Set up meetings before attending a conference and treat them with the same level of seriousness as you would a meeting in your office.
Get on the phone or email a good 3-6 weeks before the conference and invite key people to meet with you during the event.
Set specific appointments for every time slot you can while you are in town to optimize your opportunities.
Make plans to get together in meeting rooms, coffee shops, and other locations around the conference and tradeshow area.
Ideally, I’d suggest using a database like the Salesforce CRM to keep track of when everyone is coming to meet you, or in the case of Affiliate Summit, you can utilize the conference app to set up and manage your meetings. But just putting the details in your smartphone will work, too.
This should go without saying, but don’t lose control at the conference parties. Have fun and network at night, but not too much, so you can do business at your meetings in the daytime.
Be sure to follow up during the conference if they miss the appointment, so you can work out another time to do business.