After an exciting, busy three days, full of engaging keynote speakers, interesting workshops and unmissable meetings, XeroCon South 2016 has wrapped up in style. The Wink Reports team didn’t just attend, we also had our very own booth in Startup Alley.
And boy, was it a productive conference! We caught up with existing clients, met up with new clients, and connected with our cloud accounting peers.
We went home happily with a belly-full of information to digest. We’d like to share our tips on how to get the most out of your post-XeroCon experience, or what to do after any other industry conference you attend.
Get organized
Chances are that you shook a lot of hands, took lots of notes and collected loads of business cards during the conference. As soon as you get home, it’s a good idea to sort through everything - every single contact made and connected with - and prioritize which ones you want to establish and maintain.
Set up a spreadsheet! That’s a simple way to organize your conference contacts and relevant notes from seminars and workshops - type them up and keep them safe in the cloud.
Get networking
Once you’ve got your contact notes sorted, it’s time to follow up on your networking. Don’t wait too long before reaching out - remember, you’re still fresh on everyone’s mind, having just met.
Send a friendly email, connect on social media, and/or make time to make a phone call. Prep a follow-up introduction, something like, “Hi, I’m X! We spoke at XeroCon and I really wanted to get in touch with you about blablabla…” And keep the conversation going.
Get sharing
What did you learn at the conference? You can bet it will interest and benefit your teammates to know about any leads you generated or new partnerships you formed. Share your learnings or any tips and information that you took away from the event with your team.
Share the spreadsheet with all your notes or share your takeaways on Slack or whatever internal messaging app your company uses. It’s a good way to keep them up to date with industry trends and increase their knowledge of the market.
Get reflecting
Did you manage to attend all the workshops, hear all the speakers and meet all the contacts you had intended to? It’s important to reflect on your conference goals and immediately after is the time to do it. It’s another learning opportunity that helps you figure out how to achieve certain goals you didn’t meet.
Did you have enough time to visit the booths of your peers and partners? Did you get to have meaningful one-on-one meetings with those you did meet? If you missed out on chatting with an important contact in person, this is the time to contact them directly, or watch YouTube recordings of the keynote speakers you missed, and even check out the websites of your competitors.
Get planning
From all your learnings, you go into planning mode. A conference like XeroCon is not just a glorified excuse for a shoulder slap, to see and be seen. It has a purpose for your business. So, if you missed out on something unmissable like a workshop, presentation or meeting, make sure you put those items high on your list of priorities for the next time.
It’s never too soon to start thinking about what you’d like to achieve for your business in the future. You can start setting goals for the next conference right after you return from the last!
Will we see you at the next XeroCon? If you’re keen to unleash your business potential, take advantage of our 30-day free trial and put Wink Reports to work for your business.
How has data helped you move your business forward? Leave a comment to share your insights with other business owners.
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