how to take action after a conference episode #61

The hubs and I recently attended our first business conference together.  We loved it!  There is nothing else like being surrounded by thousands of like minded individuals striving to be the best versions of themselves.  I personally  love conferences! But, the biggest mistake I see people make is that they don’t take action after attending.  They get all hyped up and motivated but forget to utilize the conference as the tool it is.

Spoiler alert...  after leaving a business conference, you should actually implement what you've learned into your business.  


 At the conference, you should have networked with intention.  For more tips on how to network, Click Here. You hopefully exchanged business cards, phone numbers, and added each other on social media.  Keep the conversation going. Stay connected with the community you have been immersed in.  Whether you are attending a women’s conference, personal development conference, or business conference, these are your people.  Find the ones that live in close proximity and schedule a follow up.  Chances are, these people will help keep you motivated and focused.  Follow the hashtag that was used for that conference in order to make sure you are connecting with others that you may have missed at the conference.  

1.  Go over notes:  Review your information.  

• What stuck out to you, what lit a fire, what did you highlight?  What was the biggest takeaway you had from the conference?  Was there an “Aha moment?”  
• Organize these thoughts in one document.  This is where I take my handwritten highlighted notes and transfer them into a document on my computer in order to have them easily accessible for future trainings or referencing.  

2.  Follow the speakers:  these are your mentors whether you know it or not.  Continue this education. 

• If they have a podcast, subscribe immediately. (rate & review the podcast as well) 
• Follow them on social media.  Chances are, they’re just as motivating online as they are on stage.  
• Buy the books. 

3.  What is the number one thing that you realized you weren’t doing but should be?  Why is this relevant?  How will it greatly improve your life.  

• Did you realize your mental block that is getting in the way of your success?  You need to work on mindset.  Do the deep dive here.  Lean into every area you need to in order to develop the mindset it takes to achieve your goals:  Surround yourself with those that will encourage this, read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, create your morning routine, focus on developing the growth mindset.  Whatever it takes.  
• Did you realize that you need to focus on time management?  Get intentional about your schedule.  Time block and organize your days. 

4.  Decide what pro-active step will deliver the most positive results.  Hint: It's the one that makes you the most money.  

• If you are at a company convention: Do you have a new product?  That product needs to be brought to your market to generate sales.  This is more important than learning an entirely new marketing technique.  Get the information out about that product/program/etc.., whether you know the ingredients or all of the details, build value in the product itself.  Educate your community as to why they need that product and how it will benefit them.  Do not get stuck in analysis paralysis here.  Remember, if you don’t know the ingredients or particular details, you can always look that answer up. 
• You most likely had ideas at a women’s conference or personal development conference.  Did you dream of hosting a ladies bible study.  Did you think of a women’s retreat?  Did you have the idea for a team training?  Put that plan on paper & action.  Begin talking to your community about this idea.  Poll your audience.  Ask for suggestions, recommendations, the best time to have the event.  Build excitement around this idea. 
• Did you realize that you need to add an offer or service to your current business?  Create the action plan for what that looks like.  

5.  Create an action plan to implement the information you have learned.  

• Work on one goal at a time. 
• Break it up into a specific measurable time frame.

Now, I want to speak to those that attend Business Conferences primarily.  Often times it is 100% like drinking from a firehose.  All the information is given, you write furiously, and you’re so excited for the future.  You go home with all your new ideas and think:  Okay, I have to build an email list, create a landing page, create a giveaway for the landing page, use Canva for the giveaway, download Canva, learn how to use Canva and how to resize pics.  Oh wait, I have to learn how to take good quality pics with great lighting for Instagram and post over there at least once a day.  Speaking of that, I need to update my bio with my new link tree information.  Oh, and I need to start writing articles on LinkdIn.  But, I need to have a podcast first, so that I have information to share over there.  Which reminds me that I don’t even know how to record a podcast and I need to order one of those mics which plugs into my phone.   Also, I need to learn YouTube so that I can start creating some coaching videos to build out my following and create a course.  Sound familiar?  I have been there.  In all honesty, it’s something I fight on a daily basis.  All of this is important to business. All of these are crucial marketing platforms.  However, as a mighty team of 1 and a part time assistant, I can personally tell you that you can not do all the things at once.  You have to break it up into a plan and this goes back to what will deliver the most desired results the quickest.  

TWELVE WEEK ACTION PLAN 

•   WEEK ONE: You should know your brand at this point.  If you don’t, now is the time to lean into it.  Decide what 5 topics represent you and your brand.  What do you want to be known for?  This is not a logo and a color scheme. Refer to podcast episode #49: Branding with Brandi where I talk about what a brand is not.  I have included a Branding Bootcamp Guide as well to help you become crystal clear on what your brand is. Get it HERE.
• WEEK TWO: This is the easiest and will get people invested in your mission: Push content out on social media.  Make sure you are providing content that serves your unique audience with the three E's:  Entertain, Educate, and Engage.  Pre-schedule social media posts for the next 30 days.  Planoly is a great scheduling app for IG.  
• WEEK THREE:  Build a website (if necessary) I use Weebly and the templates make it very user friendly, plus I appreciate the built in options & upgrades.  E-commerce and email marketing are both user friendly.  This is not the cheapest option, but it has served me well.   
• WEEK FOUR:  An email list is crucial.  But, it takes time and is going to take time to build out.  Spend a solid week creating email content for the actual audience you currently have.  You should have an introduction email that is sent as soon as someone subscribes to your list.  This should be the email version of a conversation you would have at a cocktail party.  Who you are, what you do, what you enjoy, and why they want to hang out with you.  If you don’t have a podcast, blog, or youtube channel to direct them to, find other ways that you can bring value to them in that introductory letter.  Let them know what you are working on and your future ideas so that they have a reason to come back and read your emails.   Give them your takeaways from the conference you just attended.  Share with them your favorite cold weather recipe or maybe a parenting tip/life-hack that could help them out.  This is about nurturing your audience.  I have recently switched to FloDesk and am obsessed with this email platform.  The templates are gorgeous and it is so user friendly!  Setting up email automation has never been so easy. I do pay for this program, but with my code: POWERPROJECT you can save 50%.   There are plenty of Youtube videos and podcasts about email marketing.  Listen to anything Jenna Kutcher or Amy Porterfield put out about this.   
• WEEK FIVE:  Create a giveaway for a Landing Page.  A freebie is something that provides value to your audience (for Free) in exchange for their email address.  I use Canva to create my the actual PDF giveaway, and FloDesk has a form and workflow to deliver the PDF giveaway.   Your freebie should clearly convey the value you can bring to your audience in a concise manner.  This can be tips over: cooking, parenting, workout, travel,  business, whatever is true to your personal brand.  For instance, check out this guide to Flying with Kids I gave away.  I actually made it back when I used a different program, but you still get the point.  Check it out HERE.
• WEEK SIX-TWELVE:  Create your platform:  Podcast or YouTube Channel.  Do the research it takes to learn about broadcasting on the platform you choose & don’t get overwhelmed.  Done is better than perfect.  Once again, you can learn all this for free online.  To hear what I first did when starting a podcast, check out episode # 44 What to Know When Starting a Podcast. And, you can check out a free Skillshare Course that I offer that will help you get your podcast off the ground if you find yourself stuck and overwhelmed with all the things you don’t know yet.  Check out THE BASICS of PODCASTING and get 2 months of Skillshare for Free. 

Okay, it's a lot, I know.  But, just breath.  Go back to the beginning of this post and start there.  Work through this step by step until you get to where you want to be. 
It’s not nearly as overwhelming when you break it down into bite size pieces.

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Listen to "Power Project Episode #61: How to Take Action after a Conference" on Spreaker.