If the inside of a bar is the thing you look forward to above all others at the automotive repair and tire industry events that you attend, I am guessing there is not an awful lot I could advise that would add to your experience. Well, maybe I could suggest you do a Google search or check Yelp to line up the best places to find your favorite Scotch, or which bars offer drop-off service so when you overindulge you don’t have to worry about driving under the influence or ending up in a fountain somewhere in your rental car. If, however, you have flown halfway across the country to actually learn something or to check out what is new and possibly could benefit you and your shop operation, I might have a suggestion or two that could help.
The most important step in attending one of these events is to have a plan. Even if in signing up for an event you have no particular reason for attending, the moment that you commit to going, it is very important that you have some compelling reason or objective in being there. At a lot of these types of events, the reasons can be obvious, with shop equipment or marketing being central themes. But before you show up have a plan of action. I can promise that if you are there for a specific reason, you are much more likely to get involved, much more likely to search out answers, much more likely ask questions and much more likely to talk to other attendees.
If you have no reason to be there other than sipping umbrella drinks by the pool and if there are not things that you would look to learn or accomplish, the draw of that bar is going to be all the stronger and you will have missed a great opportunity to improve yourself and your operation. Every event has a theme or represents some aspect of the industry, and there are always learning opportunities, even if it is just trying to understand what is new and different out there. Just as they say you should not shop for groceries when you are hungry, you should not attend one of these events without some purpose in mind. Take the time to research the event, the speakers and the various vendors. See if peers or colleagues have ever attended this particular event, what their thoughts are on it or if they are going. Understand where you are going so you will be able to plan what you will do once you get there. If you don't, you are very likely to come home with a lot of things that you don't need and cannot afford and are just as likely to have wasted the huge learning opportunity that these events can represent.
Stick to Your Plan
Armed with your plan, the next important step is total emersion. Even before all of that, I would suggest you arrive early, get acclimated, get mentally prepared and do that pre-event recon so you know where you are going, where the classes or demonstrations that you plan on attending are located, when they start and what you might need to bring. Let all of the other guys show up unprepared and late; you are there with a specific purpose in mind. Maybe you are looking for a company to help you develop a broad marketing plan or find somebody to upgrade your online presence or to handle your search engine optimization (SEO). Maybe you are looking at shop equipment or a financial services company that can help you better plan and afford all that equipment. Have a plan and stick to it.
An important side note to all of this is avoiding the separation anxiety you are likely to suffer when you are away from your shop. For these couple of days, it is very important that you dive in and engage, and that means not calling back to your shop 20 times a day and not getting involved in every little issue as though you were sitting in your office as normal. Hang up the phone, disconnect and focus on the great event happening around you. Your shop will be there when you get back (hopefully), with all of the hassles and headaches that go with it. For these couple of days, dig in and explore the possibilities.
Probably the best event of this type that I have ever attended was the Salesforce.com technology event in San Francisco called Dreamforce. These people take over the whole downtown area including the Moscone Center and conference rooms in most of the nearby hotels. For several days, they present classes on business process, marketing, sales trends, emerging technology and so much information that is presented by business and industry giants, you could not possibly take in or absorb it all. I can promise you that if I did not show up in town armed with priorities and a plan, I would have been overwhelmed, with 25,000 or 30,000 other attendees in a strikingly beautiful city like San Francisco.
These people know how to put on a great event and anticipate your every need, and will wow you with a super slick event, cutting edge technology and celebrities (Bill Clinton, Eric Schmidt (Google him), Stevie Wonder, Metallica and MC Hammer) even if you are not sure why you are there. If you show up without some sort of an agenda and priorities, the event will overwhelm your senses and you will not get as much out of it as you could and should. I carefully scrutinized the classes and presentations offered long before I arrived in town and always came away from this event excited and much better for the experience. Trying to decide on where to go and what to see once you are there, with all of the distractions, is nearly impossible.
Get to Know Others
Once the event has started, mingle and make new friends and contacts and participate. Seems like pretty basic and simple advice, but sometimes when faced with a room full of strangers, flashing lights and being a long way from home, many of us (us men in particular), will tend to search out quiet corners and avoid human contact. There is no doubt that these events can be a bit overwhelming, but for these couple of days I am going to strongly advise you to strip off your inhibitions and dive into the deep end of that pool. Meet people, introduce yourself, shake hands, and share lunch with total strangers. Do not limit yourself to handing out your business card, get in the habit of starting a collection of your own. You never know when one of these chance meetings will turn into an important contact.
Getting out of your comfort zone certainly is going to be scary, but it is also going to give you the rare opportunity to see what is new and improving in the industry and give you the very real opportunity to make great contacts and identify viable solutions to the things that are affecting your operation. I certainly am going to suggest you be cautious, but get out there, ask questions, make friends and find ways to make your good shop even better. Away from the flashing lights and polished presentations, you are likely to discover other shop owners and service managers just like you, that have challenges just like you but also have solutions that you hadn’t thought about or suggestions on things they have tried and been successful with. You are not going to find these men and women sitting in that quiet corner.
Go find them. I promise they are out there and I promise they are looking for somebody just like you to share this event with. Only you can make that happen!
Implementing What You Learn
In the midst of all this human interaction and learning, you need to find the time to make a success of the event. You need to attend the classes you had identified coming in as being important, you need to see the demonstrations, meet with those targeted vendors and you need to accomplish the things you had set out to accomplish. Constantly remind yourself why you are there.
A sobering reality I used to run into in the aftermath of these types of events is in that far too often nothing changes. We diligently went into the event with a plan, fully participated, made some great contacts and friends and when we get back to our shop we dive back into our daily routine and forget about our big plans and new strategies. Michael LeBoeuf, an American writer, management consultant and professor said, "Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life".
When do you think would be a good time to get serious about what we are doing here and what we are trying to accomplish? I vote for right now.
The only difference between you and that great shop owner across town is that he is committed, in everything he does, to getting better. What are you committed to?
That bar and that Scotch will be there whether or not you are committed to doing something better for yourself, or for your staff and or even for your business. Changing your results might be no more complicated than changing your actions. What could be the benefit if you went to one of these events to learn or to explore ways to improve your operation? I'm just saying...
Seven steps to a better automotive event:
• Have clear reason for attending an event
• Do your research prior to the event so you clearly understand what the event is about, who will be there, what classes or demonstrations are being offered, what the facilities are like, what is the potential benefit to you, to your staff or your shop
• Develop a plan, set priorities and goals for the event
• Arrive early and stay late - your shop will survive without you
• Fully participate, ask questions, make contacts, exchange business cards, connect
• Spend some time as the event is winding down to identify take-aways, action items and goals
• If there are things worth pursuing coming out of one of these events, fully commit to the change and make it happen
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