Have you been keeping up with the #HowIConference responses on Twitter? We are loving the feedback and hope to see more for the month of August as we gear up for the “Adventure For Your Company” Special!

Recently, we asked Julia Hubbel, Keynote Speaker and Expert for EXCELerate 2015, to give us advice on how to prepare for a conference like EXCELerate. While we caught her on an adventure travel to Iceland, Julia quickly came back with 4 fabulous tips:

  1.  Set reasonable goals for this conference- remember you may develop a relationship that is a potential for business but you are highly unlikely to leave with a contract. If you are a small or start up business wanting to work with large businesses, this is a multiyear growth process. Patience is your key work, and you’re here to connect.
  2. STAY OFF YOUR DEVICES. You can use them to take notes. They all too often are seen as a “Don’t talk to me” message. You can’t afford to show up at such an important event which involves meeting people when your face is in your phone. PUT IT AWAY. You are here to meet people. You will be learning how to network (from me, and it will be fun) so there will be no excuse. This is what voice mail is for. You can take care of calls on your own time, not on critical conference time. Be available.
  3. Do your due diligence to know who’s coming, who you want to meet, and why. Never walk up to a senior exec and ask them what the company does. Know this going in. Be prepared, smart, and ready with good questions. A pro never shows up without doing their homework. Know your market value. What problem do you solve?
  4. Before you come to the conference, be able to describe, very briefly and succinctly, the ONE thing your company does best. While it’s tempting to think we can do it all, this drives corporations crazy. You need to think in bullet points, and in terms of how you can bring profitability value to the bottom line. How can you be a strategic partner? As an executive, I’m a lot more interested in a strategic partner who is committed to my company’s success than someone just interested in a contract.

Julia has spent three decades in senior corporate and consulting positions in the areas of training and organizational development in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Her clients include Dell Computer, Cargill, Intel, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, Bank of America, Delphi, Cisco Systems, Qwest, Exxon, Pfizer, and Tyco International. She is the author of multiple prize-winning books, a sports enthusiast, and has been named one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women Impacting Diversity by Diversity Plus Magazine.

 

Catch Julia’s “Meet the Expert” Sessions at EXCELerate 2015:

“The Power of Positive Linking” at 11:00 am Thursday October 1st

“Tackling the Titans: How to Sell to the Fortune 500″ at 2:20 pm Friday October 2nd