GoDaddy.com, he ran out of money and almost had to shut his business down, when a miracle happened and his business exploded…

So, don’t do it, don’t give up, I promise you the miracle is just around the corner, take it from me and my experiences…  you know how the story ends, I dug my heals in and stuck it out, now it’s 4 years later and I’m having the time of my life and my business is doing awesome…. Get support, create a success team, believe in yourself, in your dream, and don’t give up, your miracle is just around the corner.

P.S. Today’s my birthday and what better present than to have the Saints win the Superbowl and my wonderful Mom sent me my favorite New Orleans King Cake to celebrate both!  If you haven’t ever eaten one, go here now to get this amazingly delicious New Orleans treat from Gambinos. Mardis Gras is this Tuesday and it’s an awesome party New Orleans style.