A beginner's guide for business events Part 1 - Conferences / Trade shows

If you are sent by your company to an event, take it always as a compliment. And don’t worry if you don’t have yet the confidence to navigate these events. This comes with experience. What is in your control though, is your adequate outfit, your manners, your soft skills. Everything else will be learned on the go but hey, it’s still good that you’re reading this article.

International Telecoms Week - All Rights reserved

A conference is a structured professional gathering where people from an industry (or intersecting industries) come together to share knowledge or innovations, network with peers and potential partners, showcase products/services and discuss trends or strategies shaping their field. They can be industry-wide (like ITW - International Telecom week) or niche/specialized (like a supply chain tech forum or a leadership summit. 

If your company sends you to a conference, your mission should be to represent your company in the best way possible. You will probably not get back with fully committed business but the way you present yourself can influence business outcomes for your company and yourself. That’s the whole point: to make an appearance, a memorable impression and some quality contacts.

Companies out there invest in such events as part of their marketing efforts, with no guarantee of a good, measurable outcome. And so it is entirely up to their people to have an impact, especially in an industry environment where potentially all competitors and challengers are attending. This means that If your company sends you to such events or you volunteer, you have to transform that into value. And the way to do it is by respecting the goal and prepare.

If you are not too familiar with these events but are excited of the prospect of going out there for your company, a few guidelines should help you make the best of it.

Don’t forget your mission. This is not a team building. You will be accountable for the results you bring because your participation will cost.

Do your homework. One cannot just walk in with a box of business cards, handing them out and hoping for business to happen. You need to know what you are after, avoid spending time in your comfortable groups with colleagues or just with people you know, be open to meeting new people, different cultures and getting out of your personal comfort zone.

Find out everything you need to know about the schedule, about the guests, about the dress code, about the events within the event, about other companies that are attending. Which people do you want to meet, specifically? Which companies do you want to approach – specifically? Have given any interviews lately? Did these companies go through some big milestones recently? How do you find them? How much time do you allocate to the scheduled meetings and the breaks between meetings? How much time do you reserve for a lunch in the middle of an event? Who is in charge of the booth? (if applicable, when a company participates with several employees). What is your simplest, clearest answer when someone asks what you do or what your company does? What outfits do you pack if is a multi-day event? How will you have access to mobile data traffic if you go to a foreign country? What reservations do you need to make and where? 

Meetings and interactions are brief You only have a series of very short chances to make a good first impression. What you wear and how warm, knowledgeable and confident you are will matter most and not how fast you can present your products. 

How your booth looks like matters. You may not be responsible with any of the materials or furniture or plants on display, but keep your space tidy, stand to greet people, have some phone chargers, make sure everything is plugged in and working before the event starts. It looks amateurish to see an error 404 on a booth screen, empty coffee cups all over the table or coats and bags crowded and falling all over the few available chairs. Storage is lacking usually, but there are elegant ways of dealing with these matters.

Discomfort is the rule. Be prepared to be taken out of a healthy routine when it comes to sleeping, eating and hydrating. Comfortable, occasion appropriate shoes (and clothing) are essential - you might be standing and moving a lot. 

This is not the right time to break new shoes nor the appropriate context for showing off new extravagant outfits that you were dying to get out in the world. Coffee will happen more than once during the event and alcohol and even dancing are common at after-hour events. Don’t forget to take care of yourself.

Pro-tip: Avoid eating. Yes, avoid eating. Of course, you should still fuel yourself but do so at strategic times and places. You may spend time in the lines that form at the usual buffet but you shouldn't actually have a full meal, having served yourself from every single shared dish. Have a bite, especially if in the company of other people that are eating  (no onions, no garlic, no fish, no sausages, please! ) but remember - you are not there for the food. 

And if you nibble at a buffet repeatedly, use a clean plate each time you go in line. It doesn’t look good to walk around with mountains of food on your plate and equally, to walk around with empty dirty plates. You are not really making a difference for any cleaning staff if you reuse your plate. Instead, if you do want to merge business and food, as they do often go well together, better invite a client to a lunch or dinner and treat them well. Eat in peace and if appropriate, you might even have a glass of wine.

Everyone has an agenda. Respect it and don’t try to impose yours. Some attendees are there to sell something, potentially like yourself. Some of them are curious about new products and services that could help them and some of them are there with no other purpose than making an appearance because they can. A few are there to hire people. Google employees might appear at random events not necessarily with the hope for bringing more business home but just because they can. 

Adding value. Stick by your principles and give everyone the same chance to have the best interaction with you. However - allow yourself to learn from each attendance - making quick assessments about the people you meet will craft some better business outcomes for you. 

As pragmatic as it sounds, the people you will meet at a conference will be either good (potential clients or partners, allies of some sorts), bad (competition) or don’t care (none of the previous). Your time and energy reserves are not infinite so you have to dedicate them more and better to the good ones. 

That doesn’t mean being off putting and abrupt the moment you discover a competitor at your booth. They are in within their rights to visit and so are you. In fact - you should always leave a door open to anyone and - even better - be especially nice with the people that are your “enemies”. It is a fantastic way to represent your employer and yourself,  by showing to your direct competitors what makes your current company great. 

The elevator pitch is not for elevators Have a short pitch prepared but don’t bore people with it unless they really ask. And never use it in an elevator just because that CEO that you were dying to meet with is trapped inside with you. 

When everyone else talks about their companies and their products and their features, you will stand out by making your booth guests feel good, having a laugh, gaining some valuable industry insights and knowledge. The best way to do that is by positioning yourself as an industry consultant and less as a seller (if you are there you are a seller even if your job title has nothing to do with sales). 

Besides - anyone that you meet will probably have a multitude of similar interactions throughout the event. Do you really think they will remember a particular feature you showed them on a brief demonstration? No. They will, however, remember the really smart person that opened their eyes on something valuable for themselves or for their own companies.

Appointments rule. if you have official meetings scheduled during a conference, they take precedence above anything else because it means that someone that you could do business with has accepted to meet you, hear you and talk proper business. Such meetings are usually managed in a team if you are not attending a conference by yourself, so that your company’s booth is not left unattended. Unfortunately, these meetings are usually brief and if they happen on the conference floor, they could be impacted by noise or other distractions. 

If you want to craft the best outcome, avoid meetings marathons and instead, invite for lunch or dinner - outside of the conference space - two, three quality contacts. Be generous with your time and attention to them. When they expect a quick meet in a hotel lobby, bring them coffee and chocolate or something healthy that’s an energy booster. When they tell you that they only have time to meet you over a sad sandwich from a fast-food outside of the conference space, meet them with freshly baked pastries that you ordered upfront. You get the idea..

Fresh impressions. After the event, make an effort to put together a report. Some companies might even require it but your input could be helpful for so many other departments. This will usually include reporting on the contacts and potential business that could materialize thanks to the attendance but equally, give your feedback about the competition’s attendance, about what you liked or inspired you, creative ideas that could be implemented internally as well, etc. Structure this report and send it to whomever you think could benefit from it or save it in a shared file even if you have not officially been asked to do so. This is incredibly valuable.

And do your expenses as soon as possible.

Pro-tips

Your first interaction at a business event will most likely be at the Registration Desk, to get your lanyard or name tag, which you will stick on your right side (when you shake hands, it’s easier for people to catch your name because the eyes naturally wonder in that direction). Yes, you need to wear it all times, even if it ruins your outfit. 

The people working at the Registration Desk will have the same interaction over and over again so the best thing you can do is make their job easy: be polite and quick. Do not linger, do not hold on the line. This is not your safe space where you can just come and sit and talk whenever you feel overwhelmed with what is happening at the event (especially if you are on your own).

If you’re mingling between attendees and stopping at other booths - don’t take giveaways without engaging first. It is basic courtesy.

Join the smokers outside (yes, you might have to withstand the smoke), attempt to join a cluster of three-four people (two usually means a more focused conversation) with a simple inquiry, such as “it’s my first event, would you mind telling me .. or helping me with or just keeping company for a few minutes”. Sometimes it can feel embarrassing if the chemistry is not right but some other times it could be the best thing you did to unlock new relationships. Visit other booths, participate in lucky draws, share your contacts with others who definitely want to sell you something. It still gives you learning material and it might reduce your anxiety when you see how others are doing. 

If you are on booth duty, make people feel welcome, even if they visit only to get your company’s socks. The goal should be for every visitor to feel like this is their safe spot, their “port” amid the chaos of an event. And the way to do that is by allowing them to unwind in your space. Don’t try to approach immediately, avoid pitching, selling, asking loaded questions, as if you would be assessing their potential as a client. Just let them be and just act in an empathetic way. You are all humans there, not quotas.

And in the evenings - go to the parties and the after-parties, if any. As tired as you may be, if you hear of any gathering, whether official, planned by the event organisers or unofficial, as in - “a bunch of people from the event” - join them. It’s tempting to get in your bed early and you are absolutely entitled to your private time even when traveling for a business event but these social gatherings (and often drinking) is where most relationships truly shape. Besides - there’s a nice sense of complicity the next day.