By Peter Weddle, Founder & CEO TAtech.org
I’m occasionally asked why a job board or talent technology company should bother to attend a B2B conference. In almost every case, that first question is followed by a second: Don’t you get more out of attending HR and Talent Acquisition events where you can connect with current and potential customers?
My response is always the same:
“Sure, attending HR and Talent Acquisition conferences is important in building a successful business, but so too is developing partnerships and alliances, exploring product integrations, gathering market intelligence, and connecting with industry analysts and even potential investors. And, that’s what you get at a B2B conference.”
Their rejoinder is also almost always the same:
“Yeah, but you can also get those things at an HR and talent acquisition conferences.”
At which point I reply, “Well not so much.”
The difference is focus.
Let’s be honest, your focus at HR and Talent Acquisition conferences is sales, not interacting with other players in the TA solutions industry. And, that’s as it should be.
It’s also what makes B2B conferences so important. At those events, the focus is entirely on building out the sales enablement side of your business – the contacts that add power and reach to your bizdev strategy and tactics.
What does that do for you?
In the space of a two-day event, you can meet with more people and explore more potential deals than you ever could in a year’s worth of scattershot calls.
Where’s the proof?
At our B2B event last year – TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum in Austin – there were over 850 meetings held and it was only a day-and-a-half long.
Now, that’s focus!
Were those meetings productive?
Here’s how one attendee – Joe Stubblebine, Chief Revenue Officer at Lensa.com – describes his experience at the conference:
"TAtech conducts must-attend events--I have never missed even one! The partnerships that I've been able to build from the connections I have met over the years would be easily valued in the multiples of millions of dollars!”
So, join us at this year’s TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum. It will be held at The International SPY Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 4-6.
But don’t delay! Seating is very limited at this iconic venue, so register right now to make sure you have a spot.
Foord for Thought,
Peter
Peter Weddle has authored or edited over two dozen books and been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He is the founder and CEO of TAtech: The Association for Talent Acquisition Solutions.