Dos And Don'ts When Attending Exhibitions: LearnTech 2020
Learning Technologies is Europe's leading showcase of organisational learning and technology used to support learning at work. The exhibition consists of more than 200 free L&D seminars and 200 exhibitors across the main hall. The event will be held on 12th & 13th February at ExCeL London and accessplanit will once again be in attendance, exhibiting on stand M50.
It's all too easy when you head to a global L&D event such as Learning Technologies, to get lost in the noise and come away having not fulfilled your business objectives for the day. With this being our 13th year exhibiting at the event, we've picked up a number of helpful tips over the years. Without further ado, here's our Do's and Don'ts for Learning Technologies, this year.
Dos and don'ts when attending LearnTech 2020
DO
Set defined goals
Time out of the office is precious so define what it is you and your business are hoping to achieve from the event. With several seminars taking place simultaneously, it’s vital that you undertake some prep work.
Be clear on what the key issues are for your business right now, and align those objectives with the sessions you attend. Find out who is speaking and identify whether anyone is particularly ‘cutting edge’. See our favourite talks from 2019.
Top tip: Make sure to check the exhibition website regularly for updates and additional information.
Network
Exhibitions are a great place to network with industry professionals who share the same goals, issues and interests as yourself. Find out who is attending and which company they are from, then make contact during breaks. Ensure to keep business cards you receive safe, and if you're able to scan QR codes on badges as you go round, all the better for following up afterwards!
Prioritise
You may not be able to get to everything you hope to see, and it is easy to get side tracked. To avoid this and stay focused, check out the exhibitor list prior to your visit. It may also be worth registering your interest and setting up a meeting in advance to save your valuable time. With so much going on it will be a fine balance, but the ideal will be to achieve your ‘must see’ list whilst remaining free to grab other opportunities as they arise.
Top tip: Print out the floor plan and mark your list of ‘must see’ and ‘may see’ products and companies.
DON’T
Be too rigid
Plan ahead and prioritise, but don’t be so rigid as to not allow yourself to attend a seminar or visit a stand if it catches your attention. You may have overlooked a key speaker, so if an opportunity is more appealing and beneficial than the event you have planned, take it!
Top tip: Don’t book back to back meetings – you are just setting yourself up to fail.
Plan for one day
Don’t expect to be able to see everything that you want to in one day. Planning for two days will allow you to return to any stands that you are interested in, finding out more about and enables you to factor in any last minute seminars. Visit on both the 12th & 13th February to make the most of your visit.
Let the day job take over
Once you get back in the office it is easy to get bogged down with the day to day. Don’t waste the information you have just gained, set aside some time to review it and cascade it to the relevant people within your organisation.
Top tip: Organise conference feedback time with colleagues prior to your visit which will act as a motivator.
Forget to visit us!
The accessplanit team will be on stand M50 exhibiting our award-winning training management platform. Book a consultation with one of our experts before 31st January, and we'll send you a welcome pack in the post and prepare you a goody bag to take away from the event!
We hope to see you there.
Other articles you might find interesting include:
3 Reasons to attend Learning Technologies 2020
5 Things the Training Industry has taught us in 2019
Why Your Training Company Should Be Hosting Events & How To Do It Well
