Convincing the C-Suite: 10 Steps to Making a Compelling Case to Attend CHART
January 13, 2016 | 1907 Views
In my former CEO position, I was always looking at the bottom line and what our return on investment would be when an individual would attend a CHART conference or any industry event. Here’s a concrete plan for how to convince your executives that the CHART conference is a MUST attend for you:
- Study the program and identify sessions that could help you do your job better. The full brochure and agenda is at chart.org.
- Share program information with your colleagues and identify what kind of information you could bring back to them.
- Share program information with your supervisor and identify which sessions they believe would benefit your workplace.
- Describe how the cost to attend is an exceptional value because of all that is included. CHART conferences feature central locations in off-peak times, low room rates, most of the meals, and three nights of refreshments in the Hospitality Suite. Not to mention the educational content!
- Develop a draft plan of how essential tasks will get done while you are away.
- Develop a draft plan for after you get back, describing how you will share what you learned and implement new ideas that offer a return on the investment of your time and money.
- During and just after the conference, complete the CHART Conference Report template located on our member website in the Trainer Toolbox tab. Commit your action items to paper while they are still fresh!
- Share session materials with colleagues.
- Follow up with those you met and whose business cards you collected to solidify high-quality connections.
- Be involved in CHART’s Ask My Peers online discussion forum and attend free Regional Training Forums (RTFs) to keep the learning and peer connections going between conference time.
If you show how you’ll be more valuable to your organization afterwards, the better your chances at attending CHART’s not-to-miss conference. Now that’s the bottom line!
This blog orginally appeared in the January 2016 issue of FlipCHART.