Weighing the value of conferences

24 Jun

Posted by: BryanPerson in: Conferences

When you return from a conference, how do you decide whether the event was actually worth it?

Here are four questions to consider:

1) What did you learn?

Did you pick up something new, or were the sessions entirely a rehash of material you already knew?

2) Were you inspired to move, act, or create?

In his closing keynote at the IABC 2009 World Conference earlier this month, Sir Ken Robinson called on attendees to find their passion. Last week at Podcasters Across Borders, Mark Blevis encouraged us to stay curious. In the best of cases, speaker exhortations will truly move you to change your behavior.

3) What was the quality of interactions you had with speakers/organizers/other attendees?

Did you meet or re-connect with people that you’ll continue to stay in touch with, for either business or personal reasons (or both)? If your job depends on a steady generation of leads, did you come away from the conference with any new prospects?

4) What were the tangible business takeaways?

Some conferences offer plenty of theory and high-level discussions–and that’s not necessarily bad–but you may be disappointed if you head home without practical advice that you can implement right away. Where did this conference fit on that sale?

Next: Consider the cost

Weigh each of the four questions above against the cost of attending the event. Cost includes not only dollars shelled out for the event, but also your time. (And for weekend events, don’t forget to factor in the family moments you potentially missed, like Father’s Day)

What’s missing?

I’m thinking about developing a scorecard where I’d assign a numerical value to each conference. If I do, what additonal factors or questions should I consider?

3 Responses

Shonali Burke, ABC
25|Jun|2009 1

Great post, Bryan. These are exactly the things I look for in conferences I attend – and when deciding whether or not to sign up for one, the opportunity cost is invariably top of my list. Are the time, takeaways and dollars expended at least equivalent to, if not less than, the return I’m going to get from it, not least what I’m giving up on a personal level? If not – I’m not going.
BryanPerson
26|Jun|2009 2

Thanks for your comment, Shonali. I didn’t really address considering the potential value of a conference before attending, but that’s certainly important to do as well. Sometimes, though, it’s really hard to know the quality of the speakers you’ll hear or people you’ll meet. You have to use your best judgment.
Jay Ehret
21|Jul|2009 3

Bryan, you hit hit it right on the money. I mostly attend conferences for the networking, if I get some new knowledge from the sessions I consider that a bonus. Sometimes you really don’t know the value of a conference until much later.