How to Attend Keynote Events & Benefit Multifold from Them
How much do you think the simple act of meeting a customer in-person matters for your business? In a sales scenario, if you were to stand in front of your customer, what are the chances of making a sale? The rush of the Internet as a medium could make you believe that it’s not required, but it does.
People didn’t change. Only a fantastic, new, incredibly awesome medium is now available for businesses to use.
According to a Harvard Study, cooks make tastier food when they can see their customers. Likewise, customers spend more per plate when they see cooks coming out of the kitchen and prancing about restaurants and engaging with customers.
When customers and cooks can see each other, service was 13.2% faster and customer satisfaction shot up by 17.3%.
Getting up close and personal does magic to your customer relations, sales, and overall customer satisfaction.
That’s exactly what happens at keynote events, conferences, and motivational seminars. The room is live. It’s full of people. Where there are people, there’s opportunity.
So, how exactly do you benefit from attending keynote events? What can you do? There are multiple benefits. Here are a few tips:
Rub shoulders with panelists and speakers
I was a space shuttle engineer. I am an author, and I am a speaker. So, I come with a specific skill set, experience, and a particular approach. So do you. If you attend any of my keynote events, you are free to hit up a conversion with me during breaks, before and after the event. Not many people do this, and that’s lost opportunity.
When I am speaking, I am automatically on a “I’d love to know what you do, and that’s not just because you attended my event” mode.
It’s your opportunity to get to know speakers – all of them are people who’ve done something to get there.
Do some real networking
Speakers and panelists aren’t the only people out there. If you could, you could weave your way through the crowds and find anyone you’d like to connect with.
All you have to remember is that you won’t connect with others if all you did was introduce yourself and pass your business card.
You’d have to listen. Ask. Understand. Repeat. Show real interest in what others do. If this were a business event with focus on how to use events to grow your business, you’d know that there are business owners sitting through the event.
Ask them about their business, how they manage to run the show, what they do for marketing, how their entrepreneurial journey has been.
Get to hear their story. Now, that’s some real networking.
Practice your elevator pitch
You show interest, ask the right questions, listen well, and relate to others. At this point, you’ll be given a chance to explain what you do. Start with your elevator pitch and explain what you do. I suggest go beyond the pitch and narrate your story. How did you get to do what you do? What do you do what you do?
What’s your story?
Convince and convert
While you go about listening, connecting, and talking, you have plenty of opportunities to convince and convert (I picked this from Jay Baer of Convinceandconvert.com).
The elevator pitch will do well for others to know what you do. Your people skills help them relate to you better. None of this would mean that they are convinced enough to do business with you.
Now, that takes a bit more of people skills and an absolutely smashing unique selling proposition. You’d have to lay it out there honest.
Find who you want
Are you convinced you need a mentor? Are you looking for employees? How about specialists, vendors, suppliers, and contractors? Business events aren’t just to get clients, it can also help you connect with all sorts of people you need for various reasons.
If nothing, you’ll walk away with friends.
How many events do you attend? How important are keynote events to you? What do you do at these events, apart from sitting there, absorbing information?