TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Our Experience for Your Use
This website was created created and co-founded by us – Sarah Breymeier and Ann Dosen.
Both of us have spent nearly ten years in the podiatry industry, attending dozens upon dozens of podiatric meetings and trade shows.
Therefore, we want to put our experience to good use!
Below are some helpful “tricks of the trade” from us to you… enjoy!
GOOD ADVICE – PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
No matter if you work in the podiatric profession as physician, vendor, or meeting organizer/planner, utilizing the tips and resources supplied below will serve you well!
Increase your Productivity and Without Getting Overwhelmed.
I read this book cover to cover in just a couple of days. It’s been a few years since I read it, but it always stands out as one that I recommend to anyone that wants to continue to achieve. Whether you own a small business (like a podiatry practice or a device company), it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things you should be doing.
The Slight Edge provides practical/doable advice to help you set your goals and break down the activities that must take place to achieve those goals – step by step. By doing a little bit every single day, you will see big changes over time. There’s no need to do everything in one day, one week, one month, or even one year.
Do one action item every single day and the result will show itself!
-SARAH
Every day I listen to at least one podcast episode while I’m driving or working out to give me inspiration for the day. There are days when I wake up and don’t want to do a single thing other than catch up on episodes of Outlander, but after listening to one of these podcasts, I know I can take over the world! No matter what your daily life brings you, every single person on the planet will get something out of listening to these individuals.
John Maxwell Leadership Podcast – a weekly podcast from the leadership authority John Maxwell. This podcast focuses on the principles, practices, and process of becoming a transformational leader. Even if leadership is not one of your primary goals, the principles translate to any project or position you are in. I always come away with new motivation or a fresh outlook on a current project. Each episode comes with a downloadable resource to work through.
Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield – Amy Porterfield is considered the GIANT in the online marketing space. She is so inspiring to listen to. Her episodes include expert interviews, mini execution plans, and secrets from her product and service launches; all tied together by her mission to make each episode as actionable and profitable as possible. Every episode I listen to of hers gets me thinking about the next big thing I want us to tackle. Her advice is tangible and for real life.
Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis – hosted by the best-selling author of “Girl, Wash Your Face”, this podcast is a series of conversations with business powerhouses and personal development leaders where each episode provides listeners with tactical, valuable takeaways.
-ANN
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Tips for DPMs
CHECK OUT OUR LIBRARY OF DPM DOWNLOADS – CLICK HERE!
Make that Pre-Meeting Promise
Are you one of those people who is able to get up early in the morning before a work day and go to the gym??? Wow. I applaud you! I am 100% NOT that person - unless I promise someone I'll meet them at the gym. That commitment to another person locks me in. What does this have to do with meetings? Well, it's a bit of a comparison about how you can ensure you don't just go through the motions at a meeting. By committing to others and scheduling meetings and/or appointments during a conference, could be a way [...]
Find Meetings with Focus
Have you been struggling to find meetings that really create energy, excitement, or reinvigorate your passion for your profession? It makes sense; there so many meetings to choose from and it's hard to know which one(s) will result in an experience that truly impacts your practice. With that, I challenge you to create a strategy that guides you on which meetings to choose. I've written about this subject a handful of times in different ways, so I don't want to beat a dead horse; however, for meetings to progress everyone needs to have more positive experiences. Part of that responsibility [...]
Feeling Uninspired? Get to a Meeting!
This time of year is always a little strange. There seems to be an intense "back to work" vibe after the excitement of summer has died. For some, this could be a feeling of great motivation to end the year energized and productive; but I get the feeling that most are simply exhausted and just want to "get through it". The last quarter of the year always seems to bring on a mindset of focusing on the holidays and there's a bit of a slow down right before the finish line. My advice - get your booty to a meeting! [...]
If You’ve Been Wanting to Explore Pediatrics… The Time is Now
If you know me, you know I love practices that go all in to niche markets. While I would love to go deeper into how to find your niche, what I really wanted to point out this month is that there seems to be a massive trend toward pediatric scientific content. In fact, after going through a quick CALENDAR OF EVENTS review, I noticed that there are three upcoming meetings specializing in this unique patient demographic. They are: Saturday, October 7 ACPM PRESENTS... Updates in Pediatrics & Geriatrics: Practical Pearls Saturday, October 14 Stepping Up the Game: Expert Insights on Adolescent [...]
Managing Post-Meeting Stress
This month Ann and I took 3 days out of the "normal work week" for the APMA National Conference in Nashville; and I've come up with a new catchphrase... Be Gone For 3 Days and Be Behind for 3 Weeks! (OK, not the best catchphrase on the books) But the struggle is real and I am sure many of you feel it when you are out of the office for any reason. Once you put a "wrench" in your daily routine, it takes a while to get everything back on track; especially when your schedule was already maxed out. [...]
Reflect On Your Meeting Mentality
If you scroll down and check out my Vendor Tip, you'll gain some insight into my sentiment for the podiatry profession and meetings. As I was reflecting on the 12 years I've been working in this profession, one thing became very clear to me. While most of my time in the last decade has been sitting at my desk and staring at a computer screen, it's the time I have spent at meetings that has truly made the biggest impact on my career. Nearly every single individual I work closely with is the direct result of a connection made at [...]
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Ideas for Meeting Planners
AT FIRST GLANCE, INCREASE YOUR VENDOR EMAIL READERSHIP
I can't tell you how many times I have spoken to meeting planners who are surprised that exhibitors didn't take advantage of certain sponsorship offerings, or that they are unaware of specifics regarding schedules, etc. I also can't tell you how many times I've heard exhibitors admit that they don't read the emails that come from meeting organizers. I have to admit that in the past, after I had registered to exhibit at a meeting, there were a lot of emails from the meeting organizers I didn't read either. When you have exhibitors who attend your meeting year after year, [...]
Seminar Sites: Who’s Bringing It?
I'm not going to waste any time talking about the importance of a polished website - we all know this. We also all know that when you get a new website, it's great... and it doesn't take long for it to become a mess! Trust me - Ann and I know this pain with our own website(s). As time goes by and you have a completely new set of "things" within your organization that didn't exist when you initially launched, it's hard to keep it clean. Or, it may not be set up to highlight those new, awesome features [...]
Two Brains, One Meeting: Getting It Done as a Team
Many of you know that Ann & Sarah come as a package deal, and while we may give the outward appearance that we are always 100% in sync with one another, there are several differences in the way that we work. I thought about writing this post after she and I were analyzing our Sponsor Advertising Calendar we have in a shared Google Drive. She had worked diligently to ensure it was clear which sponsors were advertising in which month's newsletter.... and I could understand it, but my eyes didn't like it.... so I changed it.... and I think [...]
Surprising Real Estate: Toilet Talk
Several years ago I was exhibiting at the No Nonsense meeting in Ohio and I was, initially, none-to-pleased to be placed right by the bathroom. Until I realized just how amazing it is! In fact - here's a photo of me enjoying myself in that very spot (with the world's largest cup of coffee apparently). Sure, I had to block out the never-ending sound of constant flushing, but the foot traffic was epic. Last month I wrote a blog about how meetings should be set up so that DPMs are only in one of three spots: the lecture [...]
More Traffic Please! Remove the Hallway Desk Escape Route
In life we know that two things are inevitable - death and taxes. As a meeting planner, you know one thing is inevitable - complaints about more exhibit hall traffic. This is ALWAYS top of the list when it comes to satisfying your exhibitors and there is no magic button, but hopefully you have discovered that Ann and I are consistently working on trying to help you find new ideas to overcome these challenges. So here goes... There should only be three places DPMs can be found once the exhibit hall is in motion: (1) Lecture Hall (2) Exhibit Hall [...]
Adapt and Evolve
Reflecting on the last three years, I feel that 2023 was as close to "the good 'ole days" (pre-Covid) as we've had in comparison to 2020, 2021 and 2022; meaning in-person meetings were not bombarded with heavy restrictions and the process/flow felt "normal" again. However, it's also safe to say that there has been an irreversible impact that we simply have to face and make necessary adjustments; not only to the meeting landscape, but to the makeup of the DPM. So what do we know? There are a lot of factors, but let's talk about a few biggies. Let's start [...]