10,000 black and blue suits, with nametags, in your city’s downtown? Must be INTA AM.

10,000 black and blue suits, with nametags, in your city’s downtown?
Must be INTA AM.

As I work out my schedule for INTA AM in Dallas, Texas May 5 - 8, 2013, I offer some tips on getting the most out of the annual meeting.

"Just put yourself about."

When I went to my first INTA AM my boss told me to “put yourself about”. Meaning hang around the conference and dole out and collect business cards; as long as I came back with a pile of cards he was happy.

I soon realized that most people were actually scheduling meetings; some even seemed to have schedules with meetings every half hour. So I started scheduling meetings with people had I met in previous years.

It wasn’t until about my fifth AM that it occurred to me that meeting with people I was already working with would be a good idea. My boss was not impressed with this idea. His attitude: Why would I want to waste time on someone who was already giving us work? OMG seriously!?! But I went ahead because of a problem I was having on a file with a German associate. I thought if I took her out for dinner we might be able to solve the problem. We had such a nice time that we schedule a meal together every year now. And, yes, we did solve the problem.

The Devil (and the party) is in the Details

So, my INTA AM schedule starts with breakfasts and lunches with clients. Then I fill in any meal gaps with INTA friends. Other activities I might do with INTA friends is reception hop, shopping, or late afternoon drinks. There is also usually a Saturday night dinner with a big group and a Tuesday night dinner.

I do schedule some of those “every half hour meetings”. They are a pain -- you have to find the right person in a sea of name tags and they are often no shows -- but you never know when one of those will turn into something interesting. Another plus is the other people you meet who are also waiting.  Last year I found out that there is a soccer tournament at INTA AM. Apparently, it is mostly the young southern America hemisphere attendees’ thing. Ooh la la!

The trick to these meetings is to find a unique meeting spot; easier said than done if you don’t know the first thing about where you are but I must say that the advent of smart phones has made this a lot easier. The message “I’m standing beside the big purple flower” is actually quite helpful!

The last thing I do is schedule receptions. In order to attend a variety of receptions a lot of foresight and planning is required; and a map. First you need to sort the receptions by date and time. Then you need to figure out where they are and how best to plot a course through the city that gets you to the receptions with the least amount of running around.

Be Flexible

Finally, you have got to be flexible. Meetings are going to start late or run late. Opportunities to do something wonderful are going to arise. Don’t be so tied to your schedule that you miss out on a great event. Also keep your eye on Twitter, you’ll find out where all the action is!

At www.inta.org you can get the Annual Meeting mobile app. The app will be available on April 15th and you can use it to create your schedule of personal appointments and receptions.