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How many times have you heard that when asking your boss if you can attend an industry conference? It's one of those dreaded questions people hate to ask because for so many it seems like a boondoggle. Airfare, hotel and too many ride-share trips to count! Understandable that one might think attending a conference is a big waste of company dollars.
Well I have a counterpoint, and this my friends is one of the things you can present to your boss when they come back with "It's not in the budget", or "I don't see the value."
The Value of Relationships
Ask your leader this question, it's a bit rhetorical because you should know the answer. Who's our biggest client? Of course, they're going to answer with whomever that happens to be. Then ask the follow-up question, what's the value of our relationship with them?
Now from here, you talk about the ROI of the relationship isn't something you can put a dollar figure on because if you have a great relationship it means more business. Keeping that relationship healthy means more than just servicing their account, it means understanding their needs and helping them to grow by providing information about your industry and how your product, service or innovations fuel that growth.
Now, relate that to your ask about the conference you want to attend. For example, let's say your leader's name is Chip. Well, Chip, I'm planning to meet with and do some relationship building with one the VP of Sales at Pandora, the Sr. Director of Engagement at Under Armour, and the Content Marketing Evangelist at LinkedIn. Now by this time Chip is going to be wondering, "Over the Phone?" You'll proudly answer, "No Chip, in person, and you should come as well." Now you've got him really interested in when this is all going down and how you pulled this off.
Now for the Ask
Well Chip, I'd like for us to attend the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference, it's coming up in March and all of these market leaders are going to be there, and I've already reached out to them for meetings. You can check out the full lineup of speakers here Chip, https://bestmarketingconference.com/mdmc-2018-speakers/
What's good about this approach is you've included Chip in the meeting, and enticed his interesting in meeting with top executives from companies that you can either learn from or in the case of LinkedIn use for B2B.
You can't make the ask just about your personal development and what you get out of it, the ask has to be about how the investment, which in this case is modest for a conference of this caliber has to be about the company and the relationship you can build as a result of going.
Do Some Pre-Work to Close the Sale
Yes, closing the sale. You're asking your company to pay for a conference, so you're wanting them to spend money. You have to sell them on it so you best do some work first.
1. Outline the practical skills you'll learn from attending session, like the one on B2B Sales with LinkedIn
2. What's the measurable impact your attendance could have on your business in the next 30, 60, 90 days after the conference, and how you plan to illustrate the impact for the business. This could be in leads, sales or relationships that lead to referrals.
3. Speaking opportunities for you or your boss. Getting to know the conference organizer is a great way to position your company as an industry leader. Your company represented at the next year's event could lead to even more business down the road if you leverage the appearance in your marketing materials.
A pretty solid strategy if you put your company first. Investing in your personal growth is something I would suggest for any profession, especially marketing. So if you can't get your company to invest in you, there's always the option of investing in yourself and that is never a bad investment.
Disclosure
In full disclosure, I'm speaking at the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference https://bestmarketingconference.com/speakers/vernon-ross/ and I'm an unpaid volunteer on board that plans the event.