Never been to a Unified Group meeting before? How is it different than other industry meetings out there? What should you expect? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with our list of everything you need to know.

1. There’s homework. Wait, what? Maybe it’s been years since you’ve seen the dreaded “homework” word, but trust us, we make it worth the effort. We want your mind engaged and thinking about the session even before you get there. We understand that time out of the office is not a thing to waste. When you send your team members to a Unified Group session they’re already thinking about their challenges and questions so they can hit the ground running when they arrive.

2. No strangers here. We start each Unified Group meeting with a welcome reception with food and drink. We know that it can be intimidating walking into a meeting full of strangers. Take the opportunity to meet members in a more casual setting the night before the meeting starts.

3. You can be open and honest. The number one thing members like best about being a Unified Group member is the fact that membership is geographically exclusive. That means when you come to a session you are amongst friends and not competitors. Want to share your best idea implemented? No problem! The line many of us draw at other industry meetings disappears at a Unified Group session.

4. Hear from the entire group. Dive in with small groups. Every Unified Group meeting incorporates both large and small group discussion. Attendees are handed One Question cards at the beginning of each day to write down any question they want to throw up to the entire group. This is the perfect opportunity to poll the group and get instant feedback from members across the country! Have a team member who’s not comfortable speaking in front of a large group? We’ve designed each meeting to always include plenty of time to breakout into smaller groups.

5. We keep you hostage. But in the best way possible! Unlike other meetings that you attend we provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for our members. Some of the best conversations and idea sharing happen outside of the meeting over a meal.

6. We follow up. At the end of each Unified Group session we always ask each attendee to write down their takeaway. What’s the one thing you’re going to do when you get home? What’s your timeframe? Who’s going to help you? Did you meet anyone at the meeting who can help? We take it one step further and will follow up with each attendee a few months later to check and see if they were successful or if they need help accomplishing their goal.