5 Ways to Make the Most of an Event–After it Ends

I am just back from a 4 day trip to Annaheim for Nancy Marmalejo’s “I Heart My Biz” event. It was a fabulous weekend connecting with my vision, my colleagues & friends, new friends and some great business strategies. I had several big aha’s which will influence future posts!

Whenever I attend an event I always pre-plan time in my calendar afterward to take action. For a live event like this I’ve blocked out the entire first day back, and half of the second. It’s really important to do for several reasons.

1. I need the time to reground myself at home and in my ‘office’
2. I need time to integrate what I learned so it doesn’t fade away in the busyness of everyday life
3. I need time to do the follow up so the event I invested time and money in continues to be a high payoff experience even after I’m home

So I thought it might be helpful to tell you the top five things I do during my post-event follow up. Feel free to share with me what you do as well to really get the most out of networking and development events!

1. Follow up with the people I connected with.

I send out personal cards and emails to those I met. I also upload my pictures to Facebook, tag them and thank them publicly. It really helps carry the relationship forward and people love to enjoy the afterglow of an event by seeing all the fun pictures.

2. Take immediate action on 3-5 things I learned.

I sit down and write out the top 3-5 things I am committed to implementing or taking action on. Then I immediately start. If I don’t do it NOW, I find that the ideas, inspiration and motivation I got from the event slips away in the shuffle of all the To Do’s that were on my list before I went.

3. Write an article (or three) based on the event

I love to share new ideas, insights, and information with my readers and followers online, and so a top priority is to synthesize what I learned and immediately begin sharing it with my clients, readers and followers. Yes, I go to events for my own development, but I also go so that I constantly have new and relevant content for my clients. So stay tuned for a few blog posts including–Are You a Sham-WOW or a Quicker Picker Upper, and What a Tree can Tell You About Your Business.

4. Schedule follow up calls

At almost every event I make a few really great connections where we talk about all sorts of possibilities to do business together. So again, rather than letting that excitement get lost in the day to day, I immediately follow up on those contacts with a phone call and book some quality time to talk through our ‘after thoughts’ in a week or two. Getting those appointments on the books fast makes a huge difference in whether the ideas we generated evaporate or get implemented.

5. Self Care

I happen to be a slight introvert (I know, it shocks some people, but I like ALOT of alone time to refuel). So after spending so much time in a conference room with very extroverted, social people, I need time to recharge, refuel and reconnect with my kids, my husband, and my life. So I make sure I do the things that recharge me. Long walks outside. Sleeping in. Hanging on the couch talking to my kids. Putzing in the yard. Spending time with my husband. All of these things are critical so I don’t get after event burnout.

That’s it!

Notice I didn’t put a priority on catching up on email, snail mail, grocery shopping, laundry and all the other little stuff that consumes our time. Those will get done in time. But I always make sure I tell my assistant and my clients I’ll be unavailable at least one full day longer than the event so that the day to day things don’t pressure me.

What makes your top 5 list of things to do after an event? I’d love to hear!