{"id":9440,"date":"2012-05-31T07:40:04","date_gmt":"2012-05-31T14:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=9440"},"modified":"2012-05-25T15:35:15","modified_gmt":"2012-05-25T22:35:15","slug":"7-tricks-to-attending-a-conference-on-someone-elses-dime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=9440","title":{"rendered":"7 Tricks to attending a conference on someone else\u2019s dime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professional Development Series by Laura Lee Rose<\/p>\n

www.LauraLeeRose.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose \u2013 Corporate Exit Strategist for the Blooming Entrepreneur \u2013 and I am a business and life coach that specializes in time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.\u00a0 As a success and business coach, I encourage continuous learning and sharpening our skills.\u00a0 But with our aggressive work schedules, how does one find the time for self-study?\u00a0 How can one stay ahead of the next generation technology?<\/p>\n

One effective way to stay aligned with budding technology and trends is to attend IT and Computer Science Conferences.\u00a0 Unfortunately in today\u2019s economy, many companies are cutting back on travel and conference expenses.\u00a0 Below are 7 tricks to increase your chances of attending a conference on someone else\u2019s dime.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Become a speaker at a conference<\/li>\n
  2. Volunteer at a conference<\/li>\n
  3. Staff the sales or demo booth<\/li>\n
  4. Setup client meetings at or near the conference<\/li>\n
  5. Commit to bring back 50 sales leads<\/li>\n
  6. Conduct off-site User Group meeting in that conference city<\/li>\n
  7. Schedule client visits to plants close to the conference site.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The bottom line is to increase your value by combining your attendance with other company-valued activities.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s take them one by one.<\/p>\n

    Become a speaker at a conference<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>This isn\u2019t as difficult as it seems.\u00a0 Conferences normally have open calls for papers and presentations.\u00a0 Create 4 or 5 quick abstracts for various topics.\u00a0 You don\u2019t really need to have the papers fully written.\u00a0 A quick outline is enough to capture the reviewers\u2019 attention.\u00a0 When one of your abstracts is selected, you will have several months to create that hour presentation.\u00a0 Once your paper is accepted, most companies will send you to it.<\/p>\n

    If your company still refuses, contact the host of the conference.\u00a0 Most conferences have discretionary budgets to assist with selected speaker\u2019s expenses.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Note:<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0Being accepted is a numbers game.\u00a0 Therefore, to increase your chances at being accepted, send your abstracts to several conferences and submit different titles to different tracks.\u00a0 For instance, come up with an abstract and title for: the development track; the testing track; the project management track; and the general track.\u00a0 Sometimes a conference will receive many submissions in one area but not in all areas.\u00a0 You can\u2019t predict which track will be \u2018submission light\u2019\u2019 but there will be a track with fewer submissions than all the others.\u00a0 It logically follows that the fewer submission in a track, the higher your chances.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Volunteer at a conference<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0Contact the conference host or professional organization and offer your services.\u00a0 Most conferences will get many volunteering offers.\u00a0 Therefore, the key here is to be an active member or committee member of that professional organization or association.\u00a0 Networking is key.\u00a0 If you are considered a valued member of their organization throughout the year, they are more likely to sponsor your trip.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Staff the sales or demo booth<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Offer to staff your company sales and demo booth.\u00a0 This is very effective if you already have a paper accepted.\u00a0 If you illustrate that you will make effective use of your time at the conference, you are more likely to be sent.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Setup client meetings at or near the conference<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Compose a list of your clients that are either attending the conference or located near the conference city.\u00a0 Propose that you will conduct one-on-one client advocacy and feedback meetings with those clients.\u00a0 Most companies budget face-to-face client meetings to enhance and build good business relationships.\u00a0 This is an economical way to cover this goal.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Commit to bring back 50 sales leads <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Even though we are in the IT department, the company goal is to make money.\u00a0 One of the best ways to illustrate that you not only understand this, but can help the bottom line is to bring back sales leads.\u00a0 Define a goal for yourself and commit to bring back a significant number of contacts.\u00a0 Some ways to do this:<\/p>\n