Preparing to Network Before Leaving for a Conference

Even for the most gregarious of personalities, connecting with people can be daunting. Below are my favorite "before" tactics to make conference and trade show season a little easier. These strategies help you build your community and incorporate your social following into your processes. 

Preconference networking prep 

Start the conversations before you ever set foot in the conference venue. When you take a couple of prep steps before you leave home, you create some instant ice breakers and easier ways to start conversations.

For example: 

• Post pictures of potential outfits you'll wear.
• Scroll through your agenda and note which sessions you're excited about attending. 

My favorite ways to start engagement involve Linkedin and airplane follies.

Two weeks before the event, do a roll call on Linkedin. Your post can look something like this: “Roll Call: Who else is attending Destination West at the Limelight in Boulder, Colo., in a couple weeks? I’ll be there and can’t wait to see everyone. Drop a yeah or nay in the comments." Be sure to tag the event organizer (Northstar), and the host venue (the Limelight Boulder), as well as the event's hashtag (#NMGevents). 

Once on my way to events, something weird always happens to me on airplanes. Someone falls asleep on me, I witness a fight about overhead bin space, there’s a gross spill. Share that in your stories or emails. It will bring humor to your first encounter with your new conference friends. 

Create a greeting plan

Have you ever gone in for a hug and accidentally gotten punched in the gut? This has happened to me. I’m a hugger, but not everyone else is. So instead of surprising people with your greeting, make your greeting declaration on the onset. 

If you're a hand shaker: say "I'm a hand shaker." 

If you're into jazz hands, hold up those spirit fingers high and yell "jazz hands."

If you're a fist bumper, raise your hand, show your knuckles and let the person on the other hand know. 

Declaring the way you prefer to greet eliminates an awkward first meeting and makes your initial interaction more comfortable.

Learn about your surroundings

Knowing a bit about the agenda, the hotel you’re going to, the speaker or the sports team in the city you’re traveling to give you instant conversation starters. 

A great example: My friend Taylor recently went to a conference in Louisville. Ky. Before the conference she learned that Louisville is a prominent producer of disco balls. She dropped that fun fact in every circle by saying, "Did you know Louisville has made almost 90 percent of the world’s disco balls?" This started conversations among other attendees. She eventually became known at the conference as the disco-ball girl. When anyone saw a disco ball, they thought of Taylor. Knowing just one tidbit like this about where you’re going can be the thing that connects you to someone new and begins a lasting business relationship. 

My personal favorites: Always know where the bathrooms are and what time the keynote starts. No one ever seems to read the agenda or know these answers. If you’re the one person who knows this when someone asks, you’re an instant resource. Being a resource adds value. Value creates lasting relationships.

It’s important to have a mix of in real-life networking strategies and behind-the-screen visibility strategies. You want to take advantage of these opportunities to start relationships that you can build on for many years to come. You never know when the person you meet at these conferences will be your next meeting attendee, your next boss, your next spouse or your next in-law. Having a strategy going into these events will make the trip worth it. If you’re going to leave your house, put your fancy clothes on, get on an airplane and leave the comfort of your life for a couple of days, you might as well make the most of it. Taking these actions will help you maximize your time at your next conference.

These are just the pre-steps to take before an event. I can’t wait to share the during-the-event and post-event strategies that will cement your relationships for life. We’ll do that together, live on stage on April 20th at the opening keynote at Destination West. See you there! 

Mandi Graziano is the author of Sales Tales, founder of the Facetime Coaching Co., co-host of the Adventures in Business Live weekly podcast, and vice president of global accounts for HPN Global. Follow Mandi on LinkedIn and Instagram, and let her know your favorite networking stories.