First Time Attendee Tips

Here are some ideas from veteran attendees to help make the most of your New England Grows experience

Preparing for the show:

• Register early and SAVE!!! Take advantage of early bird rates and register by January 15th to save 30%. Register four or more at a time and save an additional 25%. Attendee Registration
• If you’re staying in town, save on hotel rates and book by January. Our affiliated hotels are the closest accommodations to the conference center. Hotel Reservations
• Check out the brochure or login to myGrows beforehand to make the most of your day. Decide what seminars you want to attend and map out the different exhibitors to visit on the tradeshow floor between seminars. myGrows is an easy-to-use, FREE online tool. E-brochure & myGrows
• If you’re just making a day trip, avoid traffic and full parking lots by checking out all the various public transportation options available to Boston. Transportation
• Join New England Grows on Facebook and Twitter to network ahead of time with peers. Use it to help find someone to carpool with, ask questions about the show or attend a tweet up.
• Download the myBCEC app to have access to everything in and around the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Don’t leave home without:

• Hotel reservation and registration confirmations.
• Comfortable shoes — You’ll do plenty of walking from seminars to the expo floor, so come prepared!
• Layered clothing — The facility does its best to regulate room temperature, but every year some people say the meeting rooms are too warm and others say they are too cold. Layers are the answer.
• Business cards to help with networking
• Fully charged cell phone — We can only make emergency announcements throughout the facility, so make sure to bring your cell phone fully charged to keep in touch with colleagues throughout the day.
• Your Laptop — If you with to check your email remotely or do some work, the facility offers complimentary Wi-Fi service.

Start to finish at the show:

• Arrive early, seminars are first-come, first-served and the building is very large. Allow yourself time to get the lay of the land.
• Once you arrive at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, go to the Registration area in the North Lobby to pick up your badge and show program. The program has the most updated information on seminar locations, a map of the facility and exhibitor information.
• In addition to the larger educational seminars held in the meeting rooms, there are smaller programs on the trade show floor. Check the program for details.
• If you are attending seminars for CEU credits, make sure your license numbers were entered at the time of registration and that the numbers appear on your badge. Be sure to get scanned going into the meeting room and, if applicable, that you pick up your supplemental proof of attendance at the end of the seminar. Re-certification Information
• Whether you attend for a day or all three days make the most of your time to network with more than 13,000 exhibitors and attendees. Check out our networking opportunities such as Jump Start Café and the Dine Around Program to build relationships and bring home a year’s worth of leads. Networking Opportunities
• Make sure to complete a survey before you leave. There are conference evaluations and electronic surveys around the building for your convenience. We go to work on the next show shortly after you leave!
  Don’t wear your badge outside the convention center so it’s not apparent that you are a visitor. Put it in your pocket or handbag when you leave for the day.
• Help us stay “green” and recycle your badge before you walk out the door at the end of the week.
• Be sure to pick up the list of local restaurants at the Information Counter in Registration that will be offering discounts to our participants. You can hitch a ride on the complimentary shuttle being provided by the Westin Waterfront Hotel. Shuttle pickup and final drop off will be at the Westin Waterfront Hotel, directly next to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

When you get home

• While you’re fresh in their mind and they’re fresh in yours, make contact with the leads you just obtained.
• Post about your experience on our Facebook page or send a link to your blog on the show to info@NewEnglandGrows.org. Selected blogs will be posted on our website. (link to Facebook page)
• Send us your feedback at info@NewEnglandGrows.org… we want to hear from you. This is your conference.