Let’s be honest – the number of healthcare conferences that you would like to be an exhibitor at always exceeds the available budget. That’s just a universal marketing rule. Sometimes the best you can do is be an attendee, but that doesn’t mean you should settle for just a handful of business cards gathered from the opening reception or the few sessions that your team attended. Here are 6 ways to super-charge your lead generation at conferences as an attendee.
Be a Hobbit – 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 2 Dinners
In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the protagonists are Hobbits – a race of halflings who eat frequently. Their normal day includes Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses (early lunch), Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, and Supper. If you want to maximize the number of leads from a conference, you’ll adopt this Hobbit meal plan.
Use the conference app to arrange an early breakfast with someone in your pipeline. Then do the same thing later in the morning with another prospect, or go to the networking breakfast being served by the conference and be sure to sit a table full of people you don’t know.
Repeat for lunch and dinner.
By doing this, you’ll double the number of meals and increase the total number of meaningful conversations you have at the conference. Just remember to eat and drink in moderation.
Stand in Line
This tip sounds bizarre, but I’ve met some of the most interesting people while standing in line for coffee (and I don’t even drink coffee!). Even though we all have our phones to occupy ourselves, standing in line is still very boring. Use the opportunity to strike up a conversation with the people around you. Don’t sell, just talk.
When I was in sales, I would seek out the longest lines and go stand in them. Seriously. The lunch line, the coffee line, the taxi line (back before there were Ubers), the book signing line, etc. Being in line with someone is a shared experience and it makes for a great reminder in your post-conference follow up email.
Hang out in High Traffic Areas
At every conference there are spots where people congregate. Sometimes it’s the lobby of the hotel. Other times it is the charging stations/workstations. Take the time to scout the areas of the conference to identify where these hotspots are…then make sure you are there as often as possible. Smile, be friendly, and strike up polite conversations.
Pro-tip: Bring a power bar that has USB outlets. Once people see you have one, they’ll ask if they can use it and that’s the perfect on-ramp for a conversation.
Party-Hop
Even with an attendee badge, it can be hard to get an invite to conference after-parties. Your best bet is to lean on your company’s partners or would-be-partners. If that well runs dry, then look on social media. Many exhibitors and sponsors will post their after-hours events.
My recommendation is to go to at least 2 parties each night. Please note this is not encouragement to drink heavily, in fact, the less you drink the better.
Ask to be a Wing-Woman/Man
If you are going to a conference for the very first time, I would highly recommend becoming the wingman or wingwoman of someone who is a conference regular or who is well-known by attendees. This has been by far, the best way to meet new people.
When I first started going to HIMSS, I didn’t know anyone, but by chance I met up with a former colleague. On Day 2 of my first HIMSS we walked the show floor together and I met at least 10 of his clients…two of which eventually became clients of the company I was at.
Use the attendee list in the conference app as soon as it is available and find someone. Just ask them to help orient you to the event and to the people. You’d be surprised at how many will say yes.
Comment on Conference Summaries
Just because the conference is over doesn’t mean you have to stop making connections. Look on social media for all the event summaries that are posted, there are usually quite a few. Add meaningful comments to those summaries. With your first-hand knowledge of the event, you should be able to add a tidbit or two about what you find interesting.
LinkedIn has become a popular place for people to post about their conference experiences.
Not an Exhibitor, No Problem!
If you want to truly maximize your lead generation at a conference that you are not exhibiting at, then you need to look beyond just the networking events and attending sessions. Use these 6 tips and boost your conference ROI and ROO.
In fact, use these 6 tips even if you are an exhibitor to increase your overall lead generation.
What conference lead generation tips do you have to share?
Interested in standing out at an upcoming conference? Healthcare IT Today has a number of unique promotional options to help you make a splash and extend the value of being at a conference well beyond the event itself. Email info@healthcareittoday.com to find out more.
Excellent post and thank you for the tips Colin.
Going out on a limb here….after attending a half dozen conferences this year and making an effort to visit a lot of different vendors for some field research to ask them: “Why are you here?” and “What are you truly getting from this conference?” I heard an awful lot of the same thing – we really don’t get a lot of leads, we’re just here because our competition is. Personally, between you and I, this doesn’t seem like a reason to spend thousands of dollars on an event that does little to no business development.
Talk to me about climbing down this tree Colin. I predict in 10 – 15 years trade shows as we know it – with all of their pomp and what I see as ridiculously wasteful spending (the amount of energy and resources it takes to make ONE stress ball, don’t get me started) will no longer exist as we know it. The amount of money these companies spend to schmooze is breathtaking and I look around and think – what even a small portion of that money could do for philanthropic purposes).