Ep 78: Networking at Conferences (ft. Cassandra Thompson)

Today we are talking all about networking at conferences! Whether you are attending events, speaking at them or hosting them yourself, you are investing a lot of time to be there. Whether it's time, money or days out of the office, you want to make sure that you are making the most of your investment. That means maximizing your relationships and taking the time to network with others so that you can build relationships that can move your business forward for years to come. This is not my strong suite as im a bit of an introvert so I brought my friend Cassandra Thompson back for another episode to tell us how we can make the most of events by networking at them.

If you loved this episode and it motivated you to add speaking to your business, please take the time to leave me some positive feedback on iTunes. I'd also love to hear about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories and tag us @thecreativespeakerpodcast.

Episode takeaways you don't want to miss:

• The connections that you make at a conference arguably will pay more dividends than the content that you're delivering
• While being strategic about who you want to meet is smart, you also have to be open to speaking to anyone you might meet at a conference. You never know what the relationship you forge might bring to your business
• • They might not end up being your client, but what if they give you tons of referrals?
• If the event has a facebook group or social media page, use it to meet others who might be attending alone (like you maybe). You never know who will go out of there way to meet you
• • Maybe ask, is there anyone attending from your state?
  • Are there any other introverts attending this event?
  • Set up a brunch that will force you to introduce yourself to everyone
• When you're meeting people at a conference, focus on the quality of the connections you're making, not the quantity
• If you make a connection at an event, make sure to connect with them on their social platforms and follow up with them and do it immediately. Don't want too long. You have to keep the connections alive and on-going
• Make sure you're using the event hashtags when talking about it on social media
• • If you enjoyed a particular speaker or message, tweet or share about that person and tag them when you do
• When you share other people, you are also building your brand authority and credibility by being the gateway to others who weren't able to make the conference themselves
• Make sure your LinkedIn profile set up and up to par before you go to an event as a great way to connect with others
• Before you go to the event, have a plan and have a goal for how many people you want to connect with, what you want to accomplish, what kind of people do you want to help? What are you hoping to find help about?
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For full show notes and links, visit: http://www.thepublicspeakingstrategist.com/shownotes/078