Is It Important To Attend Events?

The short answer is “yes”. Why? Because one of the most valuable assets for entrepreneurs, is our network, and it is in events where you can start weaving a network of contacts or strengthening the ones that you already have.

Having a good attendance strategy and presentation in events, can help your company grow in positioning , reputation and business opportunities. That’s why attendance at events must be an integrated part of the overall strategy of your company.

The key is to consider the event as a project, as any project has stages of execution. That is to say that every event has at least 3 stages:

1. a) Before the event:

– Understand the content of the event and the dynamic to be able to know in advance how to use it best.

– «Research the speakers», know what they do, where they come from, their experience, as this allows you to decide if you will attend their lectures, if you’ll try to contact them after the conference, if you will ask them to meet during the event, with a clear and convincing objective. Connecting with speakers via LinkedIn before the event is essential.

– Define what you want out of your participation in this event.

1. b) During the Event:

– ALWAYS carry business cards.

– Have your pitch rehearsed in 140 characters. Having a description of your company in a short and strong phrase ready is essential to keep people listening.

– Have your one pager ready when you briefly talk about your company, the market you are aiming for, opportunity for investors, solution that you bring to your customers, entrepreneurial team and what you are looking for in terms of capital or contacts.

– Ask for a business card or an email address of everyone you meet.

– Have a thank you email drafted for the meetings or the next steps that you have, or the next steps that are left in the meeting to send immediately after your meeting.

1. c) After the Event:

– Follow up on leads generated during the event.

– Meet regularly with those contacts whom you have a better fit.

Taking advantage of the networking of an event is a way to make the most out of our time, to capitalize on it, at the time that we feel the stage is set to grow our network exponentially.

Here is a short list of  the main benefits of participating in events:

• Meeting new clients, suppliers and investors: One always focuses on networking events to obtain clients. However, getting good suppliers is just as strategic as the former. Discovering new products or services is necessary to continue being competitive in the constantly changing commercial scene. And why not take this opportunity to find our future investors or those that we can make more interested in investing in the future.
• Contacting valuable partners and professionals: To add to our teams. Many founding teams have met or connected through events.
• Collaborating with others: Each person has a valuable contribution to offer others. Giving and receiving tips about your company is one of the best assets of attending events.  I spend most events listening to entrepreneurs´ pitches and I consider this spaces an excellent tool for our deal flow. They are also opportunities to present yourself as an expert in your topic.
• Connecting with influencers: Generally exhibitors, but also the organizers of the events are big exponents of the industry they belong to. These contacts can be extremely valuable to the business objectives of each development stage.

I hope that these tools will help you prepare for Wexchange 2015.

#focus #consistency #passion

Also when we invest our time in events!

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