Last week I participated as a panelist on a Technology Executive Roundtable discussion on mobile apps in the enterprise and this week I participated as a panelist at the Executive Sales & Marketing Association discussion on lead nurturing for revenue growth. Participating on a panel is a great way to meet new people, establish yourself as a domain expert, and learn from others.
Here are some tips for participating on a panel:
- Come prepared with 5 – 10 talking points that you want get across
- Think of several stories or anecdotes in advance that will resonate with the audience
- Have a call to action at the end of the panal discussion to get people to give you their business cards (I offered to give a copy of my marketing automation book for free to anyone who gave me a card)
- Don’t always take the easy, agreeable positions on panel questions when you have a more memorable and debatable stance (people love to hear opposing view points)
Panels are a great way to get involved and I recommend taking advantage of invitations to participate.
David Cummings on Startups 