When I run sales meetings, I always ask whether there are any events over the next thirty days that would give the team a chance to meet new customers.

During my time as fractional sales manager at one AV company, there happened to be two upcoming conferences put on by meeting planner associations—PCMA and MPI.

"Is anyone going to the MPI meeting tonight?" I asked the team.

One of the salespeople, we'll call him Doug, said, "Oh, I used to be a member of MPI, and I never really got any business out of there. I wouldn't bother."

"Okay. Do you mind if I go?" I asked. My attitude was it was ridiculous not to try, but I could already see I wasn't going to convince him.

He shrugged. "Sure, you can go. But I'm just telling you, you're not going to get anything out of it and everyone knows me already, so they already know to reach out if they need something."

I got my business cards ready, parked at the event, and got out of my car. As I was walking in, I spotted a woman my age who was clearly dressed for a corporate event.

"Are you by chance going to MPI?" I asked.

"Yes, I just moved here from Washington, D.C.," she said.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a meeting planner and I have an agency where we manage events for associations and nonprofits. Most of my job is vendor management."

A meeting planner, who owned an agency, who had just moved here and specialized in vendor management. There was no way she knew anyone from my company (including Doug). 

You can't make this up.

"I'm Karl," I said. "I've never been to one of these either. Why don't we help each other out when we go in here so we're not just standing around with no one to talk to?"

"That would be great!"

The two of us went into the meeting and were able to introduce one another around and build our networks twice as fast as we would have on our own, and with half the effort! And sure, that involved introducing her to some competitors that also did live events, but we were already buddies. Before the night was over, I invited my new buddy to visit our AV company, and she happily agreed. 
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The next week, she came in to have lunch with us and the CEO. We had a casual conversation, went through some event photos and presented her with our deck for her to look at. More importantly, we laughed, got to know each other, and brainstormed how we could work together. Within six months, we'd done three events for her company.
Don't take for granted that every networking event you go to will be exactly the same as the last. Approach each one like new opportunities are waiting for you, because guess what? They probably are.

Your photo library is one of your best selling tools.

It’s a point I was sure to emphasize when I shared “20 Actions to Take Right Now,” to a room full of AV professionals. Your photo library is more than a highlight reel. It shows examples of innovative technology. It’s an important visual aid when a prospective client asks why a certain type of event technology is so impactful. Most importantly, it proves your expertise.

Of course, when your photos are located across various google folders, hard drives and internal servers, finding the right one can be a long process. At best, it wastes the time of your sales team each time they need to find a specific image. At worst, it robs you of opportunities to make new connections when you can’t produce the pictures you’re talking about.

Almost immediately, I heard dissent.

“It would take weeks to overhaul our entire system.”

“We have photos coming from freelancers and techs. Even if we reorganized everything, it would be impossible to upkeep the system.”

“It’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

That’s when I told them about MyLio. The photo search engine connects multiple sources of images without requiring you to move a single file. Even better – when the photos are tagged, they become searchable, allowing your team to find the images they need quickly. I also encouraged them to have photos that show off some incredible events using a variety of tech saved to their phones and tablets in a dedicated folder. That way, if you’re at a networking event or walking through a venue with a client, you have great images accessible at a moment’s notice. You aren’t reliant on an internet connection, and nobody has to wait for you to search through a hundred photos of your dog to find the picture you’re looking for.

A few weeks after the keynote, (you can’t make this up - I promise it’s 100% true, although I changed the name to protect my friend, Steve) I received an email from Amy, one of the AV company owners in attendance.

Karl,

I wanted to thank you for sharing your easy tips for increasing sales - especially making sure you always have great event photos on hand.

My flight leaving the conference was delayed, so I had some time to kill in the airport. I started looking through some of my favorite event photos and downloaded a variety of them to my phone. As we were boarding, I created an album and saved all the photos to it.

I noticed the woman sitting next to me had an ILEA sticker on her water bottle, so I asked if she was a meeting planner. We got to talking and after a while she asked to see some pictures of association events that utilized LED screens.

Normally, I would’ve been scrambling to get a strong enough connection to the airplane wifi to search through folder after folder of images. But because I saved the photos, I was able to quickly scroll through the album and find several examples. While I was scrolling, she noticed other tech she was interested in, and I explained how we used that, too.

After we landed, we exchanged business cards. We’re scheduled to get coffee next week. I know she’s planning some upcoming meetings, so I’m hoping to walk away with an RFP.

Thanks again!

Best,
Amy

Your clients want ideas that inspire them, and being able to produce photos quickly when asked does just that. But you don’t need to wait to be asked.

We live in the event space 24/7, but our clients don’t. What might feel like old technology or dated trends may still feel new and exciting for your clients.

My recommendation? Consistently send photos that show off your work and will inspire your clients and prospective clients.

If your photo library is organized, it makes it that much easier to find relevant images to send.

Feel free to copy and paste the example below and add in photos that will inspire your existing and prospective clients.

Hi [NAME],

The last few months have been really exciting for us. We've had the opportunity to do some incredible events for our amazing clients.

Below are some photos that I think might inspire you and give you ideas that could be implemented into your upcoming events.

[INSERT PHOTO]
[INSERT PHOTO]
[INSERT PHOTO]

One of my favorite parts of my job is brainstorming the next best event ideas with each of our clients. I'd love the opportunity to meet or jump on a call to talk about the trends we're seeing and my ideas for your next event.

— [NAME]


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