The biggest and baddest of all conference is coming up, #LAC. If you have been paying attention in the first few articles, you should be on your way to being prepared to go on your sojourn to the event and kick some goals. Easy right?
This third and final article is about crushing your business goals at the iGaming affiliate conferences. This cheat sheet should help someone out there. It really is a mash of good strategy. Make a cheat sheet of this cheat sheet and bring it with you.
Speaking of strategy, this series was penned with an aggressive strategy in mind. A strategy that is measurable and inclined for results as an affiliate. It isn’t for everyone.
3 Goals
The main three overarching business goals for anyone going to these conferences should be:
1. Try to be +ROI for your business
2. Network and make a good impression with the right people
3. Become part of the culture and attempt branding yourself as an influencer
1) Being +ROI
Make Deals, Improve Deals, Cancel Deals
This is essentially a giant traffic bartering fair, so go trade your traffic for some type of deal of monetary value. Get creative with the types of promotions you can do.
Make deals.
– Go make them, try to get them on the spot. Have a clear notion in mind on how to turn a benefit for both parties. CPAs, MGRs, fixed deals, content deals, local market deals, strategic partnerships, display deals, tournament deals, even link deals, etc. Go drum something up.
– Be creative.
– Be armed with your traffic stats.
Improve deals
– Try to improve the situation with various operators. Higher CPAs, higher MGRs, higher fixed prices, higher everything. If they want to cut on you, then it is time to haggle. Trust me, in this climate, they will always try to cut.
– Have an arsenal of potential marketing deliverables locked and loaded. Leverage but realize you probably won’t have an ace up the sleeve in this saturated market.
Cancel deals.
– People will have deals which are –roi. Maybe they take too much time to administer, they cause headaches, and they make 0.05 cents a month for you. Making creative and content takes time. Try to figure out the earned value of time spent on things and make the right decisions.
Measuring +ROI
New deals are easy to measure. If the deal was made due to LAC, that is simple to work into your PnL. If you spent 2k to have someone in London, but made 5k back over the next 2 months from deal making, then yes, you are +ROI on that trip because of new deals. Use informed data decision making skills and you will be able to figure it out over time.
With existing deals however, measuring on +roi is not that easy. With CPA triggers to hit, or MGR reductions to work off, it is hard to know what triggered what. I would not make meeting existing and static partners a focus point unless you have some growth planning in mind.
Checking in to say hello should just be that, a hello. Occasionally PokerStars doesn’t bother buying a booth. Why? I would guess because they already have static deals with everyone they want to do business with already. Why spend resources where you don’t need to?
2) Networking the right people
Break the routine
Doing all the regular routine meetings is easy. What I’m preaching is to get out of the routine. Do this by taking your routine, and adding some manageable planning time to it. Add like 20 more hours of preparation and planning. See how it goes when you spend that much more time.
I also want to push the speed to market / action paradigm for success. Break some habits like slow email for email exchanges. If folks are across time zones it gets particularly messy. Pick up the phone. If the deal is going to be a big one, get on an airplane. Things can move quickly in this industry, so stay ahead. Get the signatures and get things moving.
Movers, Shakers and Decision Makers
Mover and shakers are my favorites to network. Entrepreneurs and eager beavers. This is who you want to find. This is a tech industry underneath it all. Tech evolves, changes constantly. The movers and shakers are the ones that can smell that and are actually trying to push innovation. This is a great energy to be around.
The other target should be known decision makers. Be a heat seeking missile at networking these important deal makers. If you gain serious traction and see legit buying signs, I advise organizing immediate follow-up. This is a situation where you can see how serious they are. Like you, they are busy, very busy in these conferences. If they are finding time to make it happen with you right away, it is a very good sign.
Don’t be annoying if you don’t get a response, show some patience and move on to the next thing. It will work out if you are providing value.
3) Become Part of the Culture
Become an influencer.
The only way you do this is by providing value. The tech industry is a great example of people doing this.
This was something I woefully neglected. I only really took to social media about 8 months ago. Before that I was too busy running all of the businesses to worry about that. What a mistake I made! I always tried to get in and out quickly. Kept a low profile. You shouldn’t do this anymore with google and the internet what it is. Information on you is out there, so try to control it and create it.
Whether you choose to be delightful or a troll is up to you, but at least do it. Run the business and be social.
You can do this by # tagging at the events. Become a speaker. Give people free information that helps them. Engage and be funny, creative and spontaneous. Use whatever social platforms you are comfortable with.
Be positive but do not be a pushover.
I really hope to have helped someone or some company in this industry grow something with these articles. I feel I have provided a solid compilation of hacks, tips and advice for the gaming conference goer. Good luck.
