EDS is fast-paced. So pace yourself.

With your appoint­ments through­out the day – din­ners with busi­ness part­ners, indus­try events and net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties – you’ll find that main­tain­ing your sched­ule for EDS is a task in itself.

“One of the ways to get the most out of EDS is to pace your­self,” says Dave Nor­ris, pres­i­dent of Nor­ris and Asso­ciates and for­mer pres­i­dent of EDS. ​“There are so many touch­points, it can be over­whelm­ing. The chal­lenge is to get through the week in a way where you’ve accom­plished some of the goals you’ve set for yourself.” 

Prepa­ra­tion makes all the dif­fer­ence. Iden­ti­fy your company’s goals and mes­sage. What do you want from your dis­trib­u­tors, reps or man­u­fac­tur­ers? If you’re meet­ing with your reps, focus on goals mov­ing for­ward – NPIs, strate­gies and new busi­ness tools – not busi­ness reviews and rep coun­cil meetings. 

Make sure your pre­sen­ta­tion stays on sched­ule: 50 – 55 min­utes plus a five-minute wrap-up. Take care of all details ahead of time – room set-up, pre­sen­ta­tion mate­ri­als, din­ner reser­va­tions, etc. And avoid this sched­ule-killer: off-site meetings. 

Final­ly, take care of your­self. ​“It’s impor­tant from an ener­gy stand­point,” says Mr. Nor­ris. ​“Stay hydrat­ed and get some rest.”