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Getting Your Conference Game Right

This may appear to be quite an obvious topic but many aesthetic practitioners reach December regretting the choices they made regarding conferences and education.  So as the conference year begins, here are a few pointers to help you to consider how you want to approach conferences, seminars and education in 2020.

Flip Off The FOMO

One of the most significant reasons practitioners end up spending money on too many or the wrong conferences is the FOMO factor (Fear of Missing Out).  Often the largest, sparkling conferences are marketed at us from every angle and we are accustomed to seeing prominent personalities and colleagues online discussing them.  As the old saying goes though, ‘all that glitters is not gold’.  To avoid burning time and money attending events that don’t fit well, you need to be more objective by parking the FOMO and engaging logic using some of the pointers below.

Agenda For the Win

The majority of UK conferences will be held in London, but aesthetic clinics and practitioners reach far across the country.  You need to carefully consider the time and expenses implications of travelling to these events.  With this in mind, it’s important to make choices based on what’s going to enrich you most as a practitioner and as a business.  At the heart of this is the agenda, easily accessed via the conference websites.  Look at this first to determine if the talks and seminars will fill gaps or enhance existing knowledge.  There can be a lot of conferences that cram in quick talks and big names but the emphasis can be quantity over quality so if nothing grabs you and there is no CPD points included, you might want to opt for another.

Plan Ahead

When attending a conference, it can often seem that the day passes by without really achieving very much, especially when there are multiple activities happening simultaneously.  The best way to combat that is intentional engagement over aimless wondering.  A music festival is one analogy; there are going to be live acts, food and drinks that you definitely don’t want to miss, so make sure you check out both the timetables and the exhibitors beforehand, pinpointing the times and locations and how you can prioritise the ones you want to visit most. 

With exhibitors take a look at the floorplan and use this as your chance to research products and treatments you’ve been curious about and also visit your existing brands to see if there’s anything new on the horizon or discuss products, offers and education.

Money Talks

Some conferences and seminars are free and whilst others come with a price tag.  This is not always a reflection on quality but sometimes a matter of where the conference makes their money.  For example, free events may be more subsidised by exhibitor fees. Points discussed previously will help you decide if the conference is worth the punt: is the agenda right for you? Is the money and time spent on travel and accommodation expenses worth it?  Depending on the kind of practitioner you are, learning and discussion on a smaller scale in a local region may be more beneficial.  At the beginning of the year, take a look at all the conferences and seminars, set a budget and evaluate what you think will be most beneficial.

Build Relationships

This is a great time to connect with manufacturers and suppliers and have more personable conversations where they can learn your needs as a business and tailor some of their services, products and prices according to their clients. A good rapport with reps and pharmacies can open doors to better service and new opportunities.

Springpharm will be at ACE 2020 this year at stand D7.  We would love to meet you and discuss what an ethical pharmacy means to you, as well as how we can better serve you.  Please visit us for information on our services and products.