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For the sake of productivity, it isn’t possible to attend all conferences, and VARs want to make the most out of the conferences they attend. Here are some tips for selecting which conferences to attend and for getting the most out of the conferences once they are there.

Know Your Goals

Before selecting which partner conferences to attend, VARs should outline their goals for the coming year. If a major part of their growth strategy for the coming year is tied to the products and services of a specific vendor, that makes the decision whether to attend the conference easy.

Also, look at the topics being covered at each event. Are there issues relating to the VAR’s strategy? For example: If a VAR plans on focusing on improving its social media marketing this year, it should look for events covering this topic. Using company goals to determine which events to attend ensures the VAR is selecting the events more relevant to the company.

Map Out the Agenda Beforehand

Once VARs have selected the conferences they are going to attend, the next step is to create a list of sessions that make the most sense for their company. Sticking with our previous example: Rather than selecting the breakout session on social media marketing at all the conferences offering this type of session, VARs should look at the topics during concurrent sessions to increase the knowledge they gain from these events.

VARs should look at all the optional sessions at the events they are attending and sign up for the ones that make the most sense to them. Even if you don’t have to pre-register for sessions, going into the event with a plan means VARs won’t be making a snap decision on which event to attend and will be more likely to select the session that will have the largest impact on the business.

Set up Meetings with Other Partners

One of the greatest benefits of attending a partner kickoff is the opportunity to network with other VARs. Most events will offer some amount of downtime, but if they don’t, make plans to meet with other attendees during breakfast. During these meetings VARs can discuss marketing and sales strategies, what has made them successful working with a particular vendor, and what challenges they’ve been facing. This type of information will be almost as valuable as the sessions themselves and will help VARs create new strategies for success they may have never thought of themselves.

With these tips VARs attending multiple partner conferences will be more confident they are using their time wisely and getting all they can out of these events.

Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of The VAR Guy’s annual platinum sponsorship. Read all of Sophos‘ guest blogs here.