In this informal video, Megan Killion of MKC Agency shares her "spicy Monday" take on the 2024 IT Nation conference hosted by ConnectWise. She explains that, unlike the previous year when she was ill, she chose to skip every formal session and instead spent the entire event networking. Killion criticizes the conference’s pay‑to‑play session model, noting that many speakers are repeat presenters who are heavy ConnectWise spenders, and calls for more diverse voices. She praises the new GPS Café as a vibrant gathering spot and highlights the mental‑health benefits she experienced from reconnecting with colleagues and clients (Dean, Elle, Katie, Brian, Robert, BJ, Helder). Killion also mentions MKC Agency’s current pipeline, upcoming 2025 product changes, and her selective approach to onboarding new clients. She offers concrete suggestions for future events: clearer track definitions, reduced session overlap, and more buffer time between sessions. Finally, she reflects on personal productivity challenges post‑conference, noting a need to create new content and finalize proposals. Overall, she concludes the conference was highly valuable, especially for relationship‑building, while urging attendees to set clear goals.
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Hey guys, I am fresh off of IT Nation and it is Spicy Monday. So my spicy take is that IT Nation this year was way better than last year. And I don't know if for me that was just because last year I was sick and I felt like garbage and I just, I didn't make the best use of my time and I spent a lot of time in sessions, or if there were a lot of improvements made this year. Like a lot, a lot of improvements made this year. So first things first, I didn't go to a single session this year. Sorry ConnectWise friends, sorry IT Nation. I skipped them all. So my spicy hot take is stop letting people pay to play to put on sessions and elevate people based on their voices. I know there have been changes made, I know that you're moving in the right direction and clap clap clap clap clap, but I skipped the sessions because it was just a lot of the same people I've seen speak multiple times on similar or the same topics and a lot of it felt like those are people who spend a lot of money with ConnectWise And I'd rather hear from other voices. But hey, we have Rejection Con for that, so whatever. I skipped the sessions, I spent the entire time networking. And full transparency, I went to IT Nation this year without a single goal set. I broke all my own rules around what I tell my prospects and clients to do when it comes to networking. Um, for those that don't know, MKC Agency, we're like— our pipeline is full. Um, we are taking new clients, but we are taking new clients of a certain caliber. We're heavily qualifying and disqualifying Qualifying prospects, and we're making some changes to our product going into 2025 that haven't been unveiled yet will be unveiled soon. But essentially, like I was not going to IT Nation to try to sell anything, which means that I took very few notes. I entered very little info into my CRM. I didn't really collect business cards. I my like takeaway from IT Nation was getting to hang out with my pals and refresh and step away from my business and and. It was really good for my mental health, like really, really good for my mental health. And, um, I know it's not that way for everybody, but the channel is my family, and I love you guys so much. Um, getting to connect with people like Dean, like Elle, uh, like Katie, like Brian, like Robert, and just like be together, that for me was so transformative in and of itself. These are people that I spend a lot of time networking with online, but don't get to see in person very often. I got to see my clients, I got to see BJ, I got to see Helder. Like, it was really cool. Yeah, so that said, I love that you guys added the GPS Cafe, that was so cool. I also felt like— I don't know why I said you guys like I'm talking to you directly ConnectWise, this is for my LinkedIn. But— cute, God, I'm so ADHD. This is what happens when I go to a conference and I eat conference food all week and I'm not on my diet and not going to the gym every day. Oh, I'm all over the place. So anyways, my spicy Monday hot take is that this conference is so, so, so worth attending. At the price point, you probably do want to have a goal for the conference and not be like me and just go and hang out with your friends. But the value of the conference is 100% there. I love that the GPS cafe was added. I do think that you need to find some extroverts to be on that team and go out into the front lines and be like catching people right there in that center space. To be like, hey, do you have a plan for the conference? If no, let's go talk and I'll help you build your conference agenda. I do think that you need more time between sessions for people to get to and from places, you need less overlap, you need clearer tracks. Um, but I can't say enough good things about just how big the event, how good it was, um, how much better it felt. And it felt like more so a throwback to like IT Nation 7 years ago, where we're like, we're coming back up, things are good. Anyways, I got 2 proposals I need to get out the door, so I need to stop blabbing to you guys on LinkedIn and like get to work. I really thought I had content scheduled for this whole month, but I went and checked and I have so many holes in my content schedule. So I don't know, I'm gonna have to create a whole bunch of new content for y'all. Bye!
