How to Guarantee Success at Navy Gold Coast and Other GovCon Conferences

In this newsletter, I’ll give you my step-by-step process for getting the highest ROI from events like the 36th Annual Navy Gold Coast Small Business Exposition in San Diego August 19 - 21, 2024.

Let's look at:

1. What you should be doing 2 weeks before any conference
2. How to maximize your time at the event
3. What to do when you can't attend an in-person event

WHAT IS NAVY GOLD COAST?

The Department of the Navy (DON) Gold Coast Event is the premier Navy procurement conference in the country.

Presented in partnership with Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs it is a forum to educate, guide, and assist businesses, large and small, in support of the mission of the Department of the Navy and United States Department of Defense .

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE | How to Prepare 2 Weeks in Advance

Determine Your Purpose / Goal

Write down your objective so you can measure your outcome and drive your preparation process.

Who You Want to Meet?

1. SPEAKERS: Review the speaker list to identify and prioritize anyone you want to meet. Create a checklist with names from the 2024 Navy Gold Coast List of Speakers
2. EXHIBITORS: Prioritize the ones you want to meet then reach out on LinkedIn to see if you can warm up the connection in advance – 2024 Navy Gold Coast Exhibitor list

INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY on LINKEDIN

Is your LinkedIn profile current with updated contact information, company information, Capability Statement featured, etc.?

Find LinkedIn content posted by event speakers, sponsors and exhibitors. Engage strategically (don’t spam) with content they create.

Start conversations in the comment sections like…

I’m excited to be attending Navy Gold Coast for the first time and looking forward to seeing you there.

Remember that sales requires networking and talking to people.

REPOST related content from organizations attending, such as:

• Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs,
• Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs and
• Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC)

TIP - Never add comments when reposting other people's content. When you add your comment, you break the chain and dilute the impact.

AT THE CONFERENCE | How to maximize your time

Remember Why You Are Going to the Event

Know your objective. You have a limited amount of time, so you need to be strategic.

One goal is meeting people, so network. Another goal would be learning, so attend sessions.

Prioritize the Sessions and Exhibitors

The SBA Administrator or other political appointees may be interesting, but they are not valuable to small businesses. I recommend you use this time to have individual meetings or visit the exhibitor hall which is usually quieter during the major sessions.

Agency leadership sessions are more valuable to small businesses. Leadership come to conferences to connect with industry directly.

STEP ONE

Triage the exhibitors into Tier 1 High Priority and Tier 2 Medium Priority and everyone else.

Visit the booths according to priority, not by convenience of location. You want to be fresh and energized when you meet the most important contacts.  

Remember that networking is not the same as selling. No one buys at conferences.

The real goal of networking is to just get commitments for a meeting later. For example:

“It’s great to talk to you guys, but hard to go into depth. Would you be open a short meeting after the conference in the next couple of weeks?”

"How about we connect on LinkedIn to stay in touch?"

If they say yes, send them a connection request immediately while you are fresh in their mind.

Who do you know?

Many attendees are already posting that they want to meet you, like Bianca Henderson and her team at the NAVFAC Small Business booth and GSA OSDBU Associate Administrator Exodie C. Roe III.

TIP: Social Events are Not Effective Networking Opportunities

Sales legend Zig Ziglar always advised folks to avoid Happy Hours and alcohol at events. Conferences are working events, not social occasions.

Instead, use this time to consolidate your notes, put business cards into your CRM, send the LinkedIn connections, get rest to arrive fresh at the next morning’s events.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THE CONFERENCE

If you can't actually attend a conference, you can follow the exact same process as if you were going to attend the event.

Start by identifying the high priority people and companies you want to meet and reach out.

Send emails saying:

"I’m sorry I can’t attend your session at Gold Coast. Any chance I can get 15 minutes for a quick intro call?”

You can also do this to connect with speakers from previous years.

“Hi, I was revisiting your presentation from the 2023 Gold Coast event. Any chance we can get 15 minutes for a quick intro call?”

You can expand your outreach to anyone in the US Navy ecosystem.

“I’m not going to Gold Coast this year and will miss connecting with you. Any chance we can get 15 minutes for a quick intro call instead?”

How Can You Find Past Speakers?

The Navy Gold Coast website features a complete list of 2023 Presentations.

Here are some previous trainings of mine that will help you have the most success at your next conference or event.

·      How to Network at Matchmaking Events as a Government Contractor

·      What to Do After Federal Matchmaking Events to Build Relationships

·      Navy Gold Coast | Steps I Take to Guarantee Success at GovCon Conferences

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