The secret to maximizing the takeaways from any professional education event is to have a plan of action when you return home, especially if you are planning to go on summer break.
Here’s my plan for taking all of the connections, education, and opportunities I gained at the conferences I attended in the spring, that you can use it as your guide to putting a post-conference plan for you and your practice:
1. Cultivate the Connections You Made
I hope if you were at a conference you made some new professional friends and deepened your current connections with your peers. Make those connections count by connecting on social media, following through on actions you discussed and, checking in regularly- long after the conference is over. Keep the conversations going!
2. Continue to Collaborate With Your Peers
If you had some discussions with other practitioners about referrals, working together to serve mutual clients, or other forms of collaboration, now is the time to follow up and follow through on them so you turn the idea into an actual implementation which benefits all involved. Don’t let the immediate conference energy dissipate and the intention to make changes go with it.
3. Implement the Technology Solutions That You Identified as Critical
Here’s another essential element of your follow up plan. This is where all the education and time spent in the exhibit hall can pay off big time. Hopefully you went to the conference with a plan to find the solutions you needed for your firm’s technology ecosystem.
Now is the time to take the interactions with vendors and put them into action. If you are ready to get started, reach out for a demo or go ahead and get signed up. For example, last year after I attended Scaling New Heights, I was ready to get started with Bookkeep and I’m glad I didn’t wait. Implement the solutions you need fully, so you can get them set up and make sure you have them working efficiently for you.
Create a Plan for Your Next Conference Experience
Once you have taken action on the to-dos from your last conference and have a plan for your next one, I encourage you to keep reassessing your success so that you can evolve the strategy that you are using in your practice by doing your post-conference homework now…before you take a break this summer!
