So You are Going to a Live Event. Why?

There are an endless array of marketing related seminars, workshops, conferences, conventions and summits. I'm also thinking about social media conferences, network marketing company conventions, and internet marketing events.

So are you going? Why?

Sure, I know, to learn how to do stuff. You’re going to your event to learn how to:

• Build a blog, gain traffic, and make money.
• Introduce your friends to the best food supplement ever made.
• Brand yourself as a leader.
• Publish your first e-Book.
• Create your first web page with an affiliate product and make your first $100.
• Build a better coaching practice by attracting better paying clients.
• Create a marketing funnel.
• Implement a successful Pay-Per-Click advertising campaign.
• Win followers and influence them faster – on Twitter and other media.

And a whole lot of other things. Depending on the conference, of course.

You may be surprised to find, at the conference you have selected, that there are a lot of attendees who already know how to do those things. So - - what are they doing there?

Even though your reason to go to a live event is to “learn to do stuff,” you need to understand what those other guys are doing at your conference. (It may impact your own purpose in going!)

Here it is: They came to network.

Going to live events for the purpose of networking may be as important (or more important) than learning stuff. If you already have a business started, then it’s definitely very, very important.

"What's the significance of networking?" you wonder. "Sounds like a secondary matter," you're thinking.

Have you ever noticed that all of the truly successful marketers collaborate with others?

• They team up with others!
• They form joint ventures!
• They form a tribe or alliance!
• They partner with other key marketers!

Collaboration is mainly fueled by networking. And while it is possible to initiate some collaborations through online networking in forums (and the like), most of the time the collaborations initiate from face-to-face conversations at… you guessed it – various types of live events.

Let’s take a look at what some of the successful marketers have to say.

Chris Brogan, author newly published Social Media 101 and co-author of Trust Agents, has often shared the experiences that helped catapult his renown in social media circles. Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies.

In his Behind the Scenes Newsletter, March 9, 2010, he wrote:

A few years ago, I couldn’t afford to attend conferences. Or rather, I could either pay my way to attend a conference, or I could pay the mortgage that month. Some times, I’d take that gamble. I’d fly to a conference, with not even enough money to buy meals, and I’d short the mortgage for a few weeks until some money came in.

But what I traded for that shortness of money was more opportunity. I was EVERYWHERE, and as such, I picked up experiences, picked up clients, picked up future relationships that took years to turn into money, but that often eventually did go that way. That’s a currency exchange: I chose opportunity over money, knowing that one would yield money downstream. Missing a few meals stunk, and feeling dirt poor really sucked, but I reached my goals by risking that exchange.

Collaboration is not the first order of business when starting a business. You need to know your niche and target audience. If you are going to market online, then you need the start of an online presence.

But once the foundation has been laid, everyone that goes to a marketing live event can benefit from both learning how to's and from networking with the goal of collaboration.

Here follows more evidence from experienced marketers. But don't think what they say is only for "big-timers." Networking can be profitable for every home business entrepreneur if it is done well.

Willie Crawford is a well respected joint venture broker. In an article on the value of attending live events, he wrote:

If you have never attended a live Internet marketing event, you’re missing a powerful catalyst that will energize and guide you. If you do not attend live Internet marketing events, you’re missing a powerful networking opportunity.

I’ve now attended at least 50 live events, speaking at many of them. However, I attend many that I am not speaking at just for the networking. This is where I set up massive joint ventures, meet future business partners, and learn the latest industry news.

If you want to be a truly successful Internet marketer, make attending live events a part of your education and marketing process.

[Willie Crawford – “What Happened During And After Attending My First Internet Marketing Seminar”]

Bill Glazer is partner with Dan Kennedy at the Glazer-Kennedy Insider Circle. In a blog post entitled, "3 Common Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs," he gets talking about the habit of continuing to learn. Going to live events is one way to continue one's education, he says. But in addition, he couldn't help adding:

... the live event is the best continuing education because you not only can learn from the presenter, but also from all of the other smart people in the room. Once again, I hope you don’t take this a self serving, but I know of millions and millions and millions of dollars that have been made by the networking that goes on at live events.

[Bill Glazer - "3 Common Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs"]

James Schramko is an internet marketer from Australia. In blogging about 7 ways to travel the world for free, he provides the follow advice regarding a live event:

Meet others at event and do Joint Ventures. This has resulted in Millions of dollars for many people. I was speaking with Jeff Johnson yesterday and he mentioned that ALL his guru buddies were people he met at events. I can vouch for the power of personal networking at these events.

[James Schramko - "7 Ways to Travel the World for Free"]

Craig Perrine of MaverickMarketer.com has written:

My best advice for establishing joint venture relationships is to get out to live events like seminars and conferences related to your niche and meet people in person and establish friendships with them. Then you’ll be in a position to know what they would be interested in offering and be able to prove your credibility in a live environment.

[Craig Perrine, “How to Create Your Own Thirsty Crowd from Scratch” in The Great Formula for Creating Maximum Profit with Minimum Effort by Mark Joyner, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006, page 214.]

You can learn about networking from books

The 29% Solution: 52 Weekly Networking Success Strategies is co-authored by bestselling author Dr. Ivan Misner, who is referred to as "The Father of Modern Networking," and Michelle R. Donovan, who is known as "The Referrability Expert." 

The 29% Solution has been #3 on the Wall Street Journal’s best seller’s list, and has made it to the top of many other best seller lists. I think it should be given to every high school and college graduate.

The book starts by asserting that the idea that there are six degrees of separation between you and anyone else on earth that you might want to meet is …. a myth. Upon further study, it has been found that this can only be said of about 29% of the people; these are the folk who are reasonably well connected (well-networked?).  In one sense the book is about repositioning oneself to be a part of that 29%.

In terms of marketers, it is just the thing needed for growing the skills that will make you more effective at live events, or anywhere else for that matter.  Even if you only have time to read 4-8 of the strategies before your next live event, it will be worth it.

Another book is Impact: How to Get Noticed Motivate Millions and Make a Difference in a Noisy World by Ken McArthur.  This book is all about networking but you may not even find the word in the book. But guaranteed it will give you the mindset of those who are successful networkers. Read again the subtitle of the book.

Every networker wants to "get noticed." They want to be heard.  But there is a right way and a wrong way and Ken’s book covers those things and a whole lot more. The book is for marketers, so it looks at networking as part of the larger picture of marketing, and internet marketing especially.

Ken McArthur has been hosting live events for top-level marketers, entrepreneurs, business owners, corporations and non-profit organizations for over ten years. He has enabled multi-million dollar joint venture relationships and has created incredible, intense impact for product launches and multi-million dollar profits in surprisingly short timeframes. In short, he is a consummate networker making a huge impact himself.

Want to be ready for your next live event? To be networking-healthy? I urge you to eat, digest, and assimilate these two books.