PREPARE
FOR YOUR FIRST
ANNUAL
MEETING

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An Exclusive, Empowering Experience Like No Other

The MDRT community is excited to welcome you to your first Annual Meeting experience. The idea-sharing environment offers many empowering opportunities to learn and connect with peers. You will be taken on a journey of self-discovery and enlightenment in Main Platform sessions, drill down to business practices in Focus Sessions and celebrate in special events. After the four-day event, you will walk away with career-changing insights, new connections and a fresh outlook on serving the industry and your clients.

Your MDRT ANNUAL MEETING SUCCESS

11000

Attendees

Countries

Days

200

Sessions

The Annual Meeting is more than a celebration; it’s a place to boost your career and productivity by learning from like-minded professionals. The key to success is how you manage your time, so MDRT has created an Attendee Journey map to help you prepare, along with recommended events for first-time attendees.

"MDRT’s research shows that, on average, years of membership and attendance of each additional Annual Meeting have a positive impact on commissions."

TOP TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Tap each icon for more details.

Set Goals

Identify what you want to take away from the meeting, with whom you want to connect and what topics you want to explore.

Plan

Use the Attendee Journey map as a guide to create your daily plan and ensure it aligns with your goals.

Must-Sees

Main Platform is especially important for all to attend; then identify and attend as many sessions as you can on topics you would like to learn more about.

Ask questions

The MDRT Program General Arrangements (PGA) team has member volunteers on-site to help answer any questions or give directions. These volunteers will be wearing hats with a PGA badge for easy identification.

Active Listening

Listen carefully to everything around you and write down all your learnings. Identify three ideas to implement when you return to your office.

Network

Get to know the people around you and how their businesses work. There is great knowledge in this group, tap into it.

Get Involved

Consider volunteering for PGA or the MDRT Foundation service project. Each volunteer opportunity is a great way to meet new people and begin on a path to greater involvement in the organization. Serving in these ways also opens up your ability to participate in MDRT committees.

Your Needs

If a session isn’t providing value for you, move on to a different one.

Note: Each member has a badge for identification to make it easier to get to know others. Green badges indicate other first-time attendees. Ribbons attached to badges indicate committee participation, meeting attendance, years of membership, etc. Don’t let the number of ribbons intimidate or deter you from speaking with your peers.

How to Navigate the Meeting

Watch the “Meet Your Meeting” presentation from the 2017 Annual Meeting to answer some of the most common questions about the meeting. There will be live “Meet Your Meeting” sessions during the Annual Meeting, located in the ConneXion Zone.
Reference the program book or MDRT app for schedules.

Members share their favorite Annual Meeting experiences

“The gathering of all these people enriches us. It’s hard to measure how valuable that is.”
Ivan Bento
Aspiring member
Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada

“I had dinner last night with some people who are doing huge things. I asked what I should do next, and they said volunteer. All the people on MDRT Speaks were volunteers. I will definitely volunteer next year.”
Shannon Thompson
CFP, Member since 2011
Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA

“I meet weekly with my partners, but when we’re here, ideas are more free-flowing for us. It’s nice to have a pause from work.”
Mike Ferrara
LUTCF, Member since 2014
Edison, New Jersey, USA

“MDRT Speaks was amazing. We had 18 people at the top of the industry sharing their trade secrets with 12,000 people.”
Julianne Dahrooge
LUTCF, Member since 2015
Westborough, Massachusetts, USA

“The presentations on social media and retirement were very useful. I am ready to start using some of these ideas.”
Konstantinos Kastanakis
Member since 2009
Chania, Greece

First-time attendee advice from members

What is something you didn’t want to do at the Annual Meeting, but did, and are happy you went outside your comfort zone?

"My first PGA. But I met people then I still know and smile with now and have done volunteering at each meeting since."
David Braithwaite Dip PFS, member since 2006 from Tonbridge, England, United Kingdom

"At my very first Annual Meeting — as a fairly conservative attendee— I must admit I was a bit overawed at the thought of high-fiving and backslapping everyone. It’s really interesting, but I quickly realized perception is not always reality and that, in actual fact, the warmth and feeling toward new members is entirely genuine and hugely uplifting. It’s inevitably some of us will find the atmosphere challenging, but fully embrace it and you’ll never miss another meeting!"
Alessandro M. Forte Dip PFS, member since 1998 from London, England, United Kingdom

What was your best takeaway from an Annual Meeting?

"Sometimes it’s not all the notes you make from a Focus Session or the general feeling of inspiration you get from a Main Platform session, but just the little “nuggets” which help shape you as a person or keep you focused. Two I remember clearly:

Success isn’t easy but it is simple
Discipline and regret are both painful — but if you don’t do the first one you are guaranteed to get the second!"

Alessandro M. Forte Dip PFS, member since 1998 from London, England, United Kingdom

"The best for me is that I always leave thinking bigger, raising my game, with a renewed enthusiasm and a love for what I do. I arrive home a better version of myself."
David Braithwaite Dip PFS, member since 2006 from Tonbridge, England, United Kingdom

What is something you wish you would have known at your first Annual Meeting?

"I wish someone had told me before my first Annual Meeting that it’s not about trying to learn and remember everything you hear, but about finding a few things you can put in place that can transform your practice. My first meeting I tried to soak up every bit of information over the course of three days, and ended up overwhelmed."
Brenton D. Harrison Member since 2014 from Brentwood, Tennessee, USA

"I wish I would have known how willing to share all of the attendees are. Now, before each meeting I make a list of the most important questions or issues I want to address in my practice because someone at the meeting will have already been through it and will share their experience."
Matthew T. Hoesly CFP, ChFC, member since 2006 from Norfolk, Virginia, USA

How do you choose which sessions you go to?

"Before I get to the Annual Meeting, I spend time thinking about what I want to focus on while I’m there, whether it be a new line of business, marketing techniques, even who I want to spend time with. When I arrive, I look over the schedule of topics and find the ones that speak to my focus topic, and build my schedule around those sessions. By the end of meeting, I whittle down what I’ve heard to a few key things I want to implement when I get home."
Brenton D. Harrison Member since 2014 from Brentwood, Tennessee, USA

"Decide on a theme you wish to develop, whether it is business, practice management, sales ideas, Whole Person, etc. and try and stick to a single theme. Next year, you can choose a different one."
Doug Bennett Dip PFS, member since 2007 from Crawley, England, United Kingdom

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