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Five Tips for Maximizing In-Person Events + Retreat Schedule Announced!

- February 4, 2015 | by April -

I get giddy with excitement before a big event. Even though I’m an introvert at heart, I enjoy pushing myself out of my elastic waist pants comfort zone at least once or twice a year for a conference or retreat.

When I attend an event in person, either as a speaker or attendee, I always come away inspired and electrified. The feeling, a bubbly excitement, can’t be replicated by anything else. It takes meeting new people, learning in person and experiencing epiphanies with other creatives.

As I pick out my outfits, including giant polka dotted skirts and comfy sweaters, prepare my talk on creating your own success, and chat with the other women hosting the event about the food, surprises and details for The Movers and Makers Summit, I can’t help but count down the days.

There’s still time to join us but there aren’t many spots left so if you’re interested, I’m elated to share the official Movers and Makers Summit retreat schedule which has just been announced.

mams-schedule-large

Whether you’re joining us for The Movers and Makers Summit or attending another event this year, I’m going to share the five biggest tips I’ve learned while attending my fair share of conferences.

In person events are amazing for finding like-minded entrepreneurs and establishing solid connections with them. This is where you can meet an accountability partner, a group who forms a mastermind, or even a business partner.

Or maybe you find that person who you mesh with so well that you become true friends who chat about business and life each week. You could meet your Mayi. You never really know.

When you invest in a retreat or conference, you want to make the most out of it.

1. Connect before you arrive.

Don’t wait until the day of the event to start developing connections. Reach out to others attending on social media or via email. And, if you can tell that you like someone, ask if they want to have lunch with you one of the days, if they want to grab a cocktail in the evening or want to meet for coffee before it begins.

If you’re introverted, this can help to reduce some anxiety before arriving at a conference or retreat.

For The Movers and Makers Summit, Lisa created a Facebook group so that the hosts and attendees can start to learn about each other’s businesses and chat well before the start of the event. It’s been really fun getting to know the women joining us in Charleston.

2. Quality over quantity!

Don’t worry about meeting everyone in the room at a conference of 100 women. Don’t freak out about the amount of business cards you trade. And, don’t push your products on people.

Instead, get to know the people you really click with so that you leave with quality connections.

When you just trade business card after business card, you often don’t follow up with those people. You probably won’t even remember what you talked about for the two minutes you chatted three weeks later.

When I attended Marie Forleo’s conference, I spent a lot of time with Mayi. We ate lunch together each day, we talked during some of the breaks and our relationship grew so much because of it. I met some other women who I still keep in touch with but that was because I wasn’t trying to meet every single woman in that room.

3. Make the most out of your time.

If there’s an option to come thirty minutes early to mingle and drink tea or coffee, do it. If there is a meet and greet the evening before, attend it. During the breaks, take care of business and then connect with attendees and speakers.

Take notes and stay 100% present during the presentations. Put your cell phone on silent (cause that’s good manners) and stay off of it (so you don’t get distracted).

Move during the breaks so that you can focus during the talks. Ask another attendee to walk around the block with you. Stand up and stretch a bit. Go into the bathroom and have a one-minute dance party. Do what you need to do to stay comfortable and attentive.

4. Follow up within a week.

You know those really great, meaningful relationships that you worked so hard to build during the conference or retreat? Don’t drop them. Use the person’s business card to find her website and follow her on social media.

Send her an email saying how you enjoyed meeting her. Follow up with something she said or brought up while you were chatting. Maybe she mentioned a fun restaurant that you tried out before you left? Thank her for the suggestion. Maybe she talked about how she was struggling with social media? Send her a link to a blog post that you found helpful for dealing with social media overwhelm.

Show her that you were listening and your relationship will grow. Then, suggest that you catch up on Skype next week. You can both share things you did after returning from the conference and give each other feedback.

5. Act right away.

One of the biggest mistakes I see entrepreneurs making after they attend a retreat, conference or course in person is that they wait and wait and wait to start acting on what they learned. They make excuses for why they’re not ready or why they can’t possibly start for at least two months.

When you get home from an in-person event you should be inspired and energized. Use that inspiration to make big changes to your business in a short amount of time. Then, you’ll have developed some amazing relationships and possibly paid for your trip through the growth in your business.

I hope this helps you have more success when you attend an event. Have a tip that I didn’t mention? Leave it in the comments below. 

And, if you want to join us for The Movers and Makers Summit coming up at the end of February, you can get more details and reserve your spot right here. There are only a few left!

13 Comments · Filed Under: Creative Business Development

Comments

  1. Sage Grayson says

    February 4, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    I love in-person retreats–maybe a little too much! 🙂 Making the best use of my time by arriving to sessions early and taking action right away are the 2 tips I do the best. I’m an early bird anyway, so schmoozing before the presentations begin has always been natural for me.

    When I’m taking notes during a retreat, I draw a star next to the actions I need to take within the next week, and then of those I circle the “2-minute tasks” or actions that will take just a moment to complete such as sending an email.

    Reply
  2. Verónica says

    February 5, 2015 at 3:24 am

    Valuable and beautifully written post as always, no matter the exact topic… How do you do it? : ) Wishing you an enormous success with the Summit!

    Reply
  3. Lucy says

    February 5, 2015 at 4:19 am

    Great tips, April! I’ve never been very good at schmoozing because I doubt the sincerity of the intentions of the people I’m schmoozing with. I’d really love to attend an in-person event in the UK sometime this year and make connections with online peeps in my own little corner of the world. They might ‘get-it’ in a way that people in my day-to-day don’t!

    Reply
  4. Dana Thompson says

    February 5, 2015 at 10:21 am

    I have attended a few conferences in the past and they have been so inspirational! You leave with great ideas and feel so energized. I’m attending the Great Atlanta Write In this month and can’t wait to find out who I might connect with there. I’ll be using the tips in this post to get the most out of it. Thanks April!

    Reply
  5. Jennifer Kennedy says

    February 5, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    These are such great tips, April! I’m definitely trying to improve my networking skills. And, these tips are spot on.

    I’ve been making it a point to attend in-person networking events more often — getting out there frequently helps build confidence.

    I’m SO excited that you’re headed to the Charleston area!! (My parents live there.) And, the Isle of Palms is beautiful! Have fun!

    Reply
  6. Betsy says

    February 5, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    Great tips and will definitely be put to good use. I can’t wait to meet you in person in Charleston!

    Reply
  7. Jennifer Scerri says

    February 12, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    Thanks for the great call yesterday, April. I loved meeting you and my other online buddies at CreativeLive. It made the connections so much more real. You can chat online all day, but nothing builds a bond as well as face-to-face time. Great tips! xoxo, Jen

    Reply
  8. Mallory says

    February 16, 2015 at 4:46 pm

    Wish I could join you there! I’ll be heading to a conference in Austin, TX a few weeks after though, Texas Style Council. I attended the last one in 2013, but this is the last year for the event, and they’re hosting it at a Girl Scout camp! I think it will be a great way to connect and build lasting relationships with some badass ladies.

    I’m trying to up my conference and event game this year and hoping to attend a few more before 2015 is over!

    Reply
  9. Fitness says

    February 19, 2015 at 8:03 pm

    In my experience, folks who show up with authenticity and integrity, using words of expansiveness, inclusiveness, and acceptance with their audience tend to have more staying power and build legacy businesses (what I call a Noble Empire), while “cut-throat” companies tend to hit a peak then decline – like most fads do – because they haven’t learned how to hold space for their community in whatever way it appears.

    Reply
  10. james says

    May 29, 2016 at 2:40 am

    Thanks to giving all of you that’s give you how start an event and How to end my event .Our flavorrun 5k is now going to bigger & bigger event all over the world

    Reply
  11. Doug Pierce says

    June 27, 2016 at 3:15 am

    I would say, people who appear with genuineness and respectability, utilizing expressions of extensiveness, comprehensiveness, and acknowledgment with their group of onlookers have a tendency to have all the more backbone and construct legacy organizations (what I call a Noble Empire), while “relentless” organizations tend to hit a crest then decay – like most crazes do – on the grounds that they haven’t figured out how to hold space for their group in the way it shows up.

    Reply
  12. Britanny says

    June 27, 2016 at 3:34 am

    I have gone to a couple of meetings in the past and they have been so moving! You leave with incredible thoughts and feel so invigorated.

    Reply

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