Navigating Industry Events for Maximum Impact | Ep 30
In this episode, we discuss strategies for making the most of your investment when attending industry conferences. Learn how to identify the right conferences to attend, the importance of setting clear goals, and practical tips such as creating a targeted list of contacts, scheduling meetings in advance, and leveraging networking opportunities efficiently. Ensure your time, money, and efforts contribute to building valuable business relationships and obtaining actionable insights.
The Logistics & Leadership Podcast, powered by Veritas Logistics, redefines logistics and personal growth. Hosted by industry veterans and supply chain leaders Brian Hastings and Justin Maines, it shares their journey from humble beginnings to a $50 million company. Discover invaluable lessons in logistics, mental toughness, and embracing the entrepreneurial spirit. The show delves into personal and professional development, routine, and the power of betting on oneself. From inspiring stories to practical insights, this podcast is a must for aspiring entrepreneurs, logistics professionals, and anyone seeking to push limits and achieve success.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Maximizing Conference ROI
(00:21) - Choosing the Right Conferences
(00:34) - Setting Clear Goals
(01:05) - Effective Networking Strategies
(01:23) - Pre-Conference Preparation
(03:02) - Professionalism and Etiquette
(03:39) - Building Long-Term Relationships
(04:06) - Best Practices for Conference Attendees
(05:49) - Making the Most of Unfamiliar Events
(06:42) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Transcript
You're spending thousands of dollars and your time, time away from family, time away from business to go to a conference.
Speaker A:How do you make the biggest return on your investment, the biggest return on time at these types of things?
Speaker B:There's a lot of conferences in the industry.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I don't see any need to go to every single one.
Speaker B:But that's your thing.
Speaker B:Identify the conferences that are in your wheelhouse, which ones are, you know, if you're looking to network or land new business or source new vendors, whatever it may be, like what's your goal?
Speaker B:And then which conferences are going to give you the biggest return, like you mentioned, for that goal.
Speaker A:I see so many folks in our industry that go to these conferences and it seems like it's, uh, it's just they're going there for a party.
Speaker A:For instance, we're going to a conference coming up here in a, in a few weeks.
Speaker A:How do you make the best use of your time?
Speaker A:What, what, what are some strategies there, man?
Speaker B:Yeah, we're, we're going, it's a, it's a very big industry conference and there's a, going to be a lot of shippers or people that we work with down there.
Speaker A:Potential, like what?
Speaker A:Prospects or something.
Speaker B:Prospects.
Speaker B:Clients, you know, we are meeting a few clients down there, but, you know, which is great because you're getting that face to face time, you're building the relationship, you know, that's always good stuff.
Speaker B:But if you're also trying to identify potential prospects or opportunities that you want to start relationships with, you know, you need to do a little bit of work prior to going down there.
Speaker B:So you're not just, you know, blindsiding people, especially at a conference where there's a lot of competition and it's been a bit of a feeding frenzy down there.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think you said it, man.
Speaker A:Having like a targeted strategic list of people that you've had conversations with or people that you want to have conversations with and you know, making sure that you get in touch with them via LinkedIn or, you know, if you're, if you have a tool like Apollo or Seamless to make sure that you're emailing them prior to it to set up a potential meeting.
Speaker A:One, one cool thing that we, we go to this produce conference in October every year.
Speaker A:But one cool thing I think they do is they have these like remote meeting rooms, right.
Speaker A:And they're like right outside the conference.
Speaker A:So you can like book them, you know, for 30 minutes or an hour and say, hey, you want to speed dating I mean, yeah, you could.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Kind of like that, right?
Speaker B:Professional speed dating.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:So you can get, like.
Speaker A:And it's like.
Speaker A:I forget they're like.
Speaker A:They call them like pods or like business pod.
Speaker A:And you can, like, get in there.
Speaker A:It's like all, you know, glass or whatever.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:I think it's cool to, you know, if you want to have a private conversation and talk about potential business.
Speaker A:But I think you nailed it, like the targeted, strategic list of people on who you want to do business with or who you like, instead of just going down there and randomly talking to people.
Speaker A:And, you know, first of all, you're spending thousands of dollars to do it and making sure that you're.
Speaker A:You're making the best use of your time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And professionalism is very important.
Speaker A:100% accomplishes.
Speaker B:They're getting hit from every angle.
Speaker B:Especially, like, if you're a shipper and there's a bunch of brokers attending.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They're gonna be coming after you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So give them some space.
Speaker B:They don't want to entertain in small talk left and right.
Speaker B:Give them some space.
Speaker B:If you want to slip in the car and introduce yourself, I think that's perfectly fine.
Speaker B:If they're engaged and they want to have a conversation, great.
Speaker B:But let's not go in for the kill.
Speaker B:At these types of conferences, they're networking events.
Speaker B:They're to put names of faces, learn a little bit more about what's going on, the industry, so on and so forth.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think you nailed it right there.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, people going in for the kill, you know, on day one.
Speaker A:I think it's more about the networking piece, establishing that relationship and trying to build that relationship over time, which is a huge piece of the sales process that I think a lot of people forget about.
Speaker A:You want to start building that relationship over the next two, three months where it actually has some legs and we're actually going to be a carrier for them in the long run.
Speaker B:So if you're a broker or shipper or whoever, really, in the industry and you're attending a conference, what are just, you know, one or two things you recommend in terms of best practices that individuals can do?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it's, you know, we've talked about a couple times having that list.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Having that list of people that you want to connect with.
Speaker A:I think it's, you know, being able to, you know, navigate where you're going.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Or, okay, I want to spend this time at this area.
Speaker A:I think that, you know, a lot of times they do have speakers or breakout sessions.
Speaker A:Okay, I'm going to this event.
Speaker A:What do I want to learn from that?
Speaker A:How do I bring this stuff?
Speaker A:And for us, like, how do we bring this information back to our team and empower our team with that new information or that new training?
Speaker A:Oh, did you hear that they're doing this type of, you know, frozen food technology at these types of shippers.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I think all of that is extremely beneficial, especially, you know, attending these types of events.
Speaker A:So we've talked about a couple different ways, the targeted lists of who you want to connect with.
Speaker A:What are some other ways that you can, you know, make.
Speaker A:Make the best use of your time at these industry events?
Speaker B:I think, I think the main thing is just planting those seeds early on, you know, being proactive about your, you know, with your communication.
Speaker B:You know, if you do have a targeted list of people that you'd like to connect with, go ahead and reach out to them, whether it's LinkedIn or email or, you know, shoot them a text if you've talked with them before.
Speaker B:But hey, we'd love to just get a few minutes to connect with you down there.
Speaker B:You know, obviously find out if they're going.
Speaker B:But yeah, if they are, just let them know that you'd love to connect for a couple minutes.
Speaker B:Nothing big, crazy, major commitments, just, you know, networking.
Speaker A:Yeah, love it.
Speaker A:So if I'm, you know, I'm a VP of sales and I, you know, the CEO CFO wants me to go out to an industry event, Right.
Speaker A:And it's not really my target or target audience, you know, and I've already bought the ticket.
Speaker A:We're already, you know, we've already, you know, it's a sunk cost at this point.
Speaker A:You know, you're kind of lukewarm on going, what's your take there?
Speaker A:Like, what do you focus on?
Speaker A:On something that's not really in your, you know, direct line of fire.
Speaker B:I would reach out to my team, you know, see who is actually going to be attending this outside my organization.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, see if there's any connections internally with the attendees that are going to this conference.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:But be present, you know, make the most of it.
Speaker B:If you're going down there and you're moping, you're already chalking it up as a loss.
Speaker B:It's not going to benefit anyone.
Speaker A:Attitude, man.
Speaker B:You don't always know which rooms you're going to be with, be in and which people you're going to be with.
Speaker B:So make the most of it, Network.
Speaker B:See if you can find any connections, whether it's between your companies or outside your company, whatever it may be.
Speaker B:But make the absolute best of it, because who's it going to hurt if we're not a good fit for them and they're just kind of sold or in the moment and they just, you know, let's just say they liked you, you're interviewing, they connected with you, sure.
Speaker B:But the actual company and culture is not the best fit.
Speaker B:It doesn't work.
Speaker B:It has to be.
Speaker B:Go both ways.
Speaker B:We have to be a good fit for each other, otherwise it's not going to last.
