Deciding to take advantage of conference opportunities often starts with questions for new businesses: Is it worth the money? How many employees do we send?
Uma Srivastava, Pack Health Association Director of Strategic Partnerships.
We caught up with Birmingham-based startup Pack Health‘s associate director of strategic partnerships, Uma Srivastava, upon her return from the recent Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions 2018 conference in Orlando. We wanted to know how she chooses which conferences give her and Pack Health the most value.
“Part of my role is to maintain all external relationships within health systems, pharmaceuticals, non-profits, and other clients. Therefore, I spend a lot of time attending conferences, representing our brand and building presentations where they are discussing healthcare and patient engagement,” says Srivastava.
Here’s what she had to say about how you can make the most of each conference:
- Know your role.
“There’s a difference in going as an attendee and as an exhibitor. As an exhibitor, you won’t have as much time to network, attend breakout sessions and visit booths. Some conferences are going to be geared more toward a specific group or topic that you may want to get your brand in front of. Having the chance to share your message to a large audience is a great opportunity when it makes sense to your company’s mission or target audience.”
- Know your audience.
“Be smart. Don’t attend every conference in your field; think through the audience attending and the topics for the breakout sessions. Identify if there are industry colleagues, potential customers or potential investors who will be there.”
- Don’t forget business cards.
“Always have business cards! Make this a priority when preparing for the conference. Relationships are key in this industry and you don’t want to miss an opportunity because you didn’t have a way to follow up. If you want other guests to take home more than your business card, it might also be an idea to learn more about brochures and booklets and have some of those printed too if you think it’ll be beneficial to your business.”
- Remember quality vs. quantity.
“It is easy to get caught up in meeting as many people as possible. Sometimes I may collect hundreds of business cards but ultimately only use a few. Or other times I collect 10 and use eight of them in the future. Be intentional about who you meet and follow up with.”
- Don’t skip the receptions and networking sessions.
“Networking is key! Always have your game-face on because you never know who you’ll run into. Sometimes, it’s hard to get hold of a specific person. When you conveniently bump into them at a conference, it’s a more natural way to get that face time and have the conversations you need to.”
