Automation Is Only Powerful If You Use It
I’m sitting in the airport at Phoenix about to start the journey back to Australia from ICON15, so thought I’d put together the annual wrap up from Infusionsoft’s annual conference.
I’ve been watching the ICON videos/streaming the last few years, and was delighted to attend ICON for the first time.
Was it worth the trip from Australia?
Absolutely!
There are a few reasons why this event is a must-do for Infusionsoft users:
Why Attend – Top 3 Reasons
1. Community
being around other small business owners and the environment that Infusionsoft creates is one that I haven’t experienced before. I attend a lot of networking/seminar/courses/conferences every year, but this was different. I don’t think I have ever spent so much time outside a conference networking with what I call dear friends now (people that I hadn’t met at the start of the week).
This made it worthwhile to attend just for this. The ability to create lasting friendships, partnership and discuss business opportunities was priceless. The second element to the creation of the sense of community was something that was done at the start of the conference by Infusionsoft. It was Infusionsoft’s CEO Clate Mask and fellow founders sharing the reality of being in business and how tough it can be sometimes.
This created a safe space for everyone to feel comfortable to share openly their challenges as we’re all in this together. Not only that, to have open and real conversations about where people are at, but more importantly people coming together to help move people’s businesses forward. This was something that happened organically and was a pleasure to be part of.
2. Content
fresh perspectives on doing business. I’ll be honest; ICON15 probably wasn’t as content heavy as what I thought it would be, however there were many important lessons and unique approaches/strategies to doing business. My favourite session was Johnny Cupcakes (Johnny Earle) – combining storytelling, humour and a unique yet creative approach to business. He is focused on wowing his customers, which is resulting in an amazing worldwide committed tribe that no money can buy. Other notable sessions that I attended packed with practical take-aways included Clay Collins, Ryan Deiss, Jon Acuff and Cliff Worley – all leaders in their own right from mindset to technology to grow businesses.
3. Feeling The Love
Infusionsoft went above and beyond, and then beyond some more to make all attendees feel special. From providing breakfast and lunch daily (including the last day where lunch was already packed up in a box if you needed to leave the venue!). Yes, this was a nice touch and not typically provided at any event in Australia. Also, Infusionsoft really did exceed all expectations when it comes to activities for their International customers. From a tour of their headquarters the day before the event including a presentation by the CEO answering international specific questions and panel of Executives also responding to our specific needs/concerns.
During the event there was an international lounge for all global customers to meet and interact AND a lovely dinner/cultural evening learning more about the American Indian culture. This is all included in your ticket price, nothing extra, which is phenomenal. I felt like I was appreciated for being a customer and for making such an effort to head to ICON from a foreign land. Thanks Infusionsoft, you really outdid yourself.
ICON15 Event Themes:
The list of reasons go on, but I wanted to share two key themes I took from the event:
- You are not alone – Perhaps you could relate, as I certainly could. One of the big themes of ICON15 was that sometimes as a business owner it can be hard and you feel like you’re on your own. I’m sure we all have gone through times where we question why are we doing this. Perhaps you have also made bad decisions, gone through tough times and the list goes on and on. I took great reassurance with this being discussed at ICON15…. that this in fact is NORMAL. Wow, what a relief! The thing is, we’re all on this entrepreneurial path for a reason and the courage and tenacity shown by business owners is something that I think only another owner can acknowledge and appreciate. Please rest assured that even through those dark days where you might question it all, keep going, keep pushing through. You are just around the corner of something AWESOME!
- Automation Is Only Powerful If You Use It – Infusionsoft and other technologies are great, but only if you USE IT! Yes, it sounds simple, but sometimes we get caught up, get stuck, don’t know what to do next, unsure how to execute or fear kicks in when pressing that send button. I encourage you to focus on taking on one thing to implement every week that will automate something in your business. It doesn’t have to be something big, but SMALL CONSISTENT ACTIONS creates MOMENTUM and that generating ACCUMULATED RESULTS. If you’re got Infusionsoft, make sure you’re not one of those users only using 10% of your app, and starting taking some action to get more automation in place to free up time and generate more sales.
Ok, so the final wrap up note for ICON15, was the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!
The big news it, Infusionsoft will host the first ever Infusionsoft conference in 2016 in AUSTRALIA!
WOO HOO!!!
Details are still being finalised, however this is fantastic news. Can’t wait to attend this event and highly recommend you attend as well.
In closing, a huge thank you to Infusionsoft and to the Australian attendees who shared in this memorable experience. I am incredibly grateful to be part of the Infusionsoft and particularly the Infusionsoft Australian community.
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