Thirteen Key Reasons to Attend Professional Development Conferences

Most people understand the importance of attending professional development conferences. They know that doing so will help them get ahead in business, learn new skills and make valuable connections. And yet, there are occasions when the costs can outweigh the benefits of attending and participating in the key learning resources. The costs can include travel, lodging, event registration and meals. And then there’s the time factor.  Taking time away from your business or career is difficult to justify without knowing what the benefits are to attend professional development conferences.  Even local ones cost time away from business.

Here are 13 reason attending conferences can be a benefit to your professional development and more:

1. To learn something new you can immediately implement in your business or career.
2. To expand skills, learn more about the job, discover industry specific knowledge that can help you grow personally and professionally.
3. To meet thought-leaders within the industry or topic of the conference – to ask questions, share ideas and expand on what is covered.
4. To network with people in your industry.
5. To meet people in person whom you have made connections with thru social media
6. To learn from the experiences of your peers.
7. To learn about valuable resources relevant to your business or career.
8. To gain insights and ideas that you can use to establish/increase your credibility and expertise such as writing articles, books and other media.
9. To show a commitment to your profession as well as find opportunities to give back, such as volunteer positions.
10. To visit interesting new locations where the conference is being held.
11. To connect with sponsors and other supporters of the conference.
12. To see who your competitors are first-hand, learn more about their businesses, discover their strengths and weaknesses, all of which can add to your business’s competitive edge.
13. To meet with and market to potential customers and clients who are also interested in the same benefits and outcomes of attending the conference. Live events also give you the opportunity to do research on the needs of your target audience follow up with direct mail and or personal interaction, thus omitting the “cold call.”