How to Implement Conference Learnings in Senior Living: A Complete Action Plan for SMASH and Beyond
From Conference High to Implementation Success: How to Actually Apply What You Learned at SMASH
You just returned from an incredible conference experience. Maybe it was SMASH (Senior Care Marketing & Sales Summit), the premier senior living sales and marketing conference, or another industry event where you connected with hundreds of fellow leaders, attended inspiring sessions, and collected enough business cards to wallpaper your office.
Your notebook is filled with brilliant ideas. Your phone is loaded with photos of presentation slides. You’re energized, inspired, and ready to transform your senior living community’s marketing and sales approach.
And then Monday morning hits.
The emails are piling up. Your team needs immediate attention. Daily operations demand your focus. Those conference insights that seemed so revolutionary just 48 hours ago are already starting to fade into the background noise of business-as-usual.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. The momentum gained at professional events can quickly fade if you don’t act upon it soon. The difference between executives who attend conferences and those who actually implement learnings comes down to one thing: having a structured post-conference action plan.
Why Most Conference Learnings Never Get Implemented
Before we dive into solutions, let’s address the elephant in the room. According to industry research, most professionals fail to implement more than 20% of what they learn at conferences. Why?
The Overwhelm Factor: You attended 12 sessions, collected insights from 30 conversations, and discovered 15 new vendors. That’s not a plan—that’s information overload.
The Stakeholder Gap: You’re excited about new AI tools or innovative marketing strategies, but your team wasn’t at the conference. They don’t share your context or enthusiasm.
The Priority Problem: Everything seems important at the conference. Back at the office, urgent tasks always trump important strategic initiatives.
The Resource Reality: Great ideas require time, budget, and team capacity—resources that may not be readily available.
The good news? With the right approach, you can overcome these challenges and turn your conference investment into measurable results.
The 48-Hour Rule: Strike While the Iron Is Hot
Time is of the essence when it comes to post-conference implementation. Within 48 to 72 hours of the event, you need to take action or risk losing momentum entirely.
Here’s your immediate action checklist:
Day 1 (Immediately Upon Return)
- Download all conference materials, slides, and recordings before you lose access
- Transcribe or organize your handwritten notes while the context is fresh
- Create a master document with all new contacts, categorized by priority
- Block 2-3 hours on your calendar within the next week for strategic planning
Day 2
- Send personalized follow-up messages to your top 5-10 new connections
- Share one key insight with your team via email or Slack
- Identify the single most impactful idea you want to implement first
Day 3
- Schedule your post-conference debrief meeting with stakeholders
- Begin drafting your implementation plan (more on this below)
The Conference Content Triage System
Not every idea deserves equal attention. Use this three-category sorting system to prioritize your conference learnings:
Quick Wins (Implement in 0-30 days)
These are ideas requiring minimal budget or approval that can deliver fast results. Examples:
- New email subject line strategies
- Improved lead response time protocols
- Social media content formats that resonated at the conference
- Simple process improvements for your sales team
Strategic Initiatives (Implement in 1-6 months)
These require planning, budget approval, or cross-departmental coordination:
- New marketing automation workflows (partner with CRM specialists)
- Enhanced website conversion tools like Waypoint’s AI Sales Assistant
- Lead qualification processes
- Training programs for your team
Long-Term Vision (6-12 months)
These are transformational ideas requiring significant investment:
- Complete digital transformation initiatives
- New technology platform implementations
- Major strategic pivots in your go-to-market approach
Pro tip: Choose 1-2 items from each category. Attempting to implement everything guarantees you’ll implement nothing.
Creating Your Post-SMASH Implementation Plan
Now let’s build your actual action plan. Your action plan should include names of individuals responsible for each item, a description of work to be done, timelines for completion, and a place to enter status updates.
Step 1: Define Your Top 3 Priorities
Review your notes and answer this question: “If I could only implement three things from this conference that would significantly impact our occupancy and revenue, what would they be?”
Be ruthlessly selective. Three meaningful implementations beat ten half-hearted attempts every time.
Step 2: Set SMART Goals for Each Priority
Transform vague ideas into specific, measurable outcomes:
❌ Vague: “Improve our website conversion” ✅ SMART: “Increase website lead conversion rate from 3% to 8% within 90 days by implementing an AI Sales Assistant that engages visitors 24/7”
❌ Vague: “Better follow-up with leads” ✅ SMART: “Capture 40% more qualified lead data through interactive ProForms and improve first-call conversion rates by 15% within 60 days”
Step 3: Break Down Each Goal Into Actionable Tasks
For each priority, list the specific steps required:
Example: Implementing AI-Powered Lead Engagement
- Week 1: Audit current website engagement metrics and identify conversion gaps
- Week 2: Schedule demo with AI Sales Assistant solution providers
- Week 3: Select technology partner and begin implementation planning
- Week 4: Customize AI responses and ProForms for your community
- Week 5: Train sales team on new lead data and handoff process
- Week 6: Launch and monitor initial performance
Step 4: Assign Owners and Deadlines
Identify three new contacts from the conference and reach out with personalized messages within 48-72 hours. This applies to your internal team too—assign clear ownership for each task.
Every action item needs:
- A single owner (not a committee)
- A specific deadline
- Clear success criteria
- Required resources identified
Step 5: Build Your Communication Cadence
Clear, consistent communication demonstrates that progress is being made and helps build trust and confidence.
Schedule these checkpoints:
- Weekly: 15-minute stand-ups with task owners to review progress
- Bi-weekly: Update your leadership team on implementation status
- Monthly: Measure results and adjust approach as needed
Overcoming the “But My Team Wasn’t There” Challenge
One of the biggest implementation barriers is bringing your team along on the journey. They didn’t experience the conference energy or context. Here’s how to bridge that gap:
Host a Conference Debrief Session
Conduct a post-conference meeting to share key takeaways and discuss potential action plans for your organization.
Schedule a 60-90 minute meeting and structure it like this:
- 10 minutes: Share conference overview and overall themes
- 30 minutes: Present your top 3 priorities and the “why” behind them
- 20 minutes: Facilitate discussion—what resonates? What concerns exist?
- 20 minutes: Collaboratively refine the action plan
- 10 minutes: Assign responsibilities and next steps
Create a Conference Insights Document
Build a shared resource that includes:
- Key statistics and trends you learned
- Links to any public presentations or articles from speakers
- Photos from the conference (people love visuals!)
- Specific ideas relevant to each department
- Action items with clear owners
Share Ongoing Learnings
Review and explore resources from the conference. Many conferences provide access to presentation slides, videos, or additional resources after the event.
Create a Slack channel or email thread where you share one insight per week from conference recordings or materials. This keeps momentum alive without overwhelming your team.
Leveraging Your New Network
SMASH brings together sales and marketing experts over 3 days for sessions, workshops, and strategic roundtables—which means you now have access to hundreds of peers facing similar challenges.
Don’t let these connections go cold:
Immediate Actions
- Send personalized LinkedIn connection requests within 48 hours
- Reference specific conversations you had
- Offer value first—share an article or resource relevant to their challenge
Ongoing Relationship Building
- Schedule virtual coffee chats with 1-2 new connections per month
- Create a peer accountability group with 3-5 fellow attendees
- Share your implementation wins and challenges in conference Facebook groups or LinkedIn
Vendor Follow-Up
You probably met with multiple solution providers. Organize these relationships strategically:
High Priority (Schedule demos within 2 weeks): Solutions directly addressing your top 3 priorities
Medium Priority (Reach out in 30-60 days): Interesting but not urgent needs
Low Priority (File for future reference): Keep on radar but no immediate action needed
Measuring Success and Course-Correcting
Implementation isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. You need to track progress and adjust your approach.
Key Metrics to Monitor
- Task completion rates (Are you hitting your deadlines?)
- Early performance indicators (Are you seeing the expected impact?)
- Team adoption rates (Is your team actually using new processes?)
- ROI tracking (Document baseline metrics before and after implementation)
Monthly Review Questions
- What’s working better than expected?
- What’s taking longer or proving more difficult than anticipated?
- Do we need to adjust timelines or priorities?
- What resources or support do we need?
Sort the ideas based on potential impact and set goals based on a thorough think-it-through approach, tracking progress weekly.
Common Implementation Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
Pitfall #1: The “Shiny Object” Syndrome
You discover something exciting but misaligned with your core strategy.
Solution: Before implementing anything new, ask: “Does this directly support our occupancy and revenue goals?”
Pitfall #2: Underestimating Resource Requirements
That “simple” new initiative requires more time, budget, or expertise than expected.
Solution: Include buffer time in your estimates and secure stakeholder buy-in on resources upfront.
Pitfall #3: Lack of Executive Sponsorship
Make sure your priority post-conference action is based on resolving a problem or achieving a goal clearly understood within the company.
Solution: Present new initiatives in terms of business outcomes, not conference excitement.
Pitfall #4: No Accountability Mechanism
Tasks drift without someone checking on progress.
Solution: Use project management tools and establish regular check-ins with clear ownership.
Your 90-Day Implementation Timeline
Here’s a realistic roadmap for turning conference learnings into results:
Month 1: Foundation
- Complete triage and prioritization
- Build detailed action plans
- Secure stakeholder alignment
- Begin Quick Win implementations
- Schedule vendor demos for Strategic Initiatives
Month 2: Momentum
- Launch first Strategic Initiative
- Measure and report on Quick Wins
- Refine processes based on early feedback
- Deepen new professional relationships
- Update team on progress
Month 3: Results
- Complete Strategic Initiative rollout
- Measure and document results
- Plan for scaling successful initiatives
- Begin planning Long-Term Vision projects
- Celebrate wins with your team
Sustaining Long-Term Change
The real challenge isn’t implementing new ideas—it’s making them stick. Update the plan regularly and use it as a communication tool to report on progress.
Create Rituals and Habits
- Weekly team huddles to review new processes
- Monthly “innovation hours” to discuss improvements
- Quarterly strategy sessions to review conference learnings
Document Everything
- Standard operating procedures for new processes
- Training materials for new team members
- Case studies of successful implementations
Celebrate Progress
Take time to acknowledge employee contributions and thank those who helped make the achievements happen. Recognition drives continued engagement and implementation success.
The Bottom Line: From Inspiration to Impact
Attending conferences like SMASH represents a significant investment—registration fees, travel costs, time away from the office. The only way to justify that investment is through measurable implementation.
The executives who transform conference attendance into competitive advantage aren’t necessarily the ones who take the most notes or attend the most sessions. They’re the ones who take strategic, focused action on a handful of high-impact priorities.
Remember: You don’t need to implement everything you learned. You just need to implement the right things, with the right team, at the right time.
Your conference investment paid for education and inspiration. But the real ROI comes from what you do next.
Ready to Turn Conference Insights Into Occupancy Results?
If one of your key takeaways from SMASH or any senior living conference was the need to improve website conversions and lead quality, you’re not alone. Websites utilizing the Waypoint AI Sales Assistant and ProForms have been proven to generate five times more leads than traditional website forms.
Our AI Sales Assistant engages website visitors 24/7, answering their questions in real-time and guiding them through your community’s unique offerings. Combined with our Navigator and ProForms, we help prospects self-qualify while providing your sales team with rich, actionable data for personalized follow-up.
We’ve helped communities increase website conversions by over 200% by meeting prospects where they are in their journey and giving sales teams the insights they need to convert more tours into move-ins.
For lead nurturing and marketing automation needs, we partner with best-in-class CRM and marketing automation providers who can help you build comprehensive engagement strategies.
Don’t let your conference learnings gather dust.
Schedule a free strategy session with Waypoint Converts to discuss how we can help you implement the insights from SMASH and other conferences to drive measurable occupancy growth.
