The Competitive Advantage

July 21, 2026

The Conference Networking Playbook: Before, During, and After the Event

It’s about to get busy in our industry: Quirks NY takes place next week, then the ESOMAR Congress, then the Corporate Researchers Conference… not to mention a whole bunch of smaller events mixed in. Which ones are you going to?

From a networking and selling perspective, in-person events should be at the top of your list! If you believe that buyers won’t buy from you until they get to know you, then like you, then trust you (and I do), nothing initiates and accelerates those buy-sell relationships like meeting each other in-person at a conference.

But you can’t just show up and hope all goes well. Success at these events requires you to plan for and work through activities before, during and after the event. To help guide you, here is a checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything:

July 29, 2025

The Future is Face-to-Face

I was reading a post on LinkedIn yesterday, talking about AI, and suggesting that one of the fallouts from it is that in the very near future, we won’t know if what we see and hear online or in apps is ‘real’ or was created by AI. Because of that, Marc Cuban – billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks – is predicting “an explosion of face-to-face engagements, events, and jobs.”

Well, that sure seemed to be the case last week at The Quirk’s Event in New York.

August 1, 2023

Stop Making the Same Stupid Exhibiting Mistakes

As you saw in last week’s post, I attended Quirks-New York this year – a really good event, by the way, if you’ve never been. Coincidentally, part of my background includes the development, management and marketing of conferences and trade shows all across the United States. And in the 30+ years since I was in that industry, nothing much has changed on the exhibit floor. Exhibitors are still making the same stupid mistakes now that they did back when I produced events! And at all stages of the process…

January 31, 2023

Get on a Plane… Go to a Conference

As I write this, I’m 30,000 feet in the air heading home to Nashville from Miami, where I participated in my first conference of the year – the Insights Association’s CEO Summit. It’s just my third conference in the past 12 months, along with Greenbook’s IIeX event last Spring in Austin and the Quirks Event in New York this past Summer.

And the result of attending all of these conferences? Exactly the same… and I mean that in a good way:

August 30, 2022

Networking at a Conference? You Can’t Just Show Up!

The Fall season of industry events is upon us… the ESOMAR Congress, TMRE, the Corporate Researchers Conference and others. And if you’re planning on attending any of these… ARE YOU READY? Attending a conference to learn – and, more importantly – to network, should not be taken lightly. So, to help you get the most from your investment of time and money, here are 18 conference networking tips…

February 26, 2020

Don’t Just Show Up! 19 Hacks for Conference Networking Success.

At this time of year, firms throughout our industry are gearing up for Spring conferences – Quirk’s, IIeX, Qual360, AAPOR, NEXT, plus scores of smaller regional and vertical events. They’re preparing to spend hundreds of man hours and thousands of dollars to send a couple of their key personnel to a few of these events to learn and network. Will it be worth? Often… it’s not.

So, to be sure you get maximum ROI from the conferences you’ll be attending, here are 19 hacks to help in your preparation:

February 2, 2020

In Our Digital World, Do We ‘Crave’ the Human Touch?

STORY 1: I recently reconnected with an old friend who owns a large B2B publishing company, producing very targeted industrial magazines. As part of their service to advertisers, they also produce a number of vertical trade shows (aligned with those magazines).

When I asked about his publishing business, he said that it was doing fine… but then he added, “The trade shows are growing like crazy!”

April 17, 2018

Don’t just “show up” at a conference. Be prepared!

I’m attending a conference in 2 months. Here’s what I’m doing now to be prepared.

I’ll be attending Greenbook’s IIeX 2018 NA Conference in Atlanta this June. It’s one of my favorite industry events. Like many, I’m attending to expand my knowledge, but also to network – and hopefully initiate relationships with some potential clients. And even though it’s two months away, I’m preparing now to have a successful event. Here’s how…