Wealth Advisor Magazine September 2024 Edition - 12

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
ming. The Breakthru Networking
Platform will guide you. Besides, we'll
all have a lot of Zoom calls waiting
back at the office when the show
is over, Future Proof founder Matt
Middleton tells me.
" There's a lot of great content at
other industry events, but most of it
could be delivered on the Internet, " he
says. " What's the thing you can't replicate
in a webinar? The ability to come
home with 20 new friends and contacts
you would not have otherwise made if
not for the in-person interaction. "
Let that sink in a bit. Remember, Matt
comes from the pre-pandemic industry
events world, and his co-creator " Downtown "
Josh Brown definitely sponsored
and participated in his share of trade
shows on the way to becoming CEO of
Ritholtz Wealth Management and allaround
celebrity.
Back then, remote meetings were still
an exotic novelty and not the ubiquitous
calendar crushers they are today. Then,
the face-to-face events shut down.
We aren't going back there, but like
Matt says, something got lost when the
screens lit up.
It's hard to make eye contact in a
chat window. There's no aisle to look
across and see who laughs at the same
jokes. You can't strike up a conversation
in line when there's no coffee truck.
That's what your ticket really buys:
access to these shared accidents. Make
the most of them.
" The thing that animates people and
gets them excited to pack and go somewhere
is a sense of community, " Josh
Brown points out. " Not so much what
they're going to see on stage. "
TECHNOLOGY CAN BE LIBERATING
No matter how you spend these days,
make sure you give the Breakthru
Networking Platform an opportunity
to enrich your experience. Lean into
the Breakthru Meetings program, the
instantly iconic " mass speed date " platform
that brings people from all corners
of the industry together for 15-minute
conversations.
12 | SEPT/OCT 2024
I can't do it because all my chattering
needs to be on camera. But if you see
me at the Wealth Advisor booth, come
say hello, and we'll find a minute to talk
between interviews.
You, on the other hand, owe it to
yourself to at least check out the Breakthru
pavilion. It sprawls across a whole
acre this year to make sure there's room
for 30,000 meetings . . . almost double
last year's number.
The noise and the scale of it are hypnotic,
Matt admits.
" When you strolled in through that
main walkway and the 15-minute alarm
triggered, you were in awe, " he recalls.
" Thousands of industry professionals
and experts, scurrying around to find
their next table. The only complaint we
had last year was that the area was too
active, too loud. "
Activity is good. It's also an efficient
way to build relationships and boost
your business. Pick the brains of people
you admire. Audition potential partners.
Let them pitch you.
It works. I heard endless stories last
year about industry leaders who went
into the pavilion as skeptics and came
out with strategic alliances they never
even envisioned.
Think of it as the art of moving
jigsaw pieces around until they click
together. Sometimes, it takes a few conversations
before you figure out the big
picture. The meeting tools and Breakthru
format work to shake the box and
create new patterns.
Get in there. Don't worry, you won't
miss any of the traditional programming
where people talk at you, and you're
there to absorb. That's good stuff too.
THE C SUITE IS EVERYWHERE
After all, it's not just your big picture
that's still clicking its way to clarity.
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Wealth Advisor Magazine September 2024 Edition

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