8 Easy Conference Tips to Hone Your Productivity and Increase Value

As an ad sales executive, conferences are a valuable way to meet prospects. Whether attending a training event, participating as a vendor or sponsor, or if your company is hosting the event, there are always opportunities to meet new advertisers or enhance existing relationships.

With so much potential for a high ROI, it makes sense to spend your time as strategically as possible. Here are eight tips for making your next conference your most advantageous one yet:

1. Design Your Mission

Look up the attendees and determine if you have any known prospects or clients attending. Reach out to your current prospect list and ask if they are attending the event. If so, let them know you will be there, schedule time to catch up, and determine if your new offerings are a fit for their changing business.

Use the attendee roster as a prospect list to figure out which other attendees make sense for your business. Be on the lookout for them during the event. If it is a big event, print out a target list that includes photos to review in advance. This helps you find your prospects in the crowd.

2. More Peanuts, Please

Networking can start before you even arrive. You may run into fellow conference attendees en route to the event location, whether at the airport, on the flight, or train. People traveling to the same venue often have overlapping itineraries.

Consider requesting the middle seat on the plane. This gives you twice the odds of a productive connection than if you sit on the aisle or by the window.

3. Let’s Lunch

Once at the event, never eat only with coworkers or alone. Don’t use breaks to catch up on emails or have a team update—this is prime networking time! Always eat with people you don’t know in an open-seating venue. Sit where you can converse with more than one person.

4. Be Social

Attend the pre- and post-function gatherings, cocktail receptions—everything. These planned networking events are great places to make connections. Conversing in a more casual and relaxed setting often leads to more sincere connections. Most people at the event want to meet new people, so take the opportunity to unwind and reflect on key takeaways with new faces.

5. Be Prepared

Never, ever run out of business cards. Bring plenty and keep a stack in every piece of luggage you own. Don’t give yourself a chance to forget them!

6. Deliver the Hook

Have a very short, compelling statement about how you can help your prospects solve their problems. While this is an “elevator pitch,” focus on how you can help, not just what you do. Create a few versions and use small talk to determine which one to use to capture their attention.

7. Be an Early Bird

Go to breakout sessions 15 minutes early. You’ll be the only one in the room with the speaker, which can be a great way to network one-on-one with industry leaders, consultants, and people you might not otherwise meet.

8. Be a Connector

If you know someone that a fellow attendee is trying to meet, provide an email introduction after the conference. This positions you as a valuable resource within your industry. The people you introduce will be more likely to return the favor and make introductions on your behalf to potential prospects.

Most importantly, ask: “How can I help you?” This approach immediately conveys that it’s not about you, but about making professional connections. If you ask how you can help someone you’ve just met, you build rapport. Most often, their natural response is to return the favor and ask, “How can I help you?”

Attend your next conference with the list of event attendees, your prospect wish list, and business cards in hand. From the time you set foot on the plane to leaving the convention center or hotel, always be networking. Make a lasting impression on new connections and nurture existing relationships to surpass your sales goals.