“WTF?” is what most of you are thinking from reading that headline. “How could I suck at attending a live event?”
Maybe you’ve even taken it a step further — “Isn’t that impossible to suck at? Show up and attend the seminars… shake hands with people, give them my card. I’m a live event superstar. You suck, Eppie… not me.”
Don’t lie. I know you’re thinking it.
Seriously, You Suck at Attending Live Events
This past weekend, I attended an internet marketing conference — JV Alert Live in Washington DC… and I almost sucked at attending it, too. I almost didn’t sit at the bar instead of attending a session. I almost went to bed early each night so I’d be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when the next day’s events started. I almost missed out on making real relationships.
I’m not saying you should go to an event and blow off all the organized stuff, but I am saying that you shouldn’t feel obligated to stay on schedule.
It wasn’t until 9:00 on Saturday night (I arrived at the conference on Thursday afternoon) that I stopped sucking. That’s when Rick Toone, Larry Tosten, and I started filming Drunk Marketing Tips… and I KNOW that’s when people decided I was someone worth keeping in touch with… because I let loose and started being me. Here’s that video:
When DMT wrapped, Bill Clemens, Bill Leopold, and Bryan Levens joined me in the Westin’s mens room to film Bathroom Tai Chi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQrdKO5KCVg
I think those videos turned out to be quite funny, but it’s not the quality of the video that matters. I did something memorable with these guys. Working together on something made them memorable to me. It’s the reason I didn’t need to hunt down their names to reference them in the sentence above. We had a blast, and left that conference with a great impression of each other. That’s huge.
Follow Up FTW
So we started with a WTF and now we’re reversing it (double reverse, even?) for the win (FTW). Ira Rosen (super smart and personable dude from Mojo Video Marketing) gave an awesome tip in the Drunk Marketing Tips video about following up with people via video, particularly with great speakers. Killer idea.
Likewise, if you can produce some sort of recap video or an event overview (check out my buddy Tom Harari’s recap post for the NOLA Linklove conference for a text-based example), that will also put you in front of the right people again and leave a GREAT impression.
REMEMBER: You can learn things online, through a book, or a membership site. It’s much harder to forge lasting relationships that way. Live events = relationship starters.
Eppie
Great post – I think you chose a really important concept here, namely to take advantage of the hidden opportunities that exist at these types of events. I personally can be shy at times but forced myself to just go up to the speakers during after hours events and make the introduction. And not just speakers, but also other participants. It pays back the cost of the event ten fold. There’s also an argument to be made about how improving the way you connect with people in the real world (not just digitally) can help your online marketing, seo, and of course link building.
Thank you for the mention as well. Now we need to connect to put some of our ideas into motion.
Keep up the great work – looking forward to more of your posts and that video.
Tom
Tom,
Happy to mention you in this. Seeing how you and John leveraged your Link Love attendance definitely inspired me a bit.
Eppie,
Your post here made me laugh several times as I read it! I appreciate the truth of your words about not letting all the scheduled events detract from what one could experience and benefit apart from them. Too often there’s so much scheduled that it can wear out the audience. It’s extremely important to get up, stretch out, and do something to release tension. Too many speakers miss the mark when they are on stage for 90+ minutes by not having their audience engaged enough and by not taking breaks. It’s as Alex Mandossian said on the very first teleseminar he and I did together 8 years ago… “What the rear end cannot endure, the mind cannot absorb.”
Kennon,
Thanks for the comment, buddy. I definitely saw you out and about, working to form real relationships with people at jvAlert. Love the quote at the end, too. Great advice to remember for speakers.
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Eppie,
You’re full of shit.
How can people that barely make eye contact and say hello do these things?
Love the video and you’re right on the money. Most people are reluctant to stand out in a crowd, but the benefits both personally and professionally are great. To Tom’s point sometimes it’s hard but everyone needs to try. It also helps if you like people and enjoy having fun, too.
Haha. Love the response, Bill.
You don’t need to film a “Bathroom Tai Chi” or “Drunk Marketing Tips” to stop sucking at attending live events, but you do need to come out of your shell if you want to get the full value out of these things. Introduce yourself to people, ask them about what they do, find out how you can help… there are lots of ways to be memorable that don’t require you to be a big personality (though that is admittedly helpful).
For people who are less outgoing, volunteering at an event can help a lot. If you’re helping to register people for an event, you get forced interaction with them. You’re seen as being in a position of authority. You have an easy in-road to create conversation… it’s like a warm lead (sales lingo).
Beyond that, people love people who help. If you attend an event put on by a big name in your industry, pay to be there, and approach that person to ask if you can help out in any way… think that’s going to make a positive impact with them? Of course it will.
Bottom line — if you’re willing to put forth a little effort, you can make a memorable impression and get MUCH more value out of live events than if you just show up and diligently take notes at all of the sessions.