Our team just wrapped up supporting the 2019 User Group Summit. I honestly don’t think there is a partner more ‘all in’ on supporting the community then Dynamics Consulting. We supported Academy Classes and hosted sessions in the GP, Business Central/NAV AND Power BI tracks. We also had our first Expo booth, -stocked with fun things like a Microsoft Surface Go giveaway, our self-published “Are You Sure?” board game, and a HoloLens for passersby to try out and have some fun at the same time! If you were there, you know – Microsoft MVP Shawn Dorward’s sessions were PACKED. His presentations attracted over 1,000 attendees. We attend the event with a serving attitude and are very proud of our contributions to the community. But what happens next? You attended User Group Summit, you crammed your brain full of fun, helpful things… the wheels are turning, you are jam packed full of motivation… excited to hit the ground running!!! YES!!! That’s what a conference is ALL ABOUT! Monday comes. Now you are back at your office, it’s time to start telling your colleagues about your awesome experience at Summit … about all the powerful things you learned to help push your business forward… you sit down, and BAM! You are immediately overwhelmed with an overflowing Outlook Inbox, voicemails, and tasks that have taken a pause so you can be out of the office for a few days… the catch up begins, and in just a few hours, the excitement turns into a slow recovery process, and the conference benefits get pushed aside. Welcome to the ‘Post Conference Blues’ Now that it’s been some time after the event, let’s take some time to recharge those motivation batteries and get that ROI you are looking for in the first place! Here are just a few tips to help you take charge of your ROI and get rid of the post conference blues.
Tip #1: Download the Slide Decks
The User Group Summit, like most conferences, make the session slide decks available for download. Some are available before your session, while some are made available afterwards, depending on the speaker and the topics. Visit the official materials website for User Group Summit, navigate through the User Groups, and find the sessions you attended, and maybe even some you did not attend, and download the slide decks. You can find them here. This is so great right? You get the content of the sessions… well, maybe. Some presenters just simply don’t include enough in the slide decks (IMHO) for post conference ROI. This can be frustrating but remember most of the value is in actually attending. If your slide decks don’t have all the content, they will for SURE have something else that can help… the speakers contact information! All speakers are volunteers at this event and I encourage you to reach out to those speakers and ask for their notes, or additional slides if they have them You can also ask if they are doing a User Group Summit encore webinar.
Tip #2: Attend Virtual Event Encore Webinars
If the session attracted a lot of positive feedback, you can be sure the User Group Summit planners will reach out to those speakers for a webinar encore. This is VERY helpful! Even if you attended the session in person, these webinars can help recapture that excitement you felt during the session in person! If you were not able to attend, this is a great way to see what you missed. These generally come a few months after the event, so it won’t be a quick turnaround, but add some reminders to your calendar and check in once a month to see what webinars are available. I recommend attending as many of these virtual events as possible – if the session was picked for an encore webinar, I am sure it’s going to add value one way or another!
Tip #3: Discuss Ideas with your Partner
This may sound like a stretch, but honestly, it’s one of my favorite post-conference agenda items. I was an end user of ERP software for over 20 years, and this was a large contributor to my post-conference success. Did you see a 3rd party tool that could change your life? Ask your Partner. Did you learn something new and exciting but can’t quite get it across the finish line? Ask your Partner. Your partner should be just that, your partner! They should be excited to help you succeed and improve processes in your office – and just after a conference is a great time to get their attention and help you get the information that you need. I’m sure they would love to help maximize the ROI of your conference time.
What’s Next?
Next year’s User Group Summit will actually be called Community Summit. I feel certain it will be just as successful as this year’s event, if not more! It is being held at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville TN: October 6-9, 2020. Registration is already open at a great price! Click here for more information.
How can we help you?
Whether you stopped by our booth, or saw one of our sessions, or you just read this blog and realized you could use a little extra help recapturing your excitement from User Group Summit, we are here to help – just give us a call or send us an email!