When you receive an email or a card in the mail announcing an industry conference or seminar, you are probably more inclined to hit the delete button. Not all emails will make you sit up and take notice.
There are so many conferences it sometimes seems that there is a conference just to have a conference about an upcoming conference.
The next time an email or card arrives, do your fleet operations and yourself a favor and take time to look the conference information over. Attending an industry conference is one of the best business decisions you can make—one where the pros trump the cons tenfold.
A conference covering themes, topics and trends that are relevant to your fleet operations is nothing short of a golden opportunity. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why.
An Opportunity to Make Valuable Connections
While reading industry publications to keep current is always a good idea, reading can only take you so far. Conferences take you much further down the road to success by giving you the opportunity to interact with a few hundred, even thousands of like-minded people.
Reading about emergency fueling programs, hurricane preparedness, vehicle maintenance, government regulations or other topics affecting fleet operations is one thing. Having the opportunity to speak with experts about them, as well as having the opportunity to talk with a variety of suppliers and vendors about their products and services is another thing entirely. It is definitely a good thing for business.
Face-to-face interaction takes you off the sidelines and puts you in the middle of the game. It will provide you the opportunity to make connections with suppliers, industry experts, peers and professionals that no doubt will help boost your bottom line.
For those who grumble that conferences are expensive and not worth the price of admission, take a look at it this way. How do you put a price tag on the connections you make at a conference? This simple answer is – “you don’t.” Connections are an invaluable, long-term investment.
An Opportunity to Gain Knowledge and Insight
You can never know too much, and industry conferences are perfect for obtaining a “Ph.D” on new products and services, the latest trends and technologies, what your competitors are up to, giving and getting tips and advice, gaining credibility—the list goes on.
Be like a sponge and absorb as much information as you can, but don’t just store it, use it to your advantage. Share what you have learned with your team, because a well-educated team is an asset.
Many conferences have workshops and training exercises. Let’s say you attend a workshop concentrating on the most effective tabletop exercises to help your team plan for disaster. Take what you learned, apply what is appropriate for your operations, test it with your team, and get feedback. Sharing what you learned is not just informational, it is inspirational and creates enthusiasm.
Conferences are a good way to make connections and pick the brains of the experts at seminars and workshops. You can even seek out your competitors and talk with suppliers to learn how their products and services could add value to your operations.
An Opportunity You Should Not Pass Up
The 2016 National Hurricane Conference takes place at the Orlando Hilton in Orlando, Florida March 21-24. PS Energy will be there at booth 525, and we welcome you to come by and talk with us. Note: exhibit days are March 22-23.
The conference will cover all major aspects of hurricane preparedness, response and recovery, and around 1,500 attendees from across the country are projected to be there.
There will be a full day of general session speakers including many of the nation’s top experts in hurricane related issues. The conference also offers three full days of workshops and sessions on a wide range of topics for hurricane responders, plus hundreds of suppliers and vendors with the latest technologies, products and services for hurricane preparedness and recovery.
It promises to be fun and informative. Hurricane season is coming up, so packing your bags to soak up a lot of knowledge and a little sunshine is an opportunity you don’t want to miss.
We hope to see you there.
For conference details and to register, visit http://hurricanemeeting.com