Raman Sehgal, ramarketing09.06.17
With Contract Pharma’s annual contracting and outsourcing conference fast approaching, now’s the time to be making preparations to ensure you make the most of it. You’ve already invested in your tabletop exhibition space/delegate ticket alongside your travel costs…not to mention the investment in time you’ll be making across the two days you’re in New Brunswick.
Having worked with over 40 contract service companies in the pharmaceutical outsourcing space for the best part of a decade, we’ve seen the same mistakes time and time again when it comes to missed opportunities at industry conferences.
So, with that in mind, we have pulled together our five top tips that will help you make the most of Contract Pharma (and in fact any of the other upcoming conferences this Fall and Winter).
Pro-actively pre-arrange meetings
This might sound obvious, but turning up on the day just won’t cut it when it comes to making the most of the conference.
Generating leads is probably the main driver of your visit to the event, so don’t assume simply booking a stand space and sticking up a few pop-up banners will be enough. Sure, people will have a wander around the exhibit hall, some might even stop and chat, but don’t rely on this passing traffic for solid leads.
Contract Pharma tends to be crazy busy, so time for buyers to stop and talk is limited. Make sure you get in touch with any key contacts ahead of the conference to arrange some face-to-face meetings. Getting face time with your prospects is often the biggest challenge, so make the most of the fact you’ll likely be in the same place at the same time. Likewise, arrange conversations with the media, CMOs with complementary capabilities and suppliers well in advance of the conference.
Gather data properly
Time and time again we encounter CMOs who are ‘working on a new CRM system.’ In the meantime, every business development person seems to have their own way of recording contacts but with no real system or process—and certainly no intelligent use of the data collected. While you’re at Contact Pharma, you’ll likely be interacting with lots of different people, whether for business development purposes or simply expanding your network. Once you get those all important business cards, be sure to follow a clear-cut process to ensure you make the most of them.
Organizing your contacts based on who you need to prioritize first or simply labeling contacts to remind you what action to take can make a lot of difference when it comes to your follow-up.
Play your follow-up cool
It can be tempting to dive straight into follow-up mode on your first day back in the office post Contract Pharma, but one thing we’ve learnt in recent years is to play your follow-up cool.
Sure, you want to strike while the iron is hot and ensure your contact remembers you, but in all honesty, it rarely works, after all, we’ve all got the same mountain of emails to get back to after two days out of action at the conference. Unless your contact has specifically asked for something urgently, respect that they have other priorities and maybe drop them an email a couple of weeks later to simply say hello. Oh, and when you’re following up be sure to drop in some subtle references to your conversation that really demonstrate you were listening and not just selling. Going the extra mile to take notice will help you stand out from the myriad of other emails they’ve likely received post show.
Add value & be helpful
We’ve all been there, that is, found ourselves in conversations at an event that perhaps seem irrelevant to our objectives, or dare we say it, feel like a waste of time. Sure, time is precious and when you’re at a conference like Contract Pharma, you’ve probably got a hit list of people you want to speak to, so it can feel frustrating if you find yourself ‘stuck’ with somebody.
Remember though, networking is as much about generosity and connecting people as it is about generating leads and filling your contact book. Even if not directly relevant to your own agenda at the time, share your knowledge and contacts with others and try to add value—you never know where the person you’re speaking to might end up and kindness is remembered.
Use the three-second rule
When it comes to the networking side of Contract Pharma, it can be tempting to grab a coffee and head across to a group of familiar faces or even worse, stand in a corner on your phone rather than make new connections. Yep, networking tends to be the achilles heel for most professionals, which might seem strange as we head into Q3 and Q4, full of the biggest industry conferences. Here at ramarketing, we like to practice the three-second rule. It’s quite simple really. When it comes to meeting new people, one of the biggest obstacles for most of us is simply building up the courage to approach a stranger and start a conversation. When you see someone interesting you’d quite like to talk to, you have about three seconds to walk up to them and say hello. Any longer and you’ll overthink it and talk yourself out of it. So, take a breath, count to three and go for it. You’ll not regret it.
So, there you have it. Five top tips to help you make the most of Contract Pharma. Hopefully some of these will come in handy and contribute to your success at the conference. Our team will be at this year’s show so use the three-second rule and say hello! If you haven't registered it's not too late. Click here!
See you in New Brunswick!
Raman Sehgal is managing director of ramarketing. Visit them online at ramarketingpr.com; hello@ramarketingpr.com; +44(0)191 222 1242.
Having worked with over 40 contract service companies in the pharmaceutical outsourcing space for the best part of a decade, we’ve seen the same mistakes time and time again when it comes to missed opportunities at industry conferences.
So, with that in mind, we have pulled together our five top tips that will help you make the most of Contract Pharma (and in fact any of the other upcoming conferences this Fall and Winter).
Pro-actively pre-arrange meetings
This might sound obvious, but turning up on the day just won’t cut it when it comes to making the most of the conference.
Generating leads is probably the main driver of your visit to the event, so don’t assume simply booking a stand space and sticking up a few pop-up banners will be enough. Sure, people will have a wander around the exhibit hall, some might even stop and chat, but don’t rely on this passing traffic for solid leads.
Contract Pharma tends to be crazy busy, so time for buyers to stop and talk is limited. Make sure you get in touch with any key contacts ahead of the conference to arrange some face-to-face meetings. Getting face time with your prospects is often the biggest challenge, so make the most of the fact you’ll likely be in the same place at the same time. Likewise, arrange conversations with the media, CMOs with complementary capabilities and suppliers well in advance of the conference.
Gather data properly
Time and time again we encounter CMOs who are ‘working on a new CRM system.’ In the meantime, every business development person seems to have their own way of recording contacts but with no real system or process—and certainly no intelligent use of the data collected. While you’re at Contact Pharma, you’ll likely be interacting with lots of different people, whether for business development purposes or simply expanding your network. Once you get those all important business cards, be sure to follow a clear-cut process to ensure you make the most of them.
Organizing your contacts based on who you need to prioritize first or simply labeling contacts to remind you what action to take can make a lot of difference when it comes to your follow-up.
Play your follow-up cool
It can be tempting to dive straight into follow-up mode on your first day back in the office post Contract Pharma, but one thing we’ve learnt in recent years is to play your follow-up cool.
Sure, you want to strike while the iron is hot and ensure your contact remembers you, but in all honesty, it rarely works, after all, we’ve all got the same mountain of emails to get back to after two days out of action at the conference. Unless your contact has specifically asked for something urgently, respect that they have other priorities and maybe drop them an email a couple of weeks later to simply say hello. Oh, and when you’re following up be sure to drop in some subtle references to your conversation that really demonstrate you were listening and not just selling. Going the extra mile to take notice will help you stand out from the myriad of other emails they’ve likely received post show.
Add value & be helpful
We’ve all been there, that is, found ourselves in conversations at an event that perhaps seem irrelevant to our objectives, or dare we say it, feel like a waste of time. Sure, time is precious and when you’re at a conference like Contract Pharma, you’ve probably got a hit list of people you want to speak to, so it can feel frustrating if you find yourself ‘stuck’ with somebody.
Remember though, networking is as much about generosity and connecting people as it is about generating leads and filling your contact book. Even if not directly relevant to your own agenda at the time, share your knowledge and contacts with others and try to add value—you never know where the person you’re speaking to might end up and kindness is remembered.
Use the three-second rule
When it comes to the networking side of Contract Pharma, it can be tempting to grab a coffee and head across to a group of familiar faces or even worse, stand in a corner on your phone rather than make new connections. Yep, networking tends to be the achilles heel for most professionals, which might seem strange as we head into Q3 and Q4, full of the biggest industry conferences. Here at ramarketing, we like to practice the three-second rule. It’s quite simple really. When it comes to meeting new people, one of the biggest obstacles for most of us is simply building up the courage to approach a stranger and start a conversation. When you see someone interesting you’d quite like to talk to, you have about three seconds to walk up to them and say hello. Any longer and you’ll overthink it and talk yourself out of it. So, take a breath, count to three and go for it. You’ll not regret it.
So, there you have it. Five top tips to help you make the most of Contract Pharma. Hopefully some of these will come in handy and contribute to your success at the conference. Our team will be at this year’s show so use the three-second rule and say hello! If you haven't registered it's not too late. Click here!
See you in New Brunswick!
Raman Sehgal is managing director of ramarketing. Visit them online at ramarketingpr.com; hello@ramarketingpr.com; +44(0)191 222 1242.