Hundreds of marketers will be in Las Vegas next week for Affiliate Summit West at the Paris Hotel. It's a great place to visit with old colleagues & make new industry connections. I'm looking forward to seeing the Performance Horizon Group team & meeting new people in our industry, from merchants to publishers to vendor partners. PHG has team members arriving from London, Sydney, New York, Chicago, San Francisco & all across the USA.
In anticipation of the conference, I have been reading Missy Ward's blog & really enjoyed her post on networking. You can read it here: Practicing your ABCs at Affiliate Summit West.
It is difficult to network with folks who don't know you, or who may not be familiar with your company. But being friendly & open to conversations is the start. Not everyone you meet is a "prospect", they're just people like yourself! It's nice to say hi, where are you from, what do you do just to get to know each other. Usually within a few minutes, it's clear you have a few friends & colleagues in common.
Also, not everyone you meet will be able to do business with you, and that's OK. It's not about finding someone & closing them on the spot, as Missy writes. Rather, it's best to meet people, learn about their business & remain open to ongoing conversations. Even if you or your company's products are not a good fit for someone, you may be in a position to recommend something different to them in the future. That positions you as a problem solver & you'll be remembered in the future.
Thanks for the post, Missy! I look forward to meeting new industry contacts at the show & getting to know them in the future. That's what makes for good business for all.
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