Making Your Next Conference Super Successful!

Making Your Next Conference Super Successful!

An Insider’s Guide on

An insider’s Guide onMaking Your Next Conference Super Successful! 2

Kurek Ashley, one of the world-leading corporate speakers and

seminar leaders, has spoken at thousands of conferences and

events in his career. With his vast experience and knowledge, he

has herein compiled his top suggested strategies on how to make

your next conference the most successful one ever, including

the important “what not to do’s” that can ruin an otherwise

outstanding conference.

For more support with your next conference contact Kurek

and his team at ask@kurekashley.com

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Remember what your conference is about…Yes, it’s a celebration and reward for

your team, AND you also want to make sure the event helps your business grow and

become more successful for the year ahead. I can’t tell you how many conferences I’ve

been to that start with a big drinking fest on the first night - and it’s always a downhill

spiral from there…

If you’re going to have a big celebration night have it at the end of the

conference, not at the beginning. If you have it at the beginning there’s a

good chance it’s going to turn into a big drink-fest, and your delegates will

end up burnt out for the rest of the conference, or worse – they start not

showing up to sessions because they’re hungover

If you are planning on any conference opening-type celebrations, make sure

you offer plenty of enticing food from the start of the event (and not just light

finger food) to help slow down alcohol absorption

Keep any opening celebrations short and sweet; perhaps a 1-2hr event that

finishes early so delegates can get a good night’s sleep and be energised for

the next morning

1. START IN REVERSE!

WHAT NOT TO DO!

I’ve witnessed 20 people getting fired during a large multinational company conference, because the night before they got drunk and threw furniture in the pool. Just imagine the company liability, and impact on company image and reputation! Plus, it put the remaining delegates on a real downer for the rest of the event. This kind of thing is more common than you’d expect.

Remember, when you set your event up in a certain way, it runs in a certain way. Set the tone from the get-go. I always make it known to delegates that they can have a good time, yet they need to fully participate in the conference and be responsible and energised. Then they’re more attentive, everyone has a better time and the whole event is more successful.

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Many of the conferences that I’ve worked at tend to have all the business-specific, nuts and

bolts sessions upfront (usually with one boring speaker after another!) and then they expect

the main entertainment to juice up the crowd at the end – it just doesn’t work.

By the time you bring in your main speaker, delegates have already wound down, so they’ll

be less connected to your big, highlight event and they just won’t get as much out of it

Kick your delegates into gear from the outset and open with a high-energy

speaker who is going to set the tone for the entire conference, and literally teach

your delegates how they need to participate

Mix in the business, nuts and bolts parts of the program after the first dynamic

speaker, and then end the event on another high-energy speaker

Command a program that’s going to create a major wow factor, that’s going to

result in testimonials like these:

“Kurek Ashley’s program is beyond belief. Thank you for the incredible experience that ranks with other life experiences like getting married, watching children being born, and winning sports titles…” - Seagate

“Inspirational, energetic & extremely educating. The room was filled with positivity and every member of our team was setting new and higher goals…” - PricewaterhouseCoopers

2. THE SYNTAX OF YOUR CONFERENCE

I was asked to speak at an event where Arnold Schwarzenegger was the feature speaker of the program. I suggested to the organisers that I open the event, so that I could kick everyone into gear and maximise their participation. Afterwards, every other speaker thanked me for setting the tone because all the attendees ended up being super charged for every single speaker. You should have seen the audience by the time Arnold took the stage!

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3. ENERGISE ‘EM, DON’T COMPROMISE ‘EM!

Great catering is always remembered as an event highlight – if it’s done right. I know

this is going to sound funny, yet I’ve witnessed so many conference rooms turn into

absolute gas chambers and energy dead-zones because of poor food choices. I don’t

think I need to explain why this is a bad thing!

Keep your delegates energy high and sustained by making the food light,

including plenty of fresh food like salad selections and vegetable dishes,

and high-protein/clever-carb recipe combinations. Remember, healthy and

delicious combos are both possible together!

Steer clear of heavy dishes like creamy pasta dishes, and too much fried food

or red meat. People can’t help feeling sleepy after heavy meals because it

puts the body into heavy digestion, and their energy and attention gets stolen

away from the important stuff – your conference content!

The caterer should easily be able to cater for vegans, vegetarians, paleo,

dairy-free, gluten-free – ANY special needs that your guests specify. If they

can’t, find another caterer. Getting the food right for each guest is key to

making them feel comfortable and able to focus on the rest of the event.

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Without the right follow-up tools to keep the learning and education going for your

delegates, even the most well-organised conference ends up being nothing more than

a shot in the arm for people. Instead, supercharge the value of your conference and

get a bigger dollar return than what you invest in it by making sure you have follow-up

tools on offer

Ask your speakers if they have relevant books that you can buy in bulk to

gift to delegates, or that can at least be available for people to purchase. I’m

constantly getting messages from conference attendees who have read my #1

International Best-Selling book How would Love respond? saying it’s the best

gift that the company has ever given them!

Do your speakers have any relevant online courses, video training, audios or

and other products that can also be on offer for your delegates, to support

them to continue to develop both personally and professionally?

4. MAKE IT TAKE AWAY!

I have a 10-day online course that I freely give to all the delegates at the conferences I do, that teaches them how to manage how to think and feel better, so that they make better decisions and produce better results in life and in business. This is the type of follow-up tool you want for your delegates. Check it out for yourself at kurekashley.com/badmoodcourse (when you read the comments inside the course from people that have done it, you’ll see why I’m so passionate about freely sharing it!)

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Anytime that we want people to be involved in making a decision, we need to sell

them on that. This goes for your business, and in terms of your conference choosing

the right name for your event is going to dramatically help with your team’s desire

and excitement levels about coming to the conference. You want the name to instantly

attract people to want to participate at a certain level

Get clear on your event purpose and theme, and then pick a name that

represents that. The name should be succinct, and as outcome-focused as

possible by answering for your guests “what’s in it for me?”

Create a short, easy to use hashtag for social media if you want to maximise

your engagement with attendees before, during and after the event.

As you continue planning your event and locking in services, remember that

the event theme should keep pointing in the direction of the event name

(think branding, colours, invitations, room and table décor).

5. THE NAME SAYS IT ALL!

We run a life-transformational program called “Find Your Fire: Become The Unstoppable You!”. You’ll want the same type of name for your event– one where people realise what they’re going to get out of it just by reading the outcome-focused name. With the title “Find Your Fire”, you know you’re going to find your passion, increase your ability to achieve goals, produce the results you want in your life, create better health and happiness, a wonderful loving relationship – all of it. And that’s exactly what we deliver on the program.

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You don’t want your delegates feeling like this is just another boring conference that

they have to go to…you want to amp them up so they come in the door ready to rock

and excited to be there! Yes, even if it’s all expenses paid and/or compulsory. So make

sure that your team gets regular emails and announcements to build their excitement

in the lead up to the conference.

Don’t just tell your delegates about the features, talk to them about the

benefits for them and “what’s in it for me?” so you really get them excited

Keep a spreadsheet/database list of your attendees so you can easily send

out emails, and create a Facebook event page for guests to RSVP

Plan out your guest nurturing campaign:

• < 3 months out: send weekly emails and posts about getting any travel

booked, rsvp’s in, any payments made, and build excitement about the

theme and guest speaker with hints at what you’ll be doing

• < 6 weeks out: send weekly emails and posts to continue building

excitement

• < 3 weeks out: start a countdown e.g. 19 days to go! and if time permits,

call each guest personally to see if there’s any outstanding questions

they have about the event

• < 1 week out: send daily emails and posts and continue the countdown;

play up what’s in it for them

Hire a good photographer (preferably a videographer too) to capture the

special moments for your attendees, and with their prior permission (include

permission section in guest registration form). Post up and tag guests in social

media to spread word about your positive organisational culture

6. ENGAGE, NURTURE & BUILD

For more support with your next conference contact Kurek and his team at

ask@kurekashley.com