If you missed Affiliate Summit East 2009 (“ASE”), you missed a great business opportunity. While sessions are educational, the best networking occurs after-hours. You can wait until you get to town to plan your schedule, but your best bet to maximize your time is to plan ahead, stay connected, and always follow up after the show.

Before you book your plane ticket, know what your goals are. What does success look like to you? Whether it’s developing new connections or taking advantage of open bars, keep your end goals in mind when planning your show strategy.

Take a look at the attendee list and pick three potential partners you’d like to do business with. Set up meetings during the show well in advance. It’s almost impossible to track down big names during the show and when you do, they’re overbooked and may not be able to chat before hopping on a plane.

Do your research in advance; know what your business goals are and who can best help you accomplish them. Find those people now, set up a meeting, and put together a business proposal. Don’t oversell, but do show up prepared.

If you want to make a big impact and get the most out of the show, get the word out that you’re attending. Announce your presence prior to the show on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and the Affiliate Summit social network.

While you don’t have to set up meetings with every person who replies, you can stay in the loop with the important events that allow you to make the most of the show.

The biggest thing I learned from ASE and really all the shows I’ve been to is that it’s a 24-hour event. There are keynotes, panels, dinners, and parties. If you don’t plan ahead, you end up missing some great opportunities for meeting unexpected guests.

Pack some Red Bull and save up cash for cab fare around town, because the longest nights are the best for getting to know people.

When you exchange contact information, keep notes on the back of cards of conversations or points you want to remember. If you did your job, you’ve ended up with so many cards you won’t remember every person you met.

Even if you can’t place faces with names, do not make any exceptions when it comes to following up. At the very least, send a courtesy email to each person and try to include something memorable about your prior meeting.

While you won’t end up working with everyone you meet, connections go far in any industry. The social media whiz you meet today could be friends with the super affiliate who helps get your campaigns to the next level tomorrow.

Approach each and every show like a business opportunity; at the end of the day, the goal is always the same – to make more money.

Dina is the Marketing and Social Media Manager at MarketLeverage Interactive Advertising, Inc., a performance-based online marketing services company.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 8 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/20220412/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-8
FeedFront issue 8 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/10

I have to admit that when I entered this sector of online advertising as a profession, I totally underestimated the value of face-to-face meetings and relationships. I, like many, believed at the time that since a high percentage of daily business was done via IM, email and the telephone, that trade shows and other “physical” events were somehow less important.

Was I ever wrong. In fact, key trade shows – including and most notably Affiliate Summit – have become indispensable parts of our company’s marketing budget and resource allocation each year. So why, in this day of economic cuts, bailouts and a recession, are these seemingly “non-ROI” spending activities still thriving?

The first answer is because they are anything but “non-ROI” and have everything to do with making money. I’ve been in several different industries in my career, and I can tell you that at shows like Affiliate Summit, business actually gets done on the spot.

This is truly a unique characteristic as trade events go. In so many other industries, you hear about the long boring days at the booth, or the dull/fluffy presentations by out-of-touch “suits” who don’t understand the workings of the business. (Some people consider me a “suit”, so I can say that.) How lucky we are to have shows like these that are busy, well-attended, and bring together successful people and companies in the spirit of doing actual business?

The second answer is those all-important relationships. No matter how technologically advanced we as an industry get, there will never be a replacement for affiliates and affiliate managers meeting in person.

There is something less “tangible” or trustworthy about never having put a face to a name, email, or IM. Looking people in the eye is important. While you can’t measure this aspect of shows concretely, look at the volume of things that happen at the show, and during the evening events. People clearly value the social aspect of trade shows.

The third answer relates mainly to the networks and merchants reading this: “Branding”; a word that connotes something not often pondered. But, consider a few of the major trends happening right now; more marketing dollars flowing online; more dollars flowing specifically to performance-based marketing from cash-strapped advertisers during this recession; and a never-ending expansion of new categories and verticals.

All of this means more new people, affiliates and advertisers attending trade shows that are most likely unfamiliar with your company. No matter how “big” you think your company or network is, a majority of people that are entering this sector of online advertising probably haven’t heard of you. Being able to showcase yourself to these folks, and build new relationships with them, is huge.

Trade shows aren’t cheap. For networks and affiliates alike, it’s an investment in time, money and people. But from where I sit, I wouldn’t “trade” (sorry) the benefits listed above for anything else in our company’s budget.

Michael Sprouse is the Chief Marketing Officer for Epic Advertising, and is based at the company’s headquarters in New York, NY.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 7 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/17376069/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-7
FeedFront issue 7 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/08

Whether you exhibited or plowed your way through the multiple exhibit hall floors, you’ve had firsthand experience in the value of human interaction. In a world of multiple communication tools it’s more important than ever to place a face with the voice on the other end of the line.

But in reality, it is a combination of your polished soft skills and diligent follow up that’s imperative in turning those handshakes into dollars and cents.

Proactive Preparation: Know Your Audience

• Review and scrub your Rolodex against the exhibitor list.
-There is no better time to revisit contacts whose venture never made it to fruition.

• Assess the speaker list and proactively arrange to meet with individuals/firms.
-The majority of speakers are the decision makers so take advantage of starting a dialogue after sessions.

Qualifying New Leads: Listen Twice as Much as You Speak

• Always initiate an introduction with an open-ended question.
-Passionate individuals enjoy speaking about their business (and themselves). Encourage this and you’ll quickly know whether there is potential for a lucrative partnership.

• Receive a pitch before giving yours.
-You have a window of forty-five seconds to certify if the individual(s) before you are a fit for your business model.
-Time is of the essence, thus give the courtesy of listening to a thirty-second elevator pitch and follow up with a validating question. This will ensure that you’re capitalizing on your time (during the conference), proactively qualifying your prospects (shorten your follow-up time), and it may present innovative business ideas which you may not have otherwise incorporated.

Capitalizing During Primetime: Hustle While You Wait

• Schedule new prospect “meet & greets” during breakout sessions.
-Save longer meetings for individuals that you have an active pipeline of business with.
-New prospects/projects only require two to five minutes (tops) to qualify any potential business and further action steps should be ironed out in the follow up call.

• Spend any downtime in a public gathering area (i.e.: hotel lobby).
-Public spaces receive the highest enter and exit traffic, so there is a 90% probability that you’ll reconnect with an old associate or a potential prospect.

Follow Up: Three Day Window to Close the Sale

• Take notes on all business cards exchanged in real-time.
-This will ensure you can pick up right where you left off and secure the next course of action.

• Swift and immediate follow-up will ensure your correspondence is received first and most likely addressed first.
-You truly have only a two to three day window to effectively follow-up and make certain that your message is conveyed most efficiently.

-While your prospect is being flooded with calls and you’re playing catch-up into the week following the show, a quick follow-up will guarantee that you/your firm are kept top of mind.

Miss White joined the MediaTrust Business Development team in 2008 where she’s responsible for strategic partnership alliances, new business development and portfolio management.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 6 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue6.pdf
FeedFront issue 6 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/06