Blog Layout

Article: Ten Points On Conference Networking

Feb 01, 2011

By Brenda D. Olesuk , published on 02/01/2011 in

Get the most out of your next conference by following these ten points.

  1. Knowing what you want to learn from the conference. Most conferences have multiple tracks; try to focus on your most important goals.
  2. Before the conference, identify other attendees in your breakout sessions. Learn about them and their companies via the Web and LinkedIn.
  3. Set appointments in advance . Contact a few individuals who you have identified as having common interests and try to arrange to meet over

    coffee during the conference.

  4. At the conference, focus on meeting attendees rather than the featured speakers. Attendees are likely the people who walk in your shoes and can provide you with practical ideas and support moving forward.
  5. Be the first to engage other attendees at your table. Spend time asking open-ended and feel-good questions to first get to know them personally. People ultimately do business with people they know, like, and trust.
  6. Always have your business card ready to exchange, and make notes about your conversations, right away, on their business cards. This will give you a frame of reference for contacting them after the conference is over.
  7. Send follow-up notes and/or e-mails after the conference to continue the positive connection. Ask if they would like to continue the connection with you via LinkedIn.
  8. Try to help your new colleagues . Listen for their concerns and challenges in their jobs and send them resources that you may have that can help them. Be the go-giver.
  9. Be a connector . Actively listen, and try to introduce people who could provide benefit to each other. When you are a conduit who connects people in a helpful way, you are increasing your own value, and people will want to help you even more!
  10. Ask your new contacts for resources and advice. People you meet at conferences can be a very valuable resource for the challenges that you face in your job. They are usually more than happy to off er best practices they have found in their work.

Brenda Olesuk is the marketing director at Meyers Brothers Kalicka,P.C. in Holyoke; (413) 536-8510.

This material is generic in nature. Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should note date of publication and carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness, and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

Share Post:

By Sarah Rose Stack 22 Apr, 2024
Cost allocation can be a cumbersome task for nonprofits, especially organizations with many activities. However, the process is critical for multiple reasons, and it’s worth reviewing cost allocation practices regularly to ensure they’re working as intended. This article covers the reasons to make allocations and the various methods used.
By Sarah Rose Stack 15 Apr, 2024
President Biden signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act into law in late 2022, but much of the wide-reaching retirement legislation is being phased in over time. There are some significant changes in 2024 and 2025 that may help nonprofit employers recruit and retain employees. This article presents what organizations need to know. A brief sidebar looks at how SECURE 2.0 boosts the advantages of qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), possibly leading to larger gifts for nonprofits.
By Sarah Rose Stack 15 Apr, 2024
The tax code allows an individual to claim a deduction for business debts that have become worthless. But qualifying for the deduction may be more complicated than one would think. In a recent case, the IRS denied more than $17 million in bad debt deductions on the grounds that the advances in question represented equity rather than debt, hitting the taxpayer with millions of dollars in taxes and penalties. This article recounts the U.S. Tax Court case Allen v. Commissioner. Allen v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo 2023-86).
Show More
Share by: