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I Just Got Back From a Conference; Now What Do I Do With All This Stuff?

The first thing you notice when you get back from a conference or a seminar is work has piled up and you're on OVERLOAD! You are excited about all the new things you have learned and have big plans to implement these new ideas. If you want to ensure this happens, you must do a couple of key things within days of returning from the conference or seminar. Conventions and seminars are great motivators just remember motivation is temporary, but commitment is permanent - so don't just be motivated - be committed!

There are two very important goals to accomplish when attending a conference or seminar. First, attend the conference with an open mind, take notes during the seminars and highlight specific points on the handouts. Second, visit the exhibit hall to gather brochures or catalogs from the vendors that will benefit your business either now or in the future. Are you in the habit of filing all your seminar notes and vendor brochures in an accordion file or a hanging file? If you are, how often do you or can you retrieve that information or is it just collecting dust?

Since you are receiving this newsletter, I assume you use a computer on a regular basis. Why not put this powerful resource to work for you? Then any information you need will only be a few clicks away. One of the biggest benefits of using a computer is a computer's ability to sort through a vast amount of information in a split second and locate a single document.

What I am going to suggest will only take a couple of hours or an afternoon depending on the amount of information you acquire at a conference. It is really quite simple and takes very little effort on your part. However, I guarantee after years of handling seminar information in this manner, any information you are searching for will be right at your finger tips. To implement this system you will need two software programs, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft OneNote. Many of you have Outlook, however, you may have never heard of OneNote. This inexpensive program has quickly become one of my favorite organizing tools. I use OneNote to store and organize all kinds of Information i.e., text from a website, text from an email, forum posts, scanned documents, health notes, computer notes and much more. (see screen shot below)

Enter all new vendors in Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express). In the note section, type a few important facts about each contact including the type of products they sell. Also, create and assign categories to each vendor in Outlook. Assigning categories to vendors will enable you to find a vendor with a few clicks; this is what it's all about, being able to find information quickly when you need it. Some vendors can be assigned five or six categories; then when you perform a search for Flameproof or Outdoor Fabric all vendors assigned these categories will be displayed.
File vendor brochures that you have collected in 3" binders alphabetically. When brochures/catalogs are not 3-hole punched, place them into a sheet protector. You can set up specialty binders for some categories i.e., Wood Poles, Iron Poles, Pillows & Bedding, etc. Photographs of white binders in our office can be viewed on our Minutes Matter website.
Scan seminar notes and save them into Microsoft OneNote. Create main category tabs in OneNote i.e., Computer, Hardware, Motorization, Fabrication Techniques, Marketing, Recipes, Health etc. Inside each of the major categories you can create numerous sub-category tabs. The search feature is phenomenal in OneNote making retrieving information fast and easy. Another advantage of handling information through the computer is that you can organize it, condense it and rewrite it in a way that would not be possible if it were simply filed in a binder. This program creates its own file folder in "My Documents" called "My Notebook". As you create a back up for "My Documents" your OneNote file will be saved.
Whether you are working in Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft OneNote, categorization is the key to retrieving information at a later time. Categorize in multiple ways since your mind set may be different six months down the road.

How frustrating it is to remember a piece of information like a certain product but can't remember the vendor's name. With Outlook and OneNote you can put an end to this frustration. Every problem has a solution!

Screen shot shows a reduced size of OneNote.

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