How to Get the Most Out of a Conference

Conferences are one of the best ways for you to sharpen your skills and stay up to date with trends in the industry. But whether your conference ends up being an inspirational event or a huge waste of time depends on you just as much as it does the speakers and participants.

Here are five ways to get the most value out of your next conference.

1. Review the agenda.

You can’t be everywhere at once – nor would you want to be.

Look at the conference agenda ahead of time and see which events are relevant to your field or can help you reach your professional goals.

Also be on the lookout for pre and post-conference sessions to see how you can maximize your time at the conference even before and after the actual event.

2. Come prepared.

The great thing about conferences is that you’re always a moment away from meeting a prospective partner or client who can help further your business.

The last thing you want to do is show up to a business event empty handed, so make sure you come with enough supplies to last you throughout the day.

Here are some things to pack before heading to your conference:

• Chargers and power banks for your laptop and portable devices
• Travel adaptors if you’re going to an overseas conference
• Plenty of business cards to hand out (however many you think is enough–increase that number by 25%)
• Any relevant resources that could help you in an unexpected sales pitch

3. Be strategic.

If you’re attending conferences as a group, split up so you can view more sessions.

Once you’re back in the office, each employee can present on the things they learned from each event.

When going to a conference alone, plan your time accordingly. Use your agenda to help you draw up an itinerary, then decide how much time you want to spend on each section so that you get the most out of your visit.

4. Don’t just focus on big brands.

Ecommerce events usually have a mixture of startups, medium-sized companies, and big-box retailers presenting.

The mistake that a lot of people make when attending these conferences is they focus exclusively on the big-brand events.

The truth is that there are a lot of startups and smaller companies that may not have the same market share as the heavy hitters, but still have valuable information to share.

5. Network, network, network.

Business conferences are about more than just listening to speakers – they’re about expanding your professional network.

You can do this by:

• Breaking away from your group from time to time. Meet new people, even in fields that you might not think is relevant
• Becoming part of the conversation. Ask face-to-face questions, use appropriate hashtags on Instagram Twitter, keep the conversation going over social media
• Sending follow-up emails after the conference is over to the people you met

How to Convince Your Boss the Value of a Conference

Despite their enormous value, many bosses are hesitant to send their top employees to business conferences – and for good reason.

Sending you away for a few days means your workflow gets put on hold, deadlines will probably be pushed back, and colleagues will probably have to pick up some of your workload while you’re gone.

Then there’s the issue of money.

Businesses have to pay for conference fees, transportation, and accommodations–which can add up to a big chunk of money.

So how can you convince your company to send you to an ecommerce conference?

Focus on return on investment

The benefits of attending business conferences generally outweigh the fees and inconvenience.

Explain the value of attending in a way that he or she will understand – return on investment.

Focus on the hard numbers around how the conference will give you the opportunity to:

• Market your brand
• Gain valuable knowledge and insight from the leading minds in business
• Build relationships with potential vendors, clients, and business associates

Remind them conferences help drive companies forward

Along with the valuable relationship-building opportunities that could help your company grow, ecommerce conferences help you gain exposure to forward-thinking strategies you can use to improve the company.

Everything from new marketing techniques to ways to work more efficiently with technology can be learned by attending these events.

The best way to convince your boss to see the value of conferences is to talk to him or her from a business point of view.

Show your boss the agenda and focus on the sessions relevant to your business.

Then, come up with a list of sessions and workshops you want to attend, followed by a list of outcomes you expect to achieve by going to the conference. Remember those hard numbers again.

You might even want to consider drafting a formal proposal and outlining the value and opportunity the company stands to gain from attending one or more conferences.

That way, they’ll see you’re serious about this opportunity and aren’t just looking to get a few days out of the office.

Why Experts Recommend You Attend Ecommerce Conferences

JASON BOYCE, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, DAZADI

Depending on the manager’s role, I think that focusing on conference within their specialty is a must.

Digital Marketing Managers for example, should focus on conferences that can help them learn and provide better results.

Sending them to a Supply Chain conference is a waste of their time.

NATHAN RESNICK, CEO, SOURCIFY

I’d say that you want to learn and be surrounded by the best.

Learning from conferences is a great way to gain actionable insight to improve your own business.

PARAG MAMNANI, CEO, WEBGILITY

I would recommend making a list of the company’s top pain points:

• Operational inefficiencies.
• High overhead and expenses.
• Low-profit margins.
• Lack of visibility.
• Understanding of sales data.

Make a case for exploring the trade show specifically to solve those problems.

DAVID FENG, CO-FOUNDER AND HEAD OF PRODUCTS, RE:AMAZE

Attending ecommerce conferences isn’t just about learning all the new technology that’s available in the marketplace today, it’s also about seeing what other e-tailers, competitors, and partners are up to.

Attending these conferences will give you unparalleled insight into how to grow your business at the pace of everyone else and how you can take advantage of some the latest ideas in sales, marketing, inventory management, customer support, etc.

Having an ear to the ground is an important part of scalable growth as things are constantly in flux. And one of the most important reasons for attending these conference is to meet people!

Putting a face to a name will open countless doors and opportunities.

Meet your competitors, grab drinks with your partners, and mingle with team members for the platform or tool you use!

As BigCommerce put it simply: Learn. Network. Grow.

DAVID JAEGER, CEO, GLOBAL SEM

Typical cost is about $2,000.

With the investment in marketing+my salary, if I can learn enough to increase my output this year by 10%, we’ve more than broken even!

ALEX BIRKETT, GROWTH MARKETING MANAGER, HUBSPOT

It depends on your position at your company, but I’ve always found the relationships that I’ve built at conferences to be priceless.

You can’t build them over email. It’s not even really possible to build them over coffee meetups. There’s something magical about the immersion of a conference that allows for spontaneous shop-talk and the flourishing of new professional relationships.

SCOTT OHSMAN, PARTNER, BUY BOX EXPERTS

If you want to ensure that your organization is aware of the most effective tools, techniques and strategies in the industry, you need to attend these conferences.

There are many intangible benefits to attending as well, such as the inspirational aspect of these conferences to apply new thinking and ideas to your company. The opportunity to meet different industry experts and see how they are addressing problems that your team is facing as well.

The ability to find common solutions that could help your business is one of the biggest return on the investment sending employees to these conferences.

Lastly, if you are able to motivate people through opportunities to continue learning, this is extremely powerful for retention and increased passion for your product or service.

RIEVA LESONSKY, CEO, GROWBIZ MEDIA/SMALL BIZ DAILY

The world of e-commerce is a rapidly evolving one. There’s no way someone can do their job and keep up with new tech, best practices and changing customer behavior patterns without attending a conference to learn from the experts, their peers and industry leaders.

DOUG ROOT, WEBSITE GUY, ATLANTA LIGHT BULBS

Being able to see and discuss all the new tactics, technologies and systems with the best is a big plus.

I think that person to person talks is best. At a show you can meet eye to eye which is great.

Many of the vendors we deal with are over email and conference calls so meeting in person is huge for me.

RUPERT CROSS, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, 5874

If you continue to do what you have always done, you will not go anywhere.

Stepping out of the everyday and spending 48 hrs learning and embedded with other like minded professionals is a great way to broaden the mind.

EMIL KRISTENSEN, CMO AND CO-FOUNDER, SLEEKNOTE

It depends on what you want to gain from attending the conference.

Conferences are great for learning about new strategies, trends, and getting inspiration from other successful e-commerce brands.

Also, if you’re looking to broaden your e-commerce network, these conferences are the place to be.

Hundreds of the World’s top marketers will be at these conferences so it’s a great place to introduce yourself and your brand.

VLADIMIR GENDELMAN, FOUNDER AND CEO, COMPANY FOLDERS

Attending conferences is valuable because in addition to learning important information and up-to-date news on the latest industry trends, they provide an excellent opportunity for networking and in-person training that you can’t get just from watching a video or listening to a webinar.