BTS director, Luiza Todd reflects on the value to be gained from getting back to in-person events and offers some tips for making the most of future opportunities to get back out there.
After months of virtual meetings, conferences, and seminars, BTS are delighted to see the return of live in-person events, including the Professional Paraplanner Technical Insight Seminar schedule for 2022, at which yours truly is speaking. The first event, held on 2 February, saw a host of eager individuals make the trip to London to kick start the new year as we hope to go on; with in-person networking and live classroom CPD.
What are the benefits of attending in-person events?
There is no denying the effectiveness of remote working. Professional organisations have done a commendable job over the past two years maintaining programmes of remote CPD events. Zoom classrooms, webinars and remote conferences have all played a fantastic role in seeing many of us through the months of isolation. Now that restrictions have lifted and schedules for live events have started to be published, why should we bother to make the trip to attend in person when we could dial in from the comfort of our own homes?
1. Meet industry experts
Events like these attract excellent speakers; credible experts with a real passion for sharing what they do. The Professional Paraplanner Technical Insight Seminars have been designed to bring together industry experts in pensions, tax, suitability, retirement planning, investment, exam training and many more areas, with the aim to help paraplanners deliver even better outcomes and service to clients. A huge advantage of an in-person event are the scheduled networking opportunities throughout the day. Whilst the timetabled coffee and lunch slots might strike fear into our hearts (especially after two years of relative isolation), they aren’t nearly as scary as you think. Every person in attendance shares a common passion; to improve and develop, be that themselves or those they seek to support.
Event tip: Use the time leading up to the event to do a bit of research into the speakers and organisations in attendance. Check out their profiles on LinkedIn and the About Us section on their websites. Identify common goals or areas of interest and prepare some questions to ask. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the day to chat directly with the speakers, and this make a great introduction for a LinkedIn connection request after the event (more on this later). All of us have unique experiences and knowledge that we can share – if our experiences can help someone else’s working life be smoother, all the better.
2. Fact-find the organisations attending, what they offer and what they do that could help you / your company
A venue full of paraplanners and speakers is a goldmine of different company information and professional experience and those in attendance are often there to develop themselves and/or their business even further. BTS will be attending almost all the 2022 dates, offering advice on the qualification pathways to Level 4 and Level 6. After the February event, one attendee remarked “I have been to quite a few paraplanner conferences and don’t recall having anyone speaking about exam study resources before, so this was a good addition to the conference.”
Event tip: Find out as much as you can by talking to attendees and speakers about their experiences. If there is a training provider in attendance (like BTS) ask about the different qualification routes available, what their support study packages are like and their views on qualification and industry changes.
3. Grow your network
Live events are being held across the country, meaning you can grow your regional network by attending an event close to home, or travel a bit further afield to make new national connections. Getting your LinkedIn profile up to date and requesting connections with other event attendees is a good starting point. When making connection requests, make sure the request is relevant and try to personalise your message by referring to the event you attended.
Post-event tips: After all that in-person networking, you might be feeling all peopled out by the end of the day, but it is a great idea to reflect on the experience whilst it is still fresh in your mind. Make a list of people that you would like to follow up with, their name, job role and organisation. Write down the key themes from the day, highlight the things that resonate most with your current role and the things that challenged you to think about what you could do differently. Finally, don’t forget to log your attendance in your CPD record!
SIGN UP TO A TECHNICAL INSIGHT SEMINAR HERE
About Bespoke Training Solutions
Bespoke Training Solutions (BTS) have been supporting regulated exams for over 18 years, specialising in R0 support with outstanding candidate tracked results and feedback. Resources include digital and printed study guides, group and 1:1 training, e-Learning modules and a mobile app of practice exam questions. Visit www.bespoketrainingsolutions.com to learn more on how BTS can help you on your regulated journey. Or call us on 01748 822777.
