Conference Hack

Business and travel tips for people attending conferences, tradeshows, conventions, and meetups

Archives for April 2019

Don’t Lose Control at Conference Parties

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So, you’re in Las Vegas or some other fun city for a business conference? Remember that you are representing your company – you are not auditioning for the Hangover, Part 4.

conference jackass

Late night networking is great and can be really beneficial. But there is a fine line between networking and being a belligerent idiot.

OK, it’s not a fine line – it’s very clear. Remember why you are at the conference and keep your goals and objectives in mind.

You’re not a rock star when you can’t get out of bed for a breakfast meeting. You’re a jackass.

Follow Up Immediately After a Conference

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You can’t follow up too soon after meeting someone at a conference.

working in a hotel room

If there is downtime on the exhibit hall floor, start organizing business cards and leads right there. You can finish this up in the hotel room later on.

This way you can schedule more time with key people and fill holes in your meeting schedule while you are still at the conference.

Sometimes that is not possible, so get the business cards organized and follow up that night with an email and/or LinkedIn connection.

When you get back to the office, break out a pen and some thank you cards for hand-written notes.

No novels – just a couple or three sentences to further your conversation and set up a phone call.

In some cases, you’ll also want to send out literature, brochures, sales kits, etc. Hopefully, you pulled together all of that stuff before the conference, and now it’s ready to go in the mail.

If you don’t hear back from that initial contact in a week, drop them an email or ring their phone to jumpstart the relationship.

Nobody else is going to do all this, and if you have a good address for each contact you can expect at or around a 100% open rate.

Trust me, they have a nice impact.

Get Off Your Computer at Conferences

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Too many people are on their computers at conferences.

some guy on his computer

Yes, I know that urgent work matters come up sometimes, and they have to be taken care of during the conference.

Real work is OK, of course.

But social media nonsense is not. Simply put, don’t waste time and opportunities. Never sit against the wall in the hallway at a conference to watch a funny clip or comment on some dopey rant from your friend on Facebook.

If being on your computer at a conference is optional, then opt to shut it down, and go take advantage of the educational and networking opportunities.

You spent money and time to be there, so take advantage of the real-life action in front of you.

What if You Could Get a Flight Upgrade for 8 Bucks?

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I learned about a cheap, effective way to upgrade a flight in a post from Peter Shankman (keynote speaker at Affiliate Summit East 2009) titled, “My Secret Eight-Dollar Guaranteed Flight Upgrade Trick.”

M&M's Family Size

I thought that I was a frequent flyer with about 130,000 miles in the air last year, but Peter takes between 200 and 250 flights a year. He’s always in the air.

His trick is to pick up one of those big bags of M&M’s at the airport – the big “family size” bag – and then hand it to the lead flight attendant when boarding. He tells the flight attendant the treats are for them and their co-workers.

So, you were probably thinking this is to get a better seat. He flies so much he is always getting upgrades. This is to improve the flight experience for him and the rest of the passengers because it makes the day better for the crew.

Those little, delicious candies brighten the day of the crew, who often get crap from passengers.

I have done this lots of times, and it’s usually when I am flying with some or all of my four kids.

I always say hello on the way in the plane to the flight attendants, and then thank you on the way out, which seems to be a happy surprise to them.

When I bring the M&M’s they are regularly bowled over by the gesture. Not only does a big smile come across their faces, but they are super attentive to me during the flight.

They will almost always ask for my seat assignment, or else they will just find me.

it works wonders. Try it on your next flight.

Jason Calacanis Keynote on Video

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Jason Calacanis, then Founder and CEO of Mahalo.com, delivered the keynote address at Affiliate Summit West 2008 in Las Vegas.

Missy Ward, Jason Calacanis, and Shawn Collins

I had been following Jason since he was publishing a magazine called Silicon Alley Reporter in the 90s, and then his big wins in various areas of online business and investing.

Also, shortly before we booked him back then he was at a search conference and got all kinds of blowback for saying “SEO is bullshit.” I loved how he was a lightning rod and maverick, so I figured he’d be a great guy to bring in to speak at Affiliate Summit.

He started his talk by saying “affiliate marketing is bullshit,” and the crowd knew it was tongue in cheek. But SmartMoney writer Anne Kadet was fixated on the comment and took it for a real claim from Jason.

Many affiliate marketers reached out to Anne Kadet and she stood her ground on the basis of her article, which was that she didn’t know anything about Jason or affiliate marketing. It’s funny to see over a decade later that posts about her yellow journalism still ranking well in Google.

Attending keynote speeches can be valuable because you can gain and implement some knowledge right away or act on inspiration from the talk, as well as have the unique opportunity to get face time with the speaker.