How to Connect at a Convention

At 7,000 attendees, Microsoft Convergence was the biggest convention I have ever gone to. With that many people, connecting to the ones who are important to you becomes a challenge. The people going to Convergence are from different parts of the country, different industries and use different versions of Microsoft Dynamics. Just finding someone to have lunch with is a planning exercise. This picture is what I saw coming in for breakfast on the first day. Note that the tables are numbered. That helps you call someone on their cell phone to say where you are.

Microsoft works hard to help people connect. From the moment you register, you can set up a personal profile in the Convergence Connect web site. The web site also allows you to set up meetings at the conference in an area set aside for that purpose. For example, someone invited all CFO's using Dynamics NAV to a meeting. Even though we were in industries ranging from a zinc parts manufacturer to a church, we found we had a lot in common and decided to meet again after the conference.

Microsoft also plans for chance encounters. Here is a picture of my conference badge. You can tell which software I use (Microsoft Dynamics NAV), which industry I'm in (Non-Profit) and which user group I belong to (NAVUG) because there were bins where I could pick up the buttons. On the last day of the conference, someone with another faith based organization saw my Non-Profit button and said she had been looking all over for someone to talk to about the software choice they were about to make. We talked for about half an hour about NAV and also agreed to contact each other after the convention.

Other features: on the back of the badge is a pouch with a miniature schedule, which helps you know where to be when. People also used it to store their business cards. It wouldn't be Microsoft if it weren't computerized. The plastic name badge contained a chip with my information in it. All a trade show vendor or the people at the doors of the sessions had to do was point a reader at the card to record my information. I didn't even have to remove the card from the pouch.

Getting conference feedback is difficult. Microsoft computerized the session evaluations, made them short, offered a $5,000 travel voucher as a prize and said they would donate money to a the local Boys and Girls club for every evaluation completed. Still the number of evals completed was a fraction of the total number of sessions attended.

Finally, with that many people, it can be hard to make them all feel welcome. At Convergence, they had information booths as well as a small army of people in red shirts available to answer questions or tell you how to find the room you're searching for.

Why I'm Excited About Convergence

Convergence is Microsoft's annual invitation to all of its business customers to meet and talk about accounting software. Yep, that's right. It's a giant convention of computer geeks and accounting nerds. Being a bit of both, I feel right in my element, but that's not why I'm excited.

There is a whole raft of technical sessions. A bunch of them are about Dynamics NAV (the product I use now) and Dynamics GP (the other product I implemented). There are speakers about applying the product to specific industries, integrating it with Microsoft Office and more general topics such as Kevin Schofield talking about where Microsoft is headed, but that's not why I'm excited.

Convergence is set up to encourage us end users to find each other. You can set up a profile that other users can search so that you can link up with others in the same industry and/or geographic area using the same software. Several user groups will also have their meetings there and I'm helping with the Ontario users, but that's not why I'm excited about going.

Sure, all these things are important, but for me, the key is the direct connection between those who make the software and those who use it. Our system was built (well, acquired actually, but you know what I mean) by Microsoft. Then it was modified for charities by Serenic. Then it was implemented by Altus. Then we started using it. That's four layers. It's time that layer 4 talked to layer 1! I love to meet the people who are truly passionate about what they do. They can tell you where they are headed and what they were thinking when they wrote the system you have. They can often give you fresh insight into how to use the system more efficiently/effectively. Often level 1 feedback gives you reason to go back to levels 2 and 3.

Then there are the vendors, all those hardy souls who have built software to make your life easier. Many people will scan the convention material for the specific software they're looking for and limit themselves to those vendors. Not me. I can do that kind of search more quickly with Google. I'm looking for ideas. Since there's no telling where a new idea is going to come from, I talk to as many vendors as I can. Who knows? I just might see the perfect solution for a friend's system, if not my own.

If you want to follow my progress through Convergence, I will be tweeting it for AccountingWeb.

Getting The Most From a Conference

Whether you're an attendee or a presenter, here are some tips to help you get more out of a trade show or conference.

Attendee

• Get it in your calendar! I don't know how many times I've said, "Oh yeah, I meant to get to that" when a friend has mentioned going to a conference.
• Decide ahead which booths / presentations you want to see. It will help you focus on what's important.
• Stay away from the beer nuts. [Inserted by my editor/wife.]
  
• Go with an open mind. Sometimes the banner across the booth is just what the company is promoting now. If you talk to them about what you need, you may find that they have something else to offer you.
• Don't worry about giving out your card. The worst that can happen is that you have to say no to a follow up phone call or unsubscribe to unwanted email. Networking is more of an art than a science. There is no way of knowing who is in a position to help you, but I can guarantee that if you never give out your card, you will miss important opportunities.
• Talk to other attendees. By definition, you have a common interest. Use the opportunity to make a few contacts. If there is a reception or meal, I look for the people on the edge of the group or sitting by themselves. They usually welcome some company.
• Get the presentation notes electronically. If I'm handed a big binder full of material, it ends up on a shelf and will eventually migrate to the recycle bin. If I have the material in a pdf file, I'm more likely to find it when I need it.
• Be an active listener. It REALLY helps the presenter if you nod your head occasionally (I don't mean the sleepy kind of nod) to show that you are following along. Feel free to ask questions and participate. Everyone will get more out of it.
  

When you get back to the Office

• Sort through the business cards you received. Enter any new contacts into your contact software (you DO have contact software, right?)
• Send an email to your new contacts so they don't forget you. If you can send the answer to a question they asked or point them to a web site they'd be interested in, so much the better.
• If you received any material of interest to co-workers, send them a copy! That way your company gets a lot more bang for their money.
• A consulting firm I worked for had the rule that anyone who went to a conference had to do a presentation at the next company meeting. It was a good rule.

Presenter

• Many of us are technical experts in our field, but not seasoned presenters. At the very least, practice your presentation in front of a critical audience.
• Don't believe them when the event organizer says that you will have access to high speed internet. Really. This is from experience. Make sure you have a local or cached copy of everything you want from the web.
• Dress for success. [Inserted by my wife/editor.]
• Give out your card and collect as many cards from your audience as you can. Act on these contacts while they're still warm, even if it's just to tell them where they can get an electronic version of your presentation.
• Get multiple uses from your material. You put so much effort into creating it. Try reformatting it into an article for a magazine that serves your industry. If you then reprint it after it's published, it can be a powerful marketing message for your customers.
• Don't cram your time too full of material. There is only so much that an audience can absorb in an hour. Limit yourself to three key points, but make sure you give your audience a way to find out more (i.e. your web site or contacting you).
• Be interactive. Get to know your audience. Try to find out where their interest lies. Ask them questions, e.g. Have any of you faced this situation before?
  

When you get back to the office

[See above!]

At the end of the day, conferences are all about relationships, oh and maybe a little learning as well.