We all have experienced the exhaustion and need to “recover” from attending a trade show, convention or conference. After the long days, information overload and travel it takes time to get back into your daily work routine. However, it is imperative you take the time to sort through all of the information, education and contacts you brought home collected, after all isn’t that why you attend events?
1. Complete the event evaluation you have likely been sent while it is fresh in your mind. Every company hosting an event relies on attendee feedback in order to make improvements and if they don’t know what we need to do better, they can’t continue to improve your experience.
2. You probably brought home all sorts of notes, documents, flyers, pamphlets and business cards as well as promotional items and you are thinking “why did I bring all of this stuff home and what am I going to do with it?” You took the time to collect all of these items for a reason, so now it’s time to put them to work for you.
Follow up with all of the contacts you met at the event and send each one a short email to re-establish that connection. You never know how that relationship may benefit you in the future and it is worth that small investment of time. Networking and establishing new business relationships is one of the most valuable reasons we attend events.
3. Another important action to take is to review and organize all of your notes and collateral materials for future reference. You didn’t spend time recording and collecting valuable information only to store it in a drawer, review it and select two or three actions to immediately put into practice and share it with your colleagues! If fact, contact the presenters and ask them to review or elaborate on any information you would like clarified as they are happy to assist.
4. Often, the PowerPoint presentations are available online at the conclusion of an event so I recommend downloading those of interest to you and adding them to your collection. Of course once you have the information, formulate a plan to use it to your advantage. This information is sitting there waiting for you so take advantage of everything you can get your hands on.
5. Finally, don’t throw your promotional product samples away, share them with the office or drop them off with your Human Resource Manager in case they are looking for an idea for a new company item.
Whatever you do, don’t think of the conclusion of the event as the end; think of is as a catalyst, a jumping off point to new relationships and new ideas. We attend events to be motivated, educated and updated so don’t wait and put that knowledge to work for you now!