Networking:
The opportunity to make new contacts and to build relationships with existing ones, is the reason why there isn’t really such a thing as a bad IM event. Even if the presentations are poor (and this certainly wasn’t the case here), the chance to network with like-minded entrepreneurs is always valuable.
Unfortunately, this was probably the weakest aspect of this event and I sincerely hope this will be addressed for next years event.
At the preceding two events, much time and opportunity was given to allow attendees to mingle and chat among themselves. Although I don’t believe this was intentional, there were a number of factors that limited this activity.
Lunch time and breaks are usually a natural time for everyone to get to know each other in a relaxed environment. The difficulty here is that these periods were kept short and the 45 minutes for lunch and 10 minutes for breaks were strictly enforced. By the time you’d left the seminar room and grabbed a coffee, only a few moments remained for conversation – barely enough time for an introduction, let only any serious discussion of projects, future plans, joint ventures, etc.
Heaven help you if you needed to squeeze in a trip to the toilets as well.
Additionally, the brevity of time allowed wasn’t helped by the location. The atrium that served as the location for the breaks was a large, modern, well-lit, attractive environment that, unfortunately, had the acoustics of a dining area in a shopping centre.
I might have been the only one that found the resulting noise less than relaxing, but the biggest concern was the lack of seating. Benches were dotted around the edges of the room, but there was no facility for people to sit opposite each other, or in groups. Balancing a plate of food in one hand, a drink in the other, while attempting to converse in a group was something of a challenge. I managed to meet a few new people, but I always felt a little too rushed to really enjoy it.
I had hoped the Friday evening would be a different matter – settling in a comfortable chair with a Budweiser is a far more relaxed opportunity for conversation. But this also turned out to be a limited experience with seemingly only a handful of people in any one location.
There are a number of reasons why this might be the case, including the hefty price of drinks (£8.00 for a rum and coke, anyone?), the final seminar lecture on the Friday not finishing until after 7pm (I was shattered by 9pm and I don’t think I was the only one) and the popularity of the hotel (it’s hard to know if the person stood at the bar is attending the seminar, is a guest of the wedding reception, or is attending one of the other events being held that weekend).
But I believe the main problem was that no specific location was provided or arranged for the purpose of networking. With everyone left to make their own plans, and with several bars and restaurants to choose from in this hotel alone, everyone quickly dispersed aside from a few smaller groups.
Those attending this seminar for this first time might think I’m being fussy, but if you attended last year’s event, you will no doubt recall just how much emphasis and opportunity was placed on networking.
In 2007, most of the afternoon BEFORE the first day of the seminar saw the majority of attendees (and many of the speakers) chatting amongst themselves in the hotel bar. That evening, a room equipped with a number of large, round tables, was put aside to allow discussions to continue until the early hours of the morning.
The consequence was that, by the time the first morning of the seminar had arrived, everyone was already relaxed and comfortable with their surroundings and the people they were sitting alongside.
This might offer some insight into the questions that were raised over why the audience of this most recent event were unusually quiet and inhibited.
It was also sad to note that, while smaller events usually allow the speakers to easily socialise with the attendees, on this occasion, many of the speakers were unable to stay for more than few minutes after their presentation. The opportunity to talk and learn further from these individuals was a disappointing omission.
Still, some enjoyable discussions were there to be had, and it was nice to meet up again with Matt Garret, Ben Catt, Roy Everitt, Jacqui Carrel, Alex Jeffreys, among others. I also got to the chance to meet Tina Lindgren and Allen Jesson in person – people whom I had only previously spoken to by telephone.
I won’t even try to list the names of the people I enjoyed meeting for the first time. Mainly because not everyone had business cards and if I try and list everyone, I’ll forget and offend at least a couple of people. If I got your business card, I’ll be dropping you a line soon. Otherwise, please send me your email address to the usual place (or Lucid Support if you don’t have an address) and hopefully we can stay in touch until next years event.
Although I came away disappointed from the networking aspect of the seminar, I should stress that this is primarily due to the high expectations created by previous experiences. In virtually every other way, the UK Focus Marketing Seminar for 2008 was equal to, and often superior to its predecessors.
And, hotel expenses aside, the cost of a ticket to this event was far lower than before and offered incredibly good value for money.
So, in conclusion, I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to Pat Lovell and Sean Roach for organising an excellent event – and I look forward to whatever you guys have planned for next year.
If you attended this years event, please post your personal highlight in the ‘comments’ below. If you didn’t attend, why not make a commitment and post your attention to be there in 2009 
