Star Talk: How to Talk to the Executive Conference Speaker

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AQUA America Chairman Nick DiBenedictis at Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry annual dinner at Longwood Gardens last year.

By Greg Star

Here’s the scenario: You have just paid around $100 to go to an event where you really want to connect with the guest speaker. The speaker could be a potential prospect, or investor that you have been trying to reach for a long time.

The challenge is that everyone in the room is most likely trying to do the same thing. So how do you break apart from the clutter, and establish a meaningful connection? Here are some strategies for standing out:

Arrive early: Make sure to arrive 15-20 minutes early. This gives you an opportunity to potentially connect with the person before anyone else gets there. It may also afford you some individual face time with the organizers, where you can let them know of your intentions to speak with the speaker. Sometimes, if you ask the right way, they will help introduce you.

Find their guests: Usually speakers will bring either their spouse, or other members of their company with them. While everyone else is bombarding the speaker at the event, this is a perfect opportunity to meet and connect with the people he/she heeds counsel from. This can lead to a strong warm introduction down the line, which can be better than a quick elevator pitch.

Stay late: This may sound extreme, but budget 15-20 minutes after the event to stand by the exit. The speaker has to leave – right? I’ve met a few people this way, and they were more impressed by my determination than anything else.

Send a thoughtful email: If the above steps do not work, then I have found emailing the speaker after the event with the subject line “Thoughts on your speech” will get a response 80% of the time (note- sample size of only 5). In the email it is important to provide substantive feedback on what they spoke about. Do not solicit in the email either- just introduce yourself, and state your honest feedback. This allows you to begin the relationship on a positive note, and maintain contact from there.

Write a handwritten letter: Similar to sending an email, but arguably more impactful. You can almost bet that no one else in the room is sending a hand written note, and this truly stands out.

Bringing it all together:

Taking the time to strategize and plan when trying to talk to a celebrity speaker will pay dividends.  Test a few of these suggestions, and see if it works!

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greg starGreg Star is a Founding Partner of Carvertise, a Delaware-based advertising company that places ads on private commuters’ vehicles. Think of Uber meets advertising. Greg has been named Delaware’s Young Entrepreneur of the year by the SBA and is an active member of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry. Greg can be reached at Star@carvertise.com, or for more information about Carvertise, like our Facebook page!

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