What to do immediately after a trip to a business conference? ISPsystem Buzz Tips
You can prepare for the conference like a slave and beat productivity records at the event itself, but if you don’t get this “monster” to work properly after, consider that you have lost the battle. All achievements can be easily drained into the sewer, if you relax after the conference.
Previously, we often stayed in the country where the conference was held for a week or two at our own expense. You must admit that it is a sin to miss the opportunity to walk around San Francisco for a few days! But over time, they stopped doing this: they arrived, they negotiated, and a day or two they went back. Because after the conference, a lot of work appears, which is difficult to do in conditions of “half-release”, but not to do it - it is impossible. It happens, of course, bizdev remains, but for a couple of days and only after a blood oath that will be in touch.
Note . This is the third and final part of the cycle in which we share the experience of our business trips. In the other two I talked about the preparation and work at the conference .
Today we will discuss:
Upon returning from the first trips, we did not know what to undertake: to whom and what to write, when to get in touch, what to do with business cards. It took precious time to think. But now we have answers to the main questions of "life, the universe and all that." Here is what you need to do first:
This is what we usually talk about:
5. Make a report for the company. Not only bizdaws go to our conferences. Developers, designers, marketers and other professionals regularly attend industry events. Therefore, we made it a rule to talk about each trip to everyone in the company: for what purpose did you go and whether it was reached, what people met, what information they gathered, etc. Anyone can come to this report. With this we increase employee involvement in the company's affairs, general awareness and openness.
Steps can be more. It depends on the format of the conference and your approach. We periodically change approaches and try new things, especially in writing letters after conferences. We will talk about them in more detail.
Consider when and what kind of letters should be sent after the conference. With experience, we have come to a simple formula:
In the evening on the same day, when the meeting with a potential client or partner interesting to us was held, we will definitely send him a brief message with thanks. We use an instant messenger, SMS or Facebook - in general, something more personal and close than the mail.
The text of the message can be approximately as follows:
“Hey Kevin, this is Paul from cold Siberia, communicated today on virtualization. I was glad to see you, thanks again for your time. As agreed, I will gather all the information on our panel and call you for a demonstration next week. Prior to connection, and a great weekend! " .
You should not paint and throw in the details - there will be a separate letter for this in a few days. But if at the meeting you took a photo together, send it too.
Having written on the day of the conference, you kill several birds with one stone: once again remind the person of yourself, summarize the agreements, open the channel of communication in advance, and generally create a positive attitude. Few people use this approach, so you will definitely stand out from the majority.
The second letter is critical to write in the first week after the return. If you write later, you may not be remembered.
We are preparing a personal letter upon return. We use email, not messengers. The letter must be:
Talked about something else? Remember to mention this in the letter. Promised something? Be sure to complete and write. Do not have time to perform because of tramp? Apologize, postpone the answer, but do not forget.
You wrote, you were answered, you conducted a series of negotiations and came to a deal. The script is good, but in life it is rare. Problems can arise at any time.
From this you can not insure. In this case, we wait a few days and write a second letter. This is not an exact copy of the first, but its shipment with additional notes in the style “Good afternoon. I wrote to you on Monday, but received no answer. Surely you are busy now. Tell me when it will be convenient for you to discuss our topic? " Responds at least half. We do not write to the unanswered half in a week, but this time in Facebook, SMS or instant messenger. Again, no pressure or demands to answer, just a polite reminder question.
Not answered after the third letter? We wait a few more days and call. This is the last measure. If it does not work, put the company on a waiting list, put a reminder and try to contact in a month or two. If a person does not answer during this time, you are unlikely to be interested in him at all. But see for yourself: if the game is worth the trouble, do not give up.
Perhaps suddenly lost interest. Perhaps it has come down. Perhaps there are reasons of a personal nature or a person went on vacation. Do not despair, write and call again.
The person you spoke to at the conference may suddenly change their place of work or department. In this case, ask to introduce you. A person may have a lot of business in a new place, he may not be up to you, but everyone generally agrees to give contacts or submit. Next, be sure to get in touch with the new contact, enter it in the course of the matter and tell us where the negotiations stopped.
Well that's all. I hope that the advice given in the three articles will help you to participate effectively in future conferences. Not everything and not always goes according to plan, you may have a completely different experience. If so, share them and tell them which life hacks you have known.
Previously, we often stayed in the country where the conference was held for a week or two at our own expense. You must admit that it is a sin to miss the opportunity to walk around San Francisco for a few days! But over time, they stopped doing this: they arrived, they negotiated, and a day or two they went back. Because after the conference, a lot of work appears, which is difficult to do in conditions of “half-release”, but not to do it - it is impossible. It happens, of course, bizdev remains, but for a couple of days and only after a blood oath that will be in touch.
Note . This is the third and final part of the cycle in which we share the experience of our business trips. In the other two I talked about the preparation and work at the conference .
Today we will discuss:
- what to do first, returning to the office;
- how to transfer communication online after personal meetings;
- and, in general, how not to lose everything that was so hard to achieve in previous weeks.
What to do after the conference
Upon returning from the first trips, we did not know what to undertake: to whom and what to write, when to get in touch, what to do with business cards. It took precious time to think. But now we have answers to the main questions of "life, the universe and all that." Here is what you need to do first:
- Process business cards. Put aside the business cards of companies that are interested in working with you more than you do with them. Their contacts are unlikely to be useful to you. Those that remain, distribute into two parts: the important and not. The main work will go with them.
- Write letters. I advise you not to send the same letters to all those who managed to meet. It is impolite and useless. To those with whom you spoke on the case, but without prospects, write a short letter. Even if this is a simple "Thank you for the meeting, it was nice to talk." This is a good tone rule. A lot of time does not take, but a person is nice. Maybe one day he will introduce you to someone who is really interested in you - just like that.
- To fulfill promises. If you promised to deal with a question about a product or service at a meeting, solve a client’s problem, find out something, help with something, introduce someone to someone, do it first. Believe me, the person on the other side of the monitor will appreciate when you report in a few days what you managed to do at his request. Especially if you have done more than required. Especially if he did not expect anything. This is how companies get loyal fans.
- Tell colleagues from the department. If you have colleagues who also work with clients and partners, prepare a brief report for them.
This is what we usually talk about:
- what customers say about our product or service
- trends, which managed to catch from communication,
- insights, if they were,
- information from speeches, if there was something useful,
- What conclusions can we, as a company, make on the basis of this conference?
5. Make a report for the company. Not only bizdaws go to our conferences. Developers, designers, marketers and other professionals regularly attend industry events. Therefore, we made it a rule to talk about each trip to everyone in the company: for what purpose did you go and whether it was reached, what people met, what information they gathered, etc. Anyone can come to this report. With this we increase employee involvement in the company's affairs, general awareness and openness.
Steps can be more. It depends on the format of the conference and your approach. We periodically change approaches and try new things, especially in writing letters after conferences. We will talk about them in more detail.
Features of letters after the exhibition
Consider when and what kind of letters should be sent after the conference. With experience, we have come to a simple formula:
The chance of receiving an answer> 0, if you write on the day of the conference + Write in a few days.
On the day of the conference
In the evening on the same day, when the meeting with a potential client or partner interesting to us was held, we will definitely send him a brief message with thanks. We use an instant messenger, SMS or Facebook - in general, something more personal and close than the mail.
The text of the message can be approximately as follows:
“Hey Kevin, this is Paul from cold Siberia, communicated today on virtualization. I was glad to see you, thanks again for your time. As agreed, I will gather all the information on our panel and call you for a demonstration next week. Prior to connection, and a great weekend! " .
You should not paint and throw in the details - there will be a separate letter for this in a few days. But if at the meeting you took a photo together, send it too.
Having written on the day of the conference, you kill several birds with one stone: once again remind the person of yourself, summarize the agreements, open the channel of communication in advance, and generally create a positive attitude. Few people use this approach, so you will definitely stand out from the majority.
Back at the office
The second letter is critical to write in the first week after the return. If you write later, you may not be remembered.
We are preparing a personal letter upon return. We use email, not messengers. The letter must be:
- A brief summary of the negotiations. Do not rely on the memory of a person: with a bunch of other meetings you easily forget what you talked with a person and who this Paul is from cold Siberia. But we did not forget and fixed everything, following the tips from the previous article, right? :)
- Link or description of your product or service. Just do not paint his dignity on 10 pages, this is not a marketing newsletter.
- The proposal of the response step or the response step itself. In most cases, we offer a conference call and agree on the date and time. Sometimes, if we have already agreed on testing, we immediately create a test account, send data and tell how to test.
Talked about something else? Remember to mention this in the letter. Promised something? Be sure to complete and write. Do not have time to perform because of tramp? Apologize, postpone the answer, but do not forget.
What can go wrong
You wrote, you were answered, you conducted a series of negotiations and came to a deal. The script is good, but in life it is rare. Problems can arise at any time.
You wrote, but you did not answer
From this you can not insure. In this case, we wait a few days and write a second letter. This is not an exact copy of the first, but its shipment with additional notes in the style “Good afternoon. I wrote to you on Monday, but received no answer. Surely you are busy now. Tell me when it will be convenient for you to discuss our topic? " Responds at least half. We do not write to the unanswered half in a week, but this time in Facebook, SMS or instant messenger. Again, no pressure or demands to answer, just a polite reminder question.
Not answered after the third letter? We wait a few more days and call. This is the last measure. If it does not work, put the company on a waiting list, put a reminder and try to contact in a month or two. If a person does not answer during this time, you are unlikely to be interested in him at all. But see for yourself: if the game is worth the trouble, do not give up.
You were answered, everything went well, but then the interlocutor disappeared
Perhaps suddenly lost interest. Perhaps it has come down. Perhaps there are reasons of a personal nature or a person went on vacation. Do not despair, write and call again.
Contact changed
The person you spoke to at the conference may suddenly change their place of work or department. In this case, ask to introduce you. A person may have a lot of business in a new place, he may not be up to you, but everyone generally agrees to give contacts or submit. Next, be sure to get in touch with the new contact, enter it in the course of the matter and tell us where the negotiations stopped.
Conclusion
Well that's all. I hope that the advice given in the three articles will help you to participate effectively in future conferences. Not everything and not always goes according to plan, you may have a completely different experience. If so, share them and tell them which life hacks you have known.