WPC Post 2 of 3 --- The During-Event Activities

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imageJust 4 days away now. The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference spins up in Washington, DC on Sunday.

This is part 2 of 3 in a series of posts for Before, During and After WPC Activities. Like with Part 1 that focused on the Pre-activities this post is focused on the DURING event activities. It’s just a quick and short list of reminders of things to do while you are at the event. As always, if you have tips & tricks to share please add them to the comments.

I’d like to think most of these are common sense things, but in the heat of the moment strange things can happen. For example, if you aren’t staying close to the convention center and you forgot your badge you’ll have to deal with getting back to your hotel to pick it up. That one little detour can impact your whole day.

Quick Check List – During the Event

  • When you leave your hotel room:
    • imageGrab a good sized stack of your business cards
    • Grab a Pen. If you can’t find one … go to the Expo Hall. While you are in the Expo Hall … chat up a few partners. Who knows … you might find your next deal in a casual conversation.
    • Take Notes – Use OneNote or a piece of paper (some people find writing on business cards offensive. Be aware).
    • Logo Attire (you know what I mean) – Logo up!
    • Grab your Badge. It’s easy to forget this. Don’t!
    • Battery Back Up / Re-Charging Gear. (This pic is my setup – including the Iced Coffee)
      • Heads Up: There will be re-charging stations in the Microsoft Social Hub on the Expo Floor. There will also be charging stations at other points in the Expo Hall. So, if you truly forget them all is not lost.
  • Check your Outlook and Connect Meeting schedule 
    • Make sure you know where you are starting your day. Often it’s at the keynotes, but there is an afternoon keynote this year.
    • Know where you are going and when you need to be there. It goes without saying … everyone gets busy. Be on time … you might be the only one and when you are you get extra karma points.
    • Have a show floor map on your devices (hint: gat a hard copy too)
  • Expo Hall - Regional Lounges, Parties and IAMCP
    • Visit the Expo Hall. Talk with Partners. Talk with Microsoft. Spend time at the Social Hub.
    • Make sure you go to your Country Lounge. Whether you are from the US or from any number of countries or regions you’ll find friendly faces with similar interests.
    • While you are there ask them about where the parties are happening. They won’t know of all of them, but they’ll know of a few.
    • Go to the IAMCP Lounge too. Consider joining your local chapter (or starting one).
  • Look for FTA’s aka First Time Attendees
    • You’ll be able to identify them because they will have a red lanyard.
    • If you are an FTA … Welcome! Please come to my session on Sunday at 1pm (session LS711 in Room 206)
    • If you see an FTA say hello. Let them know they are welcome and they are now part of The WPC Club.
  • Bonus Points:
    • Wear casual clothes for the evening events. Logos are not required everywhere!
    • Remove your badge when you leave the show floor.
    • When you get back to your room at night … Immediately put your devices on their chargers.
    • Take 5 – WPC is a hectic event. Take a 5 minute break and just relax.
    • Then Take 15 to write down notes, actions and next steps for all the meetings you had during the day.
      • What you learned / What you need to learn
      • Who you met / Who you need to meet

Re-Cap: image
Things to do in DC (at WPC at least) & Shameless Plugs

  • Sunday – Come to the First Time Attendee (FTA) session from 1-2pm (session number LS711) in room 206
    • We WILL get you to the FIFA finals on time
    • Julie Simpson, Jeff Hilton and Jeff Shuey (yours truly) will be discussing Tips & Tricks for FTA’s
  • Monday – Attend the Vision Keynote, Go to the IAMCP booth and introduce yourself.
  • Tuesday – Come to my sessions mid-day in the Microsoft Social Hub on the Expo Show floor
    • These are designed to be fun and interactive. If you are an expert in these areas already come listen and jump in with your expertise. If you are new to Social Media or want to get another persons perspective (meaning my perspective) then please consider blocking this time on your calendar.
    • Tuesday 2-2:30 for Why Your LinkedIn Profile Matters (session number LS699) in the Social Hub on the Expo Floor
    • Tuesday 2:30-3 for You, Too, Can Write a Business Blog Post(session number LS694) in the Social Hub on the Expo Floor
  • Wednesday – Attend the Vision Keynote and Attend the Partner Celebration (Get ready for Paramore and Neon Trees)
    • Go to the IAMCP Booth on the Expo Floor at 4pm – Meet with special guests from VFI, WIT, US IAMCP Board and Microsoft
  • Thursday – Attend your Country Breakout, Travel Safely back home, Do the Post-Event activities.

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My Business Objectives

Yes, I have a day job too. As my WPC Connect profile says I am looking for System Integrators and ISV’s with SharePoint and/or SAP expertise. My company, Gimmal, helps Microsoft customers get to the cloud. We help them build governance and compliance solutions for Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365 and Azure. We also work with Yammer, OneDrive for Business and Windows Mobile solutions. If you work with any of these products we should talk. I’m in the WPC Connect tool and my contact details are: Jeff.Shuey@gimmal.com or M: +1 425 922 8056

Not the Final Word

This is just a high level set of things for you to consider in the final week before the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. I hope they help you to have a fantastic and wildly successful WPC. I hope to see you in my sessions. I encourage you to say hello if you see me walking around the show floor or at the evening events. Who knows you might get a nice surprise.

See you in DC.

See all three posts here (when they are ready):

Image Credits: Microsoft

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Jeff is an expert in the Enterprise Content Management industry. He brings over 20 years of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing and Alliance expertise to audiences around the world in speaking engagements and via his writing. He has worked for Microsoft, Kodak, K2 and currently he is the Director of Strategic Alliances atGimmal. Tweet him @jshuey or connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+

He is a contributing author to Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Yahoo, US News and to the Personal Branding Blog.

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