Best Of

Such great advice that I'm not sure that I have a lot to add. Good shoes, connect, schedule yourself are all good things to look out for. But I'll take a different approach and share some things I've started doing now that I've been to 3 different Engage (Engages? Engagites? Engage-athons?).

Mental Preparation

Prepare yourself mentally before you go. That is not to say that your packing lists and scheduling breakout sessions you want to attend aren't good things, but you have to be ready to take it all in if you want to get the most out of Engage. For me, a natural introvert (which some of you might not believe), that means preparing a week or two out to have my social battery absolutely drained. I take extra time with family, make sure I'm well rested, and schedule enough time to get into town and unpack/relax before the conference starts. Once it gets going, you really get the best value by talking to people and sharing experiences.

That also means, scheduling in enough time to rest between sessions. It might sound like a good idea to get into as many breakout sessions as humanly possible, but it could also lead to conference fatigue in a hurry! Skip a session if it has a repeat later in the week and take some time to explore the floor. Go decompress and take a call or just sit by a window and recharge before hitting it again. Yes, you want to maximize your time, but you also need to watch out for overload

Plan to Network

You don't necessarily have to have business cards at the ready, but make real connections at this conference. Everyone is there for the same reason, so if they are close enough to you for you to talk to them, they are fair game for you to ask how they use the platform.

Also, SMARTSHEET PERSONNEL ARE FAIR GAME! You are going to interact with the literal program managers for some of the features you care about most. Engage with them, ask them questions, grill them about why your favorite widget doesn't do the x/y thing you need it to. And get their name and email so you can continue the conversation after the conference.

Don't Sleep on the Labs

The design and idea labs are your chance to weigh in on the direction Smartsheet is taking with their product. Prioritize getting in and commenting on upcoming features or new ideas that Smartsheet has about their platform. Not only will that give you ideas about how you can use those features in the future, but you have the ability to shape their rollout with your opinions. This is also a hotbed for Smartsheet product owners to hang out/poll people about the part of Smartsheet they own. Don't miss your chance to tell the people building the product you use how you feel about their features.

Closing

Engage is great, but it is a lot. Take time to yourself, connect with everyone you can, make sure your voice is heard on the product. Just do it all in a way that leaves you energized and motivated, not a zombie the week after.