April Walker: On today's episode, hear how to make the most of your conference experience.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the AICPA's Tax Section Odyssey podcast, where we offer thought leadership on all things tax facing the profession.

I'm April Walker, and today I'm here with Katie Thomas.

Katie is a first-time guest of the show, but a longtime friend of mine.

We actually met back in late 2019.

I responded to a social media post, and she was starting a book club.

We were reading "A Tribe Called Bliss" which is about creating connections, and a core group of us continue to meet now.

Katie is the owner of Leaders Online, which is a marketing agency specializing in digital marketing for Accountants and CPAs.

She's also a "40 Under 40" recipient and many other awards.

I'm so delighted to chat with you today, Katie.

Welcome.

Katie Thomas: Thanks for having me, April.

I'm excited for our conversation as well, especially considering how we met was a networking opportunity, and so it makes sense for us to talk about that.

April Walker: It sure does.

We're in May and so filing season has passed, and it's time for what you might call the next season, it might not be a season for you, but for me, it is conference season.

There is a lot of conferences coming up soon.

For me, the next big one is Engage in Vegas, and I know you're going to be there too.

We were chatting and we thought, hey, wouldn't it be great to have a conversation about how to make the most of your conference experience?

We'll center our conversation around three phases; pre-conference, and during the conference, and then post conference.

Katie, I like to think, know before you go, like, what are some thoughts you have about what people can do in advance to just maximize the experience to get us started?

Katie Thomas: The first thing I always like to do before conference is to really set what do I want to get out of it, because that could be for someone I want to go for CPE or it could be that you want to go for networking or maybe you want some of both.

But having that center focus and that goal is really important as you approach what you do before, during, and after.

Once you have that, you can start to put together some strategy, and for most people, even if they pick they want to go for CPE, they probably are going to hopefully want to do a little bit of networking, and this is where people can get really ahead of the ball game and start planning out who do you want to meet with before, and how are you going to reach them?

I'm happy to dive into some ways that people can do that if they're like, how do I even find out who's going?

April Walker: I'd love to hear.

It's probably different in conferences, but what's some ideas there?

Katie Thomas: Depending on how the conference is set up, you might be able to get a list of vendors going, you might be able to see a list of speakers.

Usually, you can at least find the speakers.

Some people even release the attendee list, and often, I would say that can come last in an app or something.

But once you have some of these people, you can start reaching out to say the speakers and like, hey, I'm looking forward to attending your session or reaching out to some of the vendors that you're excited about demoing or seeing their product.

You can also search for hash tags.

A lot of the conferences have a set hash tag, and you can see who's going that way.

From there, the certain people you want to meet, you can be like, "Hey, I'm going to be at this event.

I would love to grab coffee or breakfast or lunch or a cocktail," whatever your approach is, and you'd be surprised at how many people are like, "Oh, I would love to," and you can go ahead and just start documenting.

I like to keep a Google Sheet of here's all the people I want to meet with.

If I've gotten them scheduled for a certain time, I have that noted.

Maybe they said, "Hey, text me when you get to the event." I've got their phone number in there, and just stay really organized so that then when you get to the event, you're not like, "I know I wanted to meet with five or six people, but I can't recall exactly who two or three of them are." Stay really organized throughout this entire process.

April Walker: That's some great advice, and just thinking about like you said, even if you're just going for CPE, you said, "Hey, I just want to go for a CPE," that takes some planning too because specifically Engage, there are tons of session going on at the same time.

There is the opportunity, just a little plug for this.

You can go back and watch sessions later.

But I really think making a schedule, even in advance, it seems maybe a little silly, but making a plan for this is what I'm going to do this day, and we schedule time in for breaks and fun.

The networking events and what you're doing for dinner, planning that in advance, I think, that makes a huge difference for me even, and I'm going there to work, but I still have to plan what I'm doing in advance.

I love that idea about making your notes about who you're going to call and maybe their contact information in advance.

Katie Thomas: Yeah.

Something I like to do with those sessions and planning is, and maybe this is overkill, April, for some people, but I pick out the ones where I'm like I really want to make sure I don't miss these, and then I'll fill my time with other ones where I'm like, if maybe there's someone who wants to meet during this time, it's okay to miss it or if I need to take an hour just to recharge, it's okay if I miss it.

I'll color code them on my calendar, like green or yellow, just to signify to me when I look at my calendar where I have some flexibility.

Something I did for my last conference is I copied the agenda into ChatGPT and told it which events sessions I wanted to go to.

I said, create me a calendar export of these that I can just upload to my calendar.

That way, it took like 2 seconds to get all these events on my calendar rather than manually going and creating all the events on my calendar.

It saved a ton of time.

April Walker: Oh, my gosh.

I love that idea.

How much time do you think you would allocate to planning in advance for a conference?

Katie Thomas: If you are someone looking to do more networking, I would say it takes a little bit more planning because you need to make that list of people that you want to reach out to rather than more so scanning the list of sessions.

But I would say it's worth putting at least, no matter what you're doing, an hour or two into planning for this.

It's not that much time, but putting that amount of time into it allows you to be really effective and intentional while you're there.

April Walker: Like you said, if you're reaching out to people to schedule things, you'd want to add in some buffer of time there.

Now we're at the conference.

Travel's gone great.

We're there.

Everything's checked into the hotel.

Things are lovely.

What are some tips now from you, Katie, on how attendees can make the most of first about exhibit halls and vendors?

Because I think that's really a missed opportunity for our practitioners, especially at ENGAGE where the exhibit hall is very big and overwhelming and it may feel salesy to you, and that might not feel good.

But what are some tips for people?

Katie Thomas: I would really recommend looking at the list beforehand if you can access that, and then often you can find a map of where vendors are placed.

Go into it with a plan of, I want to make sure I check out or meet with these five vendors and come with your questions and don't think of it necessarily even as you're just going to get pitched, because oftentimes, vendors, even if you don't work with them, they can be great partners to have.

They can be people that open up the door to other opportunities.

For example, financial sense.

They're doing a lot of cool collaborations that accountants can participate in, and I know some people, they aren't even clients of financial sense.

Going and showing up, introducing yourself, and then with spare time in these whenever you're going in, you're checking out these vendors, you can go and look at all the others you want.

But if you just walk in there, there are so many vendors.

It can be overwhelming, and you might not get out of it what you wanted or what you were hoping to look for as a solution to one of your problems you want to solve.

April Walker: I know a lot of vendors will do demos.

You probably don't have to schedule that in advance, but that probably is going to involve more time on your end.

Again, I guess that's our theme.

If you plan ahead well, then you're making the most of your time in that exhibit hall, and it's walk around and look for cool Trotsky's bring home for yourself or the kids.

That's fun too, but there's a lot of great information and new partnerships, like you said, for you to explore.

You and I both are not introverts.

We're extroverts, and I love it.

Being at a conference really lights me up, but it's not the case for all CPAs, and that's totally fine.

We love our introverts too.

What are some tips for first-time attendees?

Maybe you're going alone, and even if you are an extrovert, you're a little bit overwhelmed.

Specifically, a networking events, what are some tips for those friends?

Katie Thomas: If you are a little bit nervous about going and being someone who identifies as an introvert or alone, I just want to say first, you aren't alone in those thoughts.

There's a lot of people there that are just like you.

You're not alone.

But to ease maybe some of your worries, coming with a few conversation starters can be great.

Like, "Hey, what brought you to the event," just to get people talking about themselves or if you're in the vendor hall, "What solutions here or what vendors have you found really interesting that maybe I should check out?" Having just a few icebreaker questions that can help you get into the conversation with someone can be really helpful or in a session.

Maybe you say, "Hey, what sessions are you attending?

What do you recommend that I go to next?

This is my first time here." Just say it.

You are first time.

You're trying to find out navigate your way through the event.

Having those I find really helpful.

I hate to reiterate, having the plan can be really helpful too, because if you've already found some people that you want to meet up with or maybe you make a post on social media that you're going to this conference for the first time and you'll find people comment on it like, "Hey, I'll be there, too." Maybe you could make lunch plans with them or dinner plans and they can introduce you to other people.

Just start conversations.

I know that can maybe feel a little overwhelming if you are someone who identifies as a little bit more introverted.

But if you find a conversation that you can start that connects you on a similar level like the software or what sessions you're attending, you can find some common ground with people pretty quickly.

April Walker: Great tips.

Also, just highlighting engage, which we're talking about a little bit.

But in general, other conferences probably have this too.

Engage, actually, Sunday night has a first-timers reception.

I believe it at 6:00 PM.

Don't quote me on that.

Look at the agenda, but it gives you some tips.

Maybe you didn't do the best job of planning in advance, that's okay, come to this session and it can help find your way around where the sessions are located, where the exhibit hall is, but also just some other tips and tricks on how to make the most of your time.

Also I'm thinking about going to sessions because generally you're there to get some CPE.

If you're a CPA, you want to get some CPE, you want to get some learning in, you want to get some networking in.

For me, I always have to add in some free time, some fun time.

It's networking because it's with other attendees usually, but it is not on the books time.

How do you think about balancing those three buckets of things?

Katie Thomas: I think it's important to be realistic with how you reenergize.

You want to make the most out of the event, but that also means showing up as your best self.

If you are someone that knows, "Hey, I like to have a little downtime," then schedule that into your calendar.

Pick 2-3 sessions that you really want to attend, and then pick if you're like, "Hey, I'm feeling good," maybe you have some optional sessions for you, and then leave some time in there for networking.

I think that that piece of balancing your energy with your networking, with your sessions, and those night events, like you said, dinners, it's really important that you just know yourself because there are some people who are like, I get energized as the day goes on the more people I talk to, the longer I've been going, whereas other people are like, you know what?

My social battery is getting low after just a few conversations, and that's okay.

That's totally fine.

You know you.

April Walker: Like thinking and listening to yourself, and you're prioritizing the things that you prioritized in your planning.

You prioritize like, hey, these are the four or five goals.

I'm going to get out of this conference.

Then the rest is like icing on the cake, I guess.

Katie Thomas: I do, though, want people to be encouraged to think about, let's say, there's a dinner one evening and they're nervous about going, I want you to still push yourself to do things that you know are best for you long-term.

This doesn't mean ignoring yourself and honoring your internal need to say, recharge.

But if there's a night where you're like, I'm a little bit nervous and you're kind of using that as like, "Oh, I'm just going to stay at home," push yourself to go beyond your comfort one and meet new people and try new experiences and come home like I'm really proud of myself for getting out of your comfort one because you will never regret making connections.

When you are maybe turning down an event, just make sure you're turning it down not out of fear of trying something new.

April Walker: Great advice.

I'm a FOMO, like it's in my nature.

Katie Thomas: That doesn't apply to you.

April Walker: No, I'm saying yes to everything and then I'm regretting it at 6:00 AM in the morning.

But that's me.

Don't listen to me.

If you lean into that pushing the boundaries of your comfort one, and I really think you'll be happier on the other side of it.

You'll be really proud of yourself.

If you need ideas on things, especially if you're at Engage, come find me because I will keep you busy and occupied.

Katie Thomas: Same.

You can reach out to me too.

April Walker: Yes, Katie's going to be there too.

Here's the part that I struggle with the most, and that is after the conference.

I'm taking good notes here on your advice.

I make great connections.

I have lots of things going on, lots of events, lots of people I want to follow back up with.

I get home.

That's when I take a deep breath, where I'm like, whoa, I'm tired, and I'm trying to catch up on work.

I lose a lot of that really positive stuff that happens at a conference.

I lose it.

Tell us and tell me what should I do after the conference to really make the most of that experience?

Katie Thomas: I actually always put time on my calendar for debriefing on the conference.

This could look like all the people I met and got their contact information for, I'm going to put into my CRN, and schedule times that I want to make sure I follow back up with them.

Whatever I learned or take-aways that I want to share with people, maybe different team members, I make sure that during that time I put on my calendar after I've gone and scheduled that with them.

Then if there's things that I want to repurpose, so maybe like photos for social media or a recap blog, I schedule it all then.

It's not that I'm doing all the post-conference activities right after the conference, but I schedule some time to be like, I'm going to get a plan for what I'm going to do because it is really easy to come home.

You're probably tired.

You're probably catching up on work, and you just let things slide.

You don't maximize all the great people that you met, those relationships.

You probably don't maximize what you learned.

It goes back to being intentional and planning to do this before you even go to the conference.

April Walker: I feel like if there's a theme to this discussion today, it is planning and making sure you're organized before, during, and after the conference, so a great idea.

Not necessarily my strong point, but I'm working on it.

I know that part of your work with Leaders Online is around social media and marketing for accountants firms, but also for accountants themselves.

Is there something specific that people could do after the fact to grow their personal brand, and what does that even mean, a personal brand?

Katie Thomas: Personal brand is just simply how others perceive you.

Everyone has one, whether they're intentionally creating that, if you aren't intentionally creating it, you're leaving the perception of that brand really up to others.

You're not intentionally helping create that perception.

If you are at events, start documenting this and sharing it.

If you meet people and have conversations, you can share that online.

It's twofold.

Let's say that you're at an event like Engage and you're a CPA, going there and sharing that experience and meeting those people opens you up to great friendships, networking opportunities, and it shows clients if you're sharing that, hey, I'm staying on top of what's going on in my profession.

Now, if you're going to say, an industry event where maybe you work with contractors, and you're at a general contractor conference, that shows general contractors, hey, I'm invested in you.

I want to learn about you, and that's really your chance to meet other prospects.

Maybe your clients are there, maybe you're meeting referral partners.

It's two-sided, and the personal brand, it's important to everyone, whether you are partner, manager, a staff, it's how people perceive you, and when you actively help drive that perception, you can get to where you want to go often a lot faster.

April Walker: Now, I'd love some advice that you haven't shared yet about making the most out of a conference experience.

Katie Thomas: If you're going with a group of people or maybe you have some friends at a conference, make sure that you branch out from that group.

Let's say that there's a community place where everyone eats lunch, I know it's easy to sit with those people because it's familiar, but go sit at a random table.

Introduce yourself to people.

You have something in common with all of these people attending, and I promise that you won't have a hard time keeping the conversation going.

Another thing that I really recommend, especially if you're going to a conference where you might be meeting prospects is to not just give out your business card right away, keep them in your back pocket, but try to share a digital contact card and text it to the person, so that way you don't just get your business card and then you're leaving it in their hands to reach out to you.

You now have their contact information, and you can reach out to them.

Then one last piece of advice that can help is if you want to wear something memorable, like a statement piece of jewelry, I guess, a lot of guys don't wear jewelry, but maybe this means that they wear some cool shoes or girls wear some printed pants, again, you don't have to, but that can be great because you can be like, if you're trying to meet someone, hey, I'm wearing a hat or I'm wearing these pants with this print on them.

It makes it really easy for people to find you and also people to remember you.

April Walker: A conversation starter, depending on what it is.

I remember I was at Digital CPA, and this person was wearing these really cool basketball shoes, and my husband's really into basketball shoes, and it was just like an instant connection for me.

He's told me about all the different shoes he had.

He had several shoes to go with all his different outfits.

Again, I don't know if you did that for that purpose or was just like his thing, but it was a cool way to have a conversation.

I love that.

Katie Thomas: That's a perfect example.

April Walker: Katie.

Again, you're a first time guest, probably not last time guest.

I hope not anyway, I love this conversation with you.

But name of our podcast is Tax Section Odyssey, so I like to think about us taking a journey together towards being a better profession and a better professional.

Outside of the world of tax and marketing, what journeys have you taken recently or do you have a planned trip?

I know you have two little ones which might traveling a little challenging, but what you got on the horizon?

Katie Thomas: I do have a family trip the end of July that I'm really looking forward to.

I would say that's about as far as I have planned with trips and little ones.

I'm looking forward to that.

Honestly, summertime in Kansas is a lot of fun.

It's really hot, but the pool is awesome.

I love getting out to the pool just being able to hang out there on Saturdays and Sundays, not an indoor person, so really looking forward to that.

Then looking forward to seeing you, April, in Vegas.

April Walker: Definitely looking forward to that.

It will be here before you know it because we're recording this in early May, but it'll be posted in late May, right before Engage, so giving people all the conference attending advice.

Thank you again so much, Katie.

This was lovely and didn't even feel like work, which is always nice.

Again, this is April Walker from the AICPA Tax Section.

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