James Sinclair says most conferences waste early-stage founders' time, but if you go, work the lobby and coffee shop instead of the main floor. Spend 20 seconds with each person, ask where they're from and if they're presenting, skip the pitch, grab their name from their badge, and follow up later. He says this beats everything else at conferences.
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I have a lot of opinions about startup founders going to conferences. I think at the early days, it's actually a colossal waste of time, money and energy. I think if you assigned or aligned that money to that budget, to that time, and applied it to any different strategy, you probably could get a higher roi. But if there is a conference that your people will be at, and your people might mean prospects, it might mean recruits, it might mean colleagues, it might mean showing your face, but you think you need to be at that conference, I will tell you two very important strategies that will just save your bundle and just make more value for you. Number one is be a conference lobby rat. I hate that term. I was called it once and it stuck with me. But essentially what that means is you're pitching up at the local Starbucks or coffee shop right next to the Expo center, the one that everyone walks through in the morning, in the afternoon, the evening, and you essentially are trying to create connections and opportunity there. One great thing about people in the coffee shop, they're not their booth, they're not at. So they're not talking to prospects, they're not at a panel, they're not at something else, they're not an event or a do. They're literally getting a coffee. They have 20 seconds for you, and all you have to do is recreate the same model again and again throughout the whole day is brush with them, look at them and just ask one question. Hey, where you in from? That's it. And they will respond with where they're in from? And they will say, and you. Because that's how it works. When you say to someone, hey, how are you? They say, I'm good. How are you? They respond with the same question. So you ask them, hey, where you in from? They'll tell you, they'll say, and you, you'll say where you're in from? You'll ask your second question. Amazing. Are you here presenting? You're on a panel. Do you have a booth? Something jovial Smile. They'll respond, tell you exactly why they're there, and they're going to say the same thing again. And you. And this is your cue, this is not your cue to sell them. Do not enter with a I do this, this and this. Want to buy it? No, I'm here. This is what my solution does. And I'm just talking to prospects, and they're going to respond one of two ways. They're going to say, huh, Good luck to you. And they're going to walk off, no problem. Amazing. Wish them the Best of days. Or they're going to say, huh, that's interesting. And this is the only time I advocate for business cards. If they ask a question, answer the question. If there's a conversation. If there isn't, whatever it means, get your business card ready and say, I know you're busy, I know you're just getting a coffee, looking for a minute to yourself, here's my card. I would love to chat with you and show you what we're doing. And that's the end of the conversation. You're not looking to keep them longer. Let them enjoy, Let them go about. Try and get their name, see if it's on their badge. Try and introduce yourself by full name. So if you do introduce yourself at the end, say, hey, nice to have met you. Give your full name. So they give you the full name back. Remember it LinkedIn. You can follow up. You can do all of those type of things, but you will create more opportunity for opportunities. You'll create more connections, more networking opportunities, more everything by repeating this cycle literally every single morning for hours on end at the coffee shop. And someone's going to laugh at you. Someone who's going to be sitting there on their laptop, has heard you give the same hey, where you from? Eight times in a row. And they're going to look at you and say, how many times you going to do that pitch? And you're going to say, literally all effing day, hey, where are you from? That's the point. If you can get past how awkward it is and how weird it is, I swear to you, it works. It's delivered me more business, more value, more connections than anything else ever has at a conference. Good luck.
