Conference Season: 5 Tips to Elevate Your Business Development Game

Spring conference season is here, offering a prime opportunity to strengthen existing relationships, forge new connections, and elevate your professional brand. But attending isn’t enough — intentionality is the key to making it worth your time. When approached with purpose, conferences can deliver serious ROI, turning a few days away from the office into a powerful business development and branding opportunity.

Here’s how to ensure you can make the most of your time.

1. Prepare with purpose.

   Set aside an hour at least two months in advance to craft your strategy. If you are speaking or have a client-focused event at the conference, you'll want to start planning sooner. As part of planning, it's also a great practice to reserve time on your calendar post-conference to conduct follow up outreach.

   
   

   To prepare, ask yourself:

   • What’s my primary goal? Networking, business development, thought leadership, learning, or a mix?

   • Who do I need to meet? Make a list of clients, prospects, referral sources, and other key connections.

   • Who else is in the host city? Identify any contacts there you may want to meet.

   • Which sessions will be most relevant to my clients? Plan to attend and note interesting takeaways that you can use in client outreach.

Pro tip: Update your LinkedIn profile before the conference — it’s your digital handshake.

2. Secure meetings with key contacts.

   Conference schedules fill up quickly. After your prep session, immediately reach out to priority contacts. If an attendee list isn’t available, don’t wait—contact those who typically attend and those who are the conference's target audience.

   
   

   When scheduling, avoid vague “let’s meet up” language, and be specific about the time to meet — e.g., the first coffee break or opening night dinner. If someone isn’t attending, consider the email a touchpoint, then follow up post-conference with items they may find interesting.

   
   

3. Extend your reach beyond the conference.

   If you’re traveling, maximize your time by connecting with other contacts in the city. To build this list, you can use LinkedIn, which has a feature that allows you to filter your connections based on location. If your firm has a CRM tool, you may also be able to request a list of your contacts by location.

   
   

4. Be fully present and capture insights.

   Resist the urge to check emails during sessions unless there is a client emergency. Instead, focus on gathering insights that will add value to your clients and network.

   
   

   How to make the content work for you:

   • Take bulleted notes on key takeaways, noting which of your contacts may find the info helpful.

   • Identify one actionable insight per session to share in follow-ups.

   • Post key takeaways on LinkedIn in real time (if social media aligns with your strategy).

     
     

5. Follow up within 48 hours.

   Connections are only valuable if you nurture them. Send LinkedIn connection requests within 48 hours and include a quick note referencing your conversation. If someone gave you a card, consider if an email is a more appropriate initial follow up strategy, but don't skip adding them on LinkedIn.

Here's a quick LinkedIn script:

Hi [Name], great meeting you at [Conference]! I enjoyed our conversation about [specific topic]. Let’s stay in touch.

Pro tip: If you are planning to post conference-related content, add connections immediately after meeting them. It'll help you passively stay in front of them for the duration of the conference and cement you in their memory.

When approached with clarity and purpose, conferences can deliver a significant return on your investment— deepening connections, establishing new relationships and generating new opportunities. The key? Plan ahead, engage intentionally, and follow up strategically.