You’ll notice I’m presuming that as an accountant in the UK, you’re going to attend Xerocon London: the only question is, how many team members will you bring with you?
The words that are being used about Xerocon (particularly on social media) are a good reflection of why I’m making this presumption. These include:
- “The Glastonbury of accounting conferences”
- “The accounting party of the year”
- “Accounting is FUN”
- Xerocon, or day rave?
- Accountants are boring? Whatevs #xerocon
- Xerocon rock concert reputation
Xerocon is not “an accounting conference” the way so many are. You’re not going to a fairly staid hotel, with most everyone in suits (or maybe, possibly a jacket without a tie), and listening to dry presentations on tax and payroll updates.
Xerocon is fun.
This is why it’s good to at least ask the question of how many team members you’ll bring. Because if Xerocon can make accounting fun, don’t you want to encourage your best team members to love their jobs?
(If you have no team members yet, by the way, you can still bring yourself. And use what you learn to help you recruit, when the time comes.)
Here are my tips for considering how many – and which – team members to bring to Xerocon:
1. Bring team members who already love Xero.
They’ll love the buzz, be confirmed in all the things they like about Xero, and will learn new ways to use it better.
2. Bring team members who aren’t convinced of Xero.
I’ve lost count of the number of accountants who have brought a sceptical team member (someone who loves the S-word software, perhaps) and who was completely won over by Xerocon. The people, the excitement, the jeans and Macbooks, the free swag, the friendliness, the coffee. The deep dive workshops which point out the details of the software and how it works. And best of all, chatting to other Xero partners who are using it, and using it well.
3. Bring team members who deserve a good time.
Part of Xerocon is the party. The fun. The banter. Make it a reward for how hard they’ve worked, and let them enjoy it.
4. Bring non-accounting team members.
It may seem a no brainer to bring the accounts and tax people: but wouldn’t your receptionist love it? Or your marketing manager? How much better will your marketing be if your team see firsthand how cool Xero is, and all the new capabilities it has that they didn’t know about?
5. Bring yourself.
In some firms, if you’re an owner or partner or director, you might feel a little too important to waste two or three days at a Glastonbury for accountants. Isn’t that a bit frivolous? You’ve got fees to generate.
But if your firm is going to be committed to Xero, to cloud accounting, to the latest in tech, to the very best apps, your team need to see that you’re spearheading the charge. There are too many firms who delegate Xero (or marketing, or CRM systems, or whatever) to their team, but aren’t involved themselves. Make sure they know it’s led from the top.
One of the things I love best about Xerocon is that Xero’s leaders do this so well. If I run into Rod Drury going out the main doors, and stop to say hello, he’s not going to be too important to chat. (True story.)
Next week we’ll look at how to use Xerocon – or any conference you attend – to enhance your own content marketing!
See you in London in a few weeks!