Part 2:
Following Up After the Event
We’re back from another successful cannabis conference! Potency attended our third annual MJBizCon in Las Vegas, widely known as the largest gathering of business professionals in the cannabis industry. Each year we see both new and familiar faces, how much the market has grown and evolved, and which brands survive the test of time. It is undoubtedly the most productive and fruitful cannabis conference of the year for our creative agency, while also offering a heavy dose of fun and extravagant social events (it is Vegas, after all!). We feel fortunate for the opportunity to meet and build both personal and professional relationships with a diverse range of cannabis enthusiasts who come from many different backgrounds in the cannabis industry.
This article wraps up the second half of our two-part Potency Insights series. Provided are five valuable networking tips on staying relevant after a cannabis conference. Time is of the essence in order to remain memorable and maintain relationships with new acquaintances and potential clients.
Potency’s Top Five Follow-Up Tips
Gather business cards & organize your contacts
Great networkers give their undivided attention to the people they meet. They keep eye contact. They are active listeners. They remember key aspects of characters and stories. As a result, business cards can get lost in various places such as pockets, tote bags, folders, purses, etc. Before you drop off your suits to the dry cleaner, locate each and every business card your team collected from the cannabis conference and organize them in this order in an Excel spreadsheet:
The most important! The people with whom you had a memorable connection and conversation, and who actively expressed the most interest in your products and / or services.
The maybes: Anyone you think could directly benefit from your products and / or services (or can connect you with someone who could benefit).
Others: Any individual or cannabis business whose card you have on hand should be sorted by specialization, profession, or niche market in the cannabis industry (ie: ancillary, cultivation, cannabis retail, etc.)
Identify goals for your relationship & establish a connection
Make a list of objectives for each “most important” and “maybe” contact you’ve put aside. How can they benefit from your cannabis products or services? Can you benefit from their cannabis products or services? Why should they choose you over anyone else that provides the same cannabis products and services? Once you’ve established your cannabis brand’s edge and why your business is special to each of these individuals and / or cannabis businesses, write a list of topics to connect on. Topics can include building upon a previous conversation or mentioning a noteworthy commonality you share in the cannabis industry such as a mutual partner or client.
Send emails within a week of the event
More often than not, we’re mentally and physically exhausted after week-long cannabis networking events. Elevator pitch fatigue sets in, facial recognition gets blurry, and you’re catching up on the pile of work you missed during the cannabis conference. Before jumping back into your work routine, start drafting your follow-up emails in order to send them out within a week of the conference. If you wait too long, you might get lost in the crowd of other emails and be forgotten! The written content for your “most important” and “maybe” cannabis contacts should be thoughtfully personalized (as mentioned in tip #2) while your broader contact base should receive a similar, yet less personalized umbrella message reminding them about the cannabis products and services you provide. Attaching your company’s logo, a photograph of your team, and / or case studies of your work also goes a long way.
Set up a meeting (either in-person or via phone call)
At the end of your email, suggest meeting for a cup of coffee or meal together. It can be formal or informal, depending on the potential partner or client. If they aren’t within a meeting’s reach, try to schedule a phone call or conference call within the week. Moving the conversation away from the written formalities of an email and into a live and casual setting builds more of a memorable connection.
Stay in contact
After tips 1 through 4 are ticked off, set a reminder in your calendar to email or call your new cannabis contacts once a month. The primary focus and ultimate goal of attending these cannabis networking events are continuing to grow and maintain meaningful relationships with people who make the cannabis industry better for everyone involved. Professional correspondence is built on regular, honest communication and mutual support. The positive results are well worth the extra energy and work!