4 years after Covid, digital fatigue is finally setting in. Professionals are realizing that there is no substitute for face to face, in-person connections.

In today’s Polaris Perspective, we explore the intersection of events, networking, and social capital by sharing how to prepare & how to get the most out of the time, financial & emotional investment, with my dear friend Paul Abdool.

Paul and I met at a dinner when I was a young, fledgling, Head of Sales at Lift & Co (my first gig 8 years ago in the Cannabis industry). Paul and I were both part of Pavilion, which was formerly called Revenue Collective, a community of revenue leaders designed to drive peer-to-peer networking, resource sharing, and education across the globe.

This group was the pre-cursor to the executive community I co-founded in NY called The Cannabis Collective. Without Paul’s friendship & mentorship, I might not have been involved in the CC, a channel that has been pivotal in my growth into he New York City market.

How to Succeed at Events

Increasing Social Capital, Networking, and Crushing Events with Paul Abdool

Paul Abdool is a 3-time Vice President of Sales & Marketing and an author. His experience as an attendee, a board member of associations, and an event budget owner has helped him to develop the know-how to ensure event success for him, his companies, and readers of his book. Without further ado. Here’s the expert on events.

In this time of IRL (in real life) events making a comeback post-Covid, a little bit of “rust” has accumulated on both our event execution and networking skills.

Networking muscles began to atrophy into a little remote meeting square on our screens. Our Marketing event budgets also shrivelled up and event and show planners began to struggle to make ends meet. 

This article, written for Polaris Perspective, discusses how events and networking are critical for you business and your career. 

💡 Why should events & networking be a Leadership Priority

1. Events are where people are. 

2. Networking cannot be done without other people. 

3. Your Networking & Social Capital begins with interactions, usually in person, and usually at event.

In this struggle for both attention and trust, you just can’t phone it in... it take effort and requires thoughtful planning and logistics to maximize your return on event.

In the soon to be released book, From Workout to Last Call, the title is analogous to always being ready to represent you and your company.

The concept is simple, if you are awake, you should be “working”. When I say working, I’m not saying that you should always be selling or pitching, but you should be ready to network by showing up from sunrise to the last opportunity to converse with someone.”

Return on Events – The crazy grey calculus

Trade Shows, Conferences and Events (I will call them all events going forward) often provoke mixed reactions. While some perceive them as essential investments, others dismiss them as wasteful extravagances or even a boondoggle. The truth lies somewhere in between in the real world. 

Success at these events is not guaranteed—it requires careful planning, meticulous organization, and dedicated effort or it will not be fruitful.

The Financial Caveats

Let’s get something absolutely straight! Event math is a crazy calculus-like equation.

You do not always get an immediate payback or a return on your event. It could take weeks to get a follow up meeting or to book and get demos completed. It could take two times the length of your average sales cycle to see your first deal because of scheduling conflicts and conference seasonality. Depending on where you are in your fiscal year, the return could happen in the next fiscal year (i.e. – October event and your fiscal year ends in December).

So, why bother participating in events?

There are many ways to define success at an event, but I believe that social capital is the primary reason. Social capital refers to the resources and benefits that individuals or groups gain through their networks of relationships.  

These resources include: 

• Trust

• Information

• Influence

• Support

• Cooperation

These resources can enhance personal and professional success. Social capital relies on mutual connections and shared norms within a network or community, making it valuable for gaining access to new opportunities, acquiring knowledge, and strengthening social cohesion.

Although social capital is key, success could, and in my opinion, should be measured by any or all of the following.

• Attribution: (aka – who gets the credit for bringing in the business) is one of many prospect touch-points and part of an overall attribution model.

• Partners & Potential Partners (adding): New partners are added to your network that introduce you to 5 new prospects within 6 months of the event.

• Competitive Intelligence: You learn that a competitors average contract value is 3x as much as yours because of their pricing model and some current customers are not happy with a certain feature that was promised. You exploit this knowledge to win that deal.

• References and Insights: One of your customers provides insights to how things are going since they acquired your product and agree to be a reference for you on a current deal.

• Present a Case Study: You present a case study at the show with a customer, and you get 3 new prospects.

• “Show me the money”: There is nothing better than “putting cash” in finance’s and shouting that from the attribution hill. This is where the grey of non-transactional collides with the black and white of transactional. 

On the business side, you need to make money. Finance’s patience and timelines are shorter. 

On the personal side, you need to continue to make deposits in the social capital account. The balance is important.

So how do you kill it at events? (Sneak Peak)

Organized - Walks/Runs/Yoga Classes/Pickleball 

Sometimes event planners will have organized morning workouts to kickstart the day. These are done for more than reason. They can be another revenue source for the event or in the case of the sponsor, it could be on brand – “From Health to Wealth.” Mark down the best ones beforehand, and GO TO THESE EVENTS. Sometimes it’s the best opportunity to meet, and connect.

Your Competition’s Sessions

While in the session, talk to active and engaged people as they exit and go to the next session that they go to or remember who they are and find them at other networking opportunities (i.e. – coffee station, lunch tables, general sessions, etc.) and sit with them. Second or third interactions foster deeper bonds.

Also, do the following:

• Introduce yourself or note their badge and name

• Find them on the show app and connect with them

Show up… From Workout to Last Call… and hustle!

You can Pre-order From Workout to Last Call from Kickstarter or see how it came to be here:

🧘 Longevity - GUT HEALTH

Your gut isn't something that you just "trust" when you are trying to make a decision, it’s one of the most important functions in your body.

Your gut is your gastrointestinal system and includes your stomach, intestines, and colon. It digests and absorbs nutrients from food and excretes waste.

A healthy gut is essential for overall health & well-being, establishing proper digestion, metabolism, & immunity.

Meanwhile, poor gut health has been linked to a range of health conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and allergies.

Poppi, a functional soda brand recognized the importance of gut health and incorporated it into a healthy beverage, leading to a $1.75B acquisition by PepsiCo.

There are many pieces of this deal that I love including:

• The founders, Allison and Stephen Ellsworth were turned down numerous times and told they would never be successful

• They doubled down and bootstrapped Poppi, leveraging TikTok in the early days before it was cool to drive reach and engagement around Poppi

• They became a cultural phenomenon at the center of brand, longevity, and design by disrupting SODA!

• They attracted key celebrity investors including Russel Westbrook, Jessica Alba and more

About our Guest Author Paul Abdool

Paul Abdool is a 3-time Vice President of Sales & Marketing and an author of books and articles. He learned about Events and Networking from his teenage years as a summer student setting up for multiple special events and trades shows throughout Canada. He also sold convention centre space and decorating for a show company. His experience as an attendee, a board member of associations, and an event budget owner has helped him to develop the know-how to ensure event success for his companies. 

Along the way, mentors supported him by providing the opportunities to attend conferences to watch them “net-work”. He observed his mentors in action, researched the psychology of networking, and consistently practiced until he reached a level of comfort. He graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a B.A. in Psychology & a Diploma in Business Administration. He continues to practice networking daily and at events because he believes it is something that we all need to keep working on.