i3 - January/February 2021 - 43

Business
By Jake Sigal
A DV I C E FO R E N T R E P R E N E U RS

Rock Digital CES like a 'Baus'
people may find these impersonal. When
working with a contact's executive assistant, I'll share my calendar link and ask
him or her to use it only to view my availability, but not to book through the link.
I've found having the meeting invite come
from the client's calendar increases the
probability the meeting actually happens.

Be Prepared

 C 

ES is more than a trade show. It's the time of year to reset
your tech focus with clients, friends and, ideally, new
business contacts. Make a plan and execute it. Define
what success looks like and go after it.

Fresh Splash/Getty Images

Start by Making Lists

There won't be random collisions in
January in Las Vegas this year, so you
need to prepare a good list of people you
want to connect with at the all-digital CES
2021. I'm making three lists: previous clients, new business (people and companies
that could lead directly or indirectly to
new business within the first 90 days of
2021), and my industry friends.
It's pretty common for existing clients
to check in with a specific ask related to
their goals and objectives for the first
quarter or two. Hopefully, they have a
problem that you can help solve.
For new business, it will be harder since
we can't wander into a booth or sit down
during happy hour and start " working. "
Virtual introductions and handshakes can
be awkward so do your homework. I'm
taking my list and force ranking the top
20%. I'll then put 80% of my effort into
C TA . t e c h / i 3

i3_0121_43_Business_AdviceForEntrepreneurs.indd 43

researching those contacts and reaching
out to them with a warm intro from my
network to generate new business.
For friends, review your LinkedIn
contacts (yes, all of them). Use LinkedIn
as your pool, so you don't miss anyone.

Make Yourself Easy to Meet

Now that you have organized your lists,
make it easy for others to book meetings
with you. For existing clients, use your
usual route of booking CES meetings.
For new business, reach out by email or
LinkedIn. If you have a connection, I'd
recommend using a concise and
straightforward introduction request.
Fellow CTA Board member Ty
Ahmad-Taylor shared a cool way to ask
for intros. Check it out online.
I use Calendly to book meetings and to
create calendar access but there are many
booking tools. Just remember that some

I'll use the same meeting prep process
this year that I have in the past. I'll do
my research, then I will compile background information for my contacts
before the meeting. I also write down a
few key questions that sometimes I
share in advance.
If you have business partners or other
key people in your organization, make
sure you aren't unintentionally duplicating meeting efforts.
For friends, I search online for news
updates and check their LinkedIn feed
and other social media for posts. I also like
to check their websites to see what's new.

Execute

It's business as usual when it's time to
meet. Make your list in your customer
relationship management (CRM) tool or
spreadsheet. Keep tabs on booking your
appointments. I'm also going to have
some physical and digital props, so
when people ask what's new, I can share
what I am working on with them.

Be You

CES is my favorite show and my favorite
time of the year. I launched and built my
companies at CES. Be yourself. For
inspiration, I'm going to be upping my
video background game for CES. I'm
putting my CES badges (and my three
feet of badge flair!) in my backdrop.
Have a great show!

2021

Check out CES.tech to organize your
schedule for the show.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

43

12/9/20 3:29 PM
https://www.ces.tech/ https://www.ces.tech/ https://www.ces.tech/ https://cta.tech/Resources/i3-Magazine/i3-Issues
i3 - January/February 2021

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