I don't attend many conferences--probably for the same reasons you don't. Meetings such as the ABA or conferences such as a PLI program require a huge investment of your time, even when you're not presenting. Without proper preparation, they can seem like a waste of time and a huge energy drain.

With the right preparation, however, conferences can provide great opportunities to connect with current and prospective clients, and that's precisely what I planned for (and experienced) at the American Bar Association's annual meeting last month in San Francisco. My five-day sojourn to the meeting included a presentation to a group of potential clients and wonderful conversations with clients and colleagues. I returned home feeling energized, with several "high-potential" prospects, and having reconnected with many great clients.

An experience like this doesn't happen accidentally. In fact, if you've ever attended a conference unprepared, your experience was probably exactly the opposite!

Before attending the meeting, I put a lot of thought into how and with whom I was going to spend my time. Before your next conference, I recommend you do the same.

Whether you are a presenter or simply an attendee, make the most of the time invested by thinking about what you will do before, during and after the conference.

Before the event:

1. Decide whether it makes sense to attend in the first place. Who else will be in attendance? What opportunities will the event present for connecting with clients, potential clients and referral sources?
2. Find out who you know that may also be attending. Use this as an excuse to touch base with clients, potential clients and referral sources. If your contacts plan to attend, set up a time to meet. Even if they're not going, this call gives you an opportunity to connect.
3. Get an attendee list in advance if it's available. Review the list to see who you want to meet while at the conference. Focus on a small number of high-potential opportunities.
4. Organize a get-together over a meal. Invite a number of people who you know or would like to know. They'll enjoy getting to know each other, and you'll receive kudos as the organizer.
5. Take advantage of travel. If the conference is in a city other than your hometown, use it as an opportunity to reconnect with clients, colleagues and referral sources who live there. Even if your local contacts aren't attending the event, you can catch up over a meal or a drink.

During the event:

1. Set an objective for the number of people you want to connect with. Keep in mind that quality interactions are more important than quantity, and three or four may be a realistic goal. Limiting the number of people you intend to meet makes the experience much less daunting.
2. Collect business cards. Conventional wisdom says to give your card to each person you meet. The conventional wisdom is wrong. Getting *their* card means you can follow up--whether with a "nice to have met you" note or an invitation for them to join your newsletter mailing list.
3. Spontaneously organize a dinner. If you haven't arranged to get together with people before the conference, organize a group to have dinner together during the event.
4. Take advantage of breaks. Don't sneak into a corner and check your Blackberry at each break. Use break time to connect with other attendees. After all, one of your goals is to meet new people; plus, the program itself provides a natural topic of conversation.

After the event:

1. Add contact information for people you met at the conference to your database. As you do, make notations about how you met them, their interests and other pertinent data.
2. Create a follow-up plan. Contact anyone you met who seemed to offer a high-potential opportunity. You might follow up with a note or e-mail, an article you've written on a topic likely to interest him or her, or an invitation to a conference in your town. Aim to connect with your new contacts three to four times over the next year.
3. If you'd like to get the most out of the conferences you attend, follow this simple strategy for marketing success before, during and after.