How to get the most out of TiECON?

If you have not yet registered for the conference, remember that the discounts end at the end of this month. If you do not register by May 31st, you will have to pay full price.

Jay Dwivedi gave some tips on networking at TiECON in March, but Michael Weinstein of Nitron Advisors has some additional tips below on how to get the most out of attending TiECON.

1. "Dumb-down" your elevator pitch. Since conference attendees often represent many different industries, make sure that you are able to convey concisely and in laymen's terms, what you do, what your company does and why the listener should be interested so that they could easily repeat it to someone else effectively. Remember, it's not what you know, or even who you know - but whom THEY know!
2. Contact event speakers. Review the conference web site, read the bios, subscribe to the blogs and review the web sites of the keynote speaker(s), panel discussion moderators and other event speakers. For example, if you're interested in blogs, plan to check out the track called, "Emerging Trends in Social Software and Online Networks" and make plans to connect with Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging.
3. Create a target list. Then, get to know them! Get the conference agenda, list of attendees, exhibitors and event committee list prior to attending and plan your schedule ahead of time. Plan to attend the panel discussions that will help you achieve your goals at the conference. For example, if you are interested in the areas that investors consider most attractive in the overall software market, be sure to go to the "State of the Software Industry 2006" track on Friday morning.
4. Offer a little self-promoting Q&A. One of the greatest and most efficient ways to let an entire group of people know who you are, is to ask insightful questions aloud at the individual sessions. If you are interested in outsourcing, for example, attend the track on "Global Sourcing in a Flat World" and ask, "As the founder of ABC Company, a developer of network security products for the financial services industry, what are the key areas of my business that I should outsource to reduce costs without impacting our excellent customer service?"
5. Become the all-knowing conference czar. Where are the big meetings? ...the private parties? ...the after-hours events? Review the agenda, contact the event coordinators prior to attending, and learn the details of the "behind-the-scenes" so that everyone will look to contact you as their information source.
6. Coordinate your own meeting. Do you know other people or companies that will be attending TieCON East 2006? Plan ahead of time to meet at lunch or dinner to facilitate introductions and offer to help each other. Looking for people who share similar interests that may want to meet with you at the conference. Check out the TiECON East Blog for some great discussions, comments and contributors.
7. Volunteer. Contact the event coordinator(s) ahead of time and offer to help out at the conference in anyway that you can. Whether making calls to confirm attendance, helping guide people as they are attending or simply letting someone know that you're available if you need them, offering to help is the greatest way to meet people, learn and build relationships - remember, you have to give to get!
8. Prepare your questions. Once you have set up meetings with the event speakers, exhibitors and other attendees, research their background and prepare at least 5 questions that you want to ask each person while meeting with them to make the interaction as productive as possible. Interested in learning more about social software and online networks? If you're interested in hedge funds and investment research, visit Nitron Advisors and make sure to connect with David Teten, CEO of Nitron Advisors, to learn more about these fast growing industries.
9. Join industry-related organizations. By joining local organizations, sites and associations that are aligned with the conference focus, you can gain access to other members, as well as invite them to attend with you while building a relationship. Most organizations can be joined online and can lead to great new avenues and discussions when attending a conference.
10. Become a virtual private detective. If you want to get to know someone and want to figure out how you can help them, start gathering intelligence online. Google them, review their web sites, go to online social networking sites and don't hesitate to let them know that you've been doing your research on them to explore ways that you could help each other. Curious what others might find out about you? Google yourself and see what you find! For more insights on how to use blogs, social network sites, virtual communities, and other online networks, read The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, by David Teten and Scott Allen. You can download the entire book for free at The Virtual Handshake.