Making the most of conventions to build your business.

Attending industry conventions are an important part of staying fresh, meeting others and learning how to grow your skill set. It is also a powerful way to learn new small business marketing ideas. However, many people lose the knowledge they learned because they come home and fall into the same rut they were in before. Others are like kids in a candy store buying everything offered in the trade show or by the speakers as if it was their last piece of sugar. Here are 5 things you can do to maximize your convention experience as well as the investment you make.

1. Do research prior to leaving home. Most conventions have detailed websites where you can print out the trade show map and list of speakers. This gives you time to visit websites to find out which booths to visit and which speakers resonate with you. If you choose speakers only by their short course description, you will sometimes be disappointed. While you want to pre-plan, be flexible once you arrive as many times, there is a buzz about certain speakers who you may not have chosen.

2. Don't buy anything on the first day. Simply make this your rule. Visit the entire trade show with your list and at night, digest what you saw. Impulse purchases are often regretted later so take your time and make a smart decision. On the final day, make your rounds and purchase the things that will build your brand or make you money.

3. Go with a filter on. It is easy to become overwhelmed at conventions when one speaker says to do it one way and the next says to do it the exact opposite way. This is why education is so important because it creates a filter to help you decipher which advice applies to you and which doesn't. If you are looking for the "How to build a business in a box" kit, you will be very disappointed. Take detailed notes and if you aren't sure which advice is best for you, invest in a business coach.

4. Stay out of your hotel room. You should go to conventions not only to see the latest and greatest products at the trade show and to hear the speakers, but to network with others who share your passion. Attend the evening activities, eat all of the scheduled meals and don't be afraid to spark up conversation with others sitting around you. You will be amazed at how you might create lifelong friendships. I have friends who I met ten years ago at one of my first conventions and now one of them, Kimberly Wylie, is a speaker in our Joystart event!

5. Schedule a day in the quiet when you return. This is when you organize your notes and create action steps. This allows you time to research the new websites that were shared with you and create action plans to enact the new strategies and tactics that you learned. If you simply get off the plane and hop back onto the treadmill of life, you will lose the momentum you gained and your ROI will decrease immediately.

(Image: Sarah Petty speaking at PPA's IUSA in SanAntonio in 2011 at whcc booth)

**Note** This blog is a re-post of one of our favorites from 2011. With it being convention season, we wanted to share these tips with you again :)

Sarah's Upcoming Speaking Schedule for 2012:

IUSA – New Orleans
9am Sunday, January 15 PPA Charities event
11 am and 2 pm Marathon Press booth
12:30 pm ProSelect booth

January 23 – 25 John Hartman Boot Camp, Las Vegas

WPPI – Las Vegas
Monday, February 20 8am to 10 am Platform - My Best Marketing Idea