INBOUND to Boston and Inbound to Learning

INBOUND, an annual marketing and sales conference in Boston, is an incredible experience. Being surrounded by 21,000 other phenomenal marketers, sales and design professionals is the perfect opportunity to learn, share and grow. It was an extra special trip for me, as I had created a bucket list of experiences that I wanted to accomplish before the end of the conference. 

From Shonda Rhimes to Deepak Chopra to Scott Harrison, INBOUND didn’t disappoint! I absolutely loved Beth Comstock’s keynote talk with themes on strategy, failure, feedback and success. One of her key takeaways was, “if failure is not an option than neither is success.” It’s through failing that we truly change, grow and succeed—personally and professionally.

Very inspiring talk by former vice chair of GE, Beth Comstock at #INBOUND18. Strategy is a story well told. Vision doesn’t matter unless it is acted upon. pic.twitter.com/CULDz0Zio9

— Roman Plaszewski (@romanplaszewski) September 5, 2018

Each year, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, the co-founders of HubSpot, share what’s new in the marketing and sales industries and the latest updates to HubSpot. The Chicago HUG had an early sneak peek of a big announcement in July when HubSpot's Alison Elworthy, VP for Customer Success, shared how the flywheel was replacing the traditional funnel methodology. With 81% of customers trusting the advice of family and friends over business, putting the customer at the center of the flywheel is crucial to company growth—because customers are your biggest brand ambassadors. 

INBOUND was full of high-quality sessions, celebrity spotlights and networking events. With so many opportunities to expand your knowledge, it's highly recommended to choose several topics and find sessions that are related. 

One of the sessions that I especially enjoyed was on predictive analytics from Katie Robbert, CEO of BrainTrust Insights. During the session, Katie compared predictive analytics to a meteorologist’s weekly forecast—they are both guides to help you plan so that you aren’t caught off guard. Predictive analytics takes historical data and projects it forward, meaning that it’s incredibly helpful for marketing strategy and setting campaigns up for success!    

In addition to the sessions, Stephanie and I were invited to share our thoughts on being HUG leaders at a special HubSpot taping. Then, we were invited to meet and hang out with other international HubSpot Certified Trainers and other HubSpot User Group leaders at a special event. It was so much fun!

.@SateTweets at #INBOUND18 making me feel like a VIP. Love the Thai Basil Cherry Limeade and my special gift. 😍😍Thank you!! pic.twitter.com/lsWMnNLTEL

— Sarah Corley (@srcorley) September 6, 2018

Last year, my favorite food truck rebranded for me which was incredible. This year, they had special gifts and drinks for me (and only me) each time I visited their truck! So, if you’re in the Boston area, I highly recommend the Sate Grill food truck. They have delicious Vietnamese food and their staff is incredible. 

The best part? They understand the customer delight section of the inbound methodology. The surprise-and-delight portion of the methodology is to provide such an incredible, happy experience to users that it turns them into brand ambassadors who go out and tell other people about your company. It's even more awesome to see that in person at INBOUND!

If you have the opportunity to attend INBOUND. I highly recommend it. From tracks on management and leadership to marketing and sales to design and development, there truly is something for everyone.