ly be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

<“That product will convert much better if you raise the price to $27. Also, I would drop the screenshot that illustrates how the price point will go up over time. I see what you’re going for with that, but it will actually hurt your sales instead of encouraging your visitors to buy.”

Mike Filsaime and I were sitting in a pair of comfortable arm chairs in the hotel lobby. We had been casually chatting for the past twenty minutes, and I had scratched out a full page of notes already.

Plus, I had a legal pad full of notes taken during the formal presentations. And at least a couple of paragraphs had been quickly jotted down after the conversation with Gary Ambrose earlier that evening.

I was having a real problem keeping up with all the information coming at me from so many directions. It occurred to me that I would need to study my notes and reflect on some of the key points for a couple of weeks before getting an honest grip on all the knowledge I had absorbed during the two day seminar.

That’s when it really hit me. It landed square in my lap like a ton of bricks. “It” being the fact that I had almost let the opportunity to attend this conference pass me by. I’m not ashamed to say I felt a little week-kneed at that moment.

Just a few weeks earlier I had struggled with the idea of laying down $300 for the event, not to mention the travel expenses. I remember wondering if a two day seminar could really be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

<the hotel lobby. We had been casually chatting for the past twenty minutes, and I had scratched out a full page of notes already.

Plus, I had a legal pad full of notes taken during the formal presentations. And at least a couple of paragraphs had been quickly jotted down after the conversation with Gary Ambrose earlier that evening.

I was having a real problem keeping up with all the information coming at me from so many directions. It occurred to me that I would need to study my notes and reflect on some of the key points for a couple of weeks before getting an honest grip on all the knowledge I had absorbed during the two day seminar.

That’s when it really hit me. It landed square in my lap like a ton of bricks. “It” being the fact that I had almost let the opportunity to attend this conference pass me by. I’m not ashamed to say I felt a little week-kneed at that moment.

Just a few weeks earlier I had struggled with the idea of laying down $300 for the event, not to mention the travel expenses. I remember wondering if a two day seminar could really be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

<real problem keeping up with all the information coming at me from so many directions. It occurred to me that I would need to study my notes and reflect on some of the key points for a couple of weeks before getting an honest grip on all the knowledge I had absorbed during the two day seminar.

That’s when it really hit me. It landed square in my lap like a ton of bricks. “It” being the fact that I had almost let the opportunity to attend this conference pass me by. I’m not ashamed to say I felt a little week-kneed at that moment.

Just a few weeks earlier I had struggled with the idea of laying down $300 for the event, not to mention the travel expenses. I remember wondering if a two day seminar could really be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

<a ton of bricks. “It” being the fact that I had almost let the opportunity to attend this conference pass me by. I’m not ashamed to say I felt a little week-kneed at that moment.

Just a few weeks earlier I had struggled with the idea of laying down $300 for the event, not to mention the travel expenses. I remember wondering if a two day seminar could really be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

<ly be worth all the money, and all the time spent on the road away from my computer desk.

I had never been to a marketing conference before. Were these things really any more than just a bunch of hype? Was I going to invest my hard earned money and precious time only to be disappointed or, worse yet, discover the whole affair was just one big upsell?

A good deal of thought, and plenty of encouragement from a dear friend of mine who was also planning on attending the event, finally led to my purchase of the two day pass and the making of my travel plans. I had arrived on the morning of the first session not sure exactly what to expect.

Sitting there in the hotel lobby with Mike Filsaime at the midway point of day two, I realized this investment had been without a doubt the best money I had ever spent on my web marketing ventures. “You know, I almost didn’t come to this thing”. I blurted out. “My god, that’s a scary thought.”

There was a brief pause in the conversation. Then Mike let out the kind of big laugh that told me he understood exactly what I was trying to say.

Aside from getting to pick the brains of some of the big players in this business, my weekend in Charlotte was also spent working out new joint venture concepts with many of the other marketers who, like me, had come to hear Mike, Gary, Craig, Joel, and Robert speak. Even in the cyber age, there is simply no substitute for the power of face to face networking. Some big things were set into motion that weekend over a few beers with my friends, and across the dinner table after the evening sessions.

You simply can’t put a price tag on this type of educational opportunity, and the real chance to engage in power networking with people of all experience levels. Offline events like the Focus