By Janet Daniels.
As a new leader, I looked at Conference as a time for me to have fun with my friends, get new ideas for my business and take a break from my business schedule. As my team grew and as I grew as a Leader, I realized that conference wasn’t about me and what I wanted. It was about the people on my team and what they wanted. Conference is exciting, inspirational, skill building and FUN. It’s the perfect time to connect with your team members to be sure they were getting everything out of conference to help them grow their business. Here are some tips to think about as you prepare for Conference:
- Look for future leader prospects throughout the Conference. Spend time with your team, sit with them during sessions and ask them about their dreams and goals. Your consultants will be excited because they’ve seen the big picture. Your role will be showing them how they fit into that picture. When you get home, be ready to schedule many Leadership Conversations.
- Be the first to congratulate anyone on your team when they receive recognition with a hug and inspiration. Carry notecards or postcards and write a note of congratulations and appreciation to give to your team member before the session is over.
- Lead your team in cheering and clapping. Be the first to stand when the executives of the company are introduced. Show lots of excitement when new products or programs are introduced. Set a goal to be the most enthusiastic team there.
- Connect with everyone at some point with a hug and an “I’m so glad you’re here.” Make it a point to meet the spouses, compliment your team member and thank their spouse for the support they give.
- Stay positive and turn any negatives into positives for your team. Remember, not everyone is going to like everything and that there is a positive to everything.
Conference is always an exciting time of the year. It’s a time to find new leaders for the fall or help established leaders set goals to move to the next level of leadership. Your company has invested a lot of time, money and effort into conference to help you develop your skills and grow your team. When you really connect with your team, you’ll build stronger relationships and find that the fall selling season could be the very best you’ve ever had!
COMING TODAY: Have you started to make plans to turn your national conference into an opportunity for launching your team into fall? To support your leadership, Team Connections is offering a free webinar to Make Conference Matter. We’ll cover how to maximize your national convention this year on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. EDT, 10:30 a.m. CDT, 9:30 a.m. MDT, 8:30 a.m. PDT. Conference call lines are available for both the U.S. and Canada. You can find more details here and can register as well.
