Boost B2B sales with an “in your face” approach.

I love Webinars. It’s so convenient for me to sit at my desk and get educated. And if the presentation isn’t applicable to my business, I can just log out and move on. I love LinkedIn, as well. It’s remarkable to be able to share ideas, get advice and network with other business people who might be anywhere in the world.

Then yesterday I attended the San Diego Direct Marketing Association breakfast and had a serious flashback. Had I actually forgotten the value and rich dynamics of learning and sharing ideas with others face-to-face?

I guess I’m not the only one who has forgotten the value of getting information live. John Hollon writing for Workforce Management tells the sad story about how conference and seminar attendance has fallen in his post entitled “2009 Conference Update: It’s Ugly, and Getting Uglier.” In this down economy, no one likes to incur the cost or time of travel to attend seminars and conferences.

Yet, connecting with people face-to-face makes so much more impact than connecting with people online. Not to say that I don’t have many online connections that are very valuable and rewarding. But there’s nothing like a real live connection.

I have several technology clients who recently attended conferences that were very targeted to their product lines. They found that, although the attendance was down, the attendees were far more serious shoppers. This is probably because the attendees were from companies that needed solutions and guidance badly enough to be able to justify the expense.

So if you’re looking for a “channel” that could be a strong resource for business, attend a conference and gain the advantages of being there live.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment