And still found space for the founder of Green & Black’s and Lord Archer…
Yesterday I attended a business conference run by Nigel Botterill and his Entrepreneurs Circle team.
I get great value from these days out of the office as I get to work ON the business not in it and pick up loads of new ideas for my clients.
On the day, there is often a ‘celebrity’ speaker who are always good value to hear from BUT what a lot of attendees don’t see is the wider opportunity.
The photo.
Now, this costs me a little more in terms of ticket price and many people baulk at that but what I can do after the event with the photo is pretty powerful, in fact, I’m doing it now.
Secret Sauce
I see lots of other delegates sharing their photo today too BUT they could be doing more.
Deborah discussed a wide range of topics, including Dragons’ Den and ‘missing’ the Levi Roots opportunity, so here’s my secret sauce to leverage celebrity moments.
Before the event – I mentioned I was going Dragon Slaying in a few meetings, tagged Deborah on Twitter to say I was looking forward to it and on my Facebook page and Group.
I also used my Out of Office message on my emails to good effect to explain to clients where I was, whilst also trailing this blog after the event and causing conversation yesterday during my breaks and this morning.
Crucially, I didn’t just say I was going to meet Deborah, I asked what other people wanted me to ask. I was USEFUL to my audience and added value.
On the day
I kept this up, whilst making notes on the interview and planning how to leverage it. I then bagged my photo ready for today AND I dropped a note to a friendly reporter I know asking whether he fancied a guest article on meeting Deborah, part of which you are reading now.
The day after – today
Today I have written the piece you are now reading, which I have published across my social media channels driving traffic back to my blog, where you are probably reading this now and tagged all parties involved to see if they will share. Again, I have ensured there is something in it for them if they do in terms of exposure.
It has also been sent out via my e-newsletter subscribers and I will use it as part of a round-up blog of my Top Tips for the year in December.
So next time, if you have a similar opportunity, by all means consider the ‘cost’ of the VIP ticket but also consider the OPPORTUNITY to leverage it and achieve much more than a seat close to the stage and a photo.
PS you can check out who is the tallest, Sir Steve Redgrave or me HERE