Four days. More than 350 sessions. One overwhelmed attendee trying to figure out which ones to attend while standing in the hotel lobby on Thursday morning.
Don’t be that person.
GAC 2025 rewards preparation. The providers who get the most from the conference aren’t winging it. They’ve done their homework before they ever set foot in the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Here’s how to maximize your time this year.
1. View or Download the Agenda in Advance
The GAC program is dense, with multiple tracks running simultaneously across four full days. Surgical demonstrations, injectable techniques, practice management sessions, live videos and Top 10 presentations. Over 350 sessions competing for your attention.
Walking in without a plan means you might miss the sessions that matter most to you.
To make the most of your time at GAC 2025, view or download the program now. And read it. Not just a quick skim, but give it a real review where you identify the sessions that address your current goals and challenges.
Are you trying to refine your facelift technique? Make sure you don’t miss the live surgical videos from Dr. Stephen Perkins, Dr. Edwin Williams and Dr. Nabil Fanous. Each demonstrates a different solution to the same problem. Seeing all three gives you options.
Looking to add new non-surgical offerings? The Less Invasive Strategies track covers everything from exosomes to energy-based devices to innovative filler techniques. But sessions run concurrently, so you need to decide in advance which topics take priority.
When planning your GAC experience, don’t forget to add in buffer time. Sometimes, sessions run long. You’ll want at least five minutes between sessions to move between rooms, grab a coffee or jot down notes while insights are still fresh.
2. Talk to Faculty
Faculty at most conferences are untouchable. You might catch them after their presentation if you’re lucky and willing to wait in line. Maybe you get 30 seconds to ask one rushed question before someone else muscles in.
GAC is different.
The atmosphere is approachable. Faculty stick around after sessions. They’re available during breaks. They eat lunch in the same ballroom as everyone else. They came to teach, and that means being accessible.
Take advantage of this.
When a surgeon presents a technique you want to implement, find them during the break. Ask your specific question. Explain your particular challenge. Most will give you their contact information if you want to follow up later.
But this only works if you actually initiate conversations. Don’t assume faculty are too busy or too important. They’re at GAC specifically to engage with attendees. Be respectful of their time, but don’t be shy.
3. Make the Exhibit Hall a Priority
Most attendees treat the exhibit hall as something they do when they have spare time. At any other conference, maybe that’s the right move, but at GAC, the exhibit hall is where companies bring their newest technology, their most experienced reps and their best pricing to an audience they know is actively looking for solutions.
Some of the GAC 2025 exhibitors include household names: Allergan, Galderma, Sofwave, and Revance, for starters. You’ll also find exhibitors from other corners of the aesthetics world, including marketing (Incredible Marketing), consulting (Shorr Solutions) and business software (PatientNow). Take note of those you want to visit, and then chat with them. The representatives at GAC know their audience. They’re not giving surface-level sales pitches but are having substantive conversations with doctors who want to talk specifics.
And don’t ignore vendors you’re not familiar with. Some of the best discoveries happen when you stumble onto a company solving a problem you didn’t realize had a solution. Give yourself time to explore and ask questions.
4. Bring Your Team
Here’s a mistake many practice owners make: they attend GAC alone, absorb valuable information and return home energized to implement changes. But they immediately hit resistance from staff who weren’t part of the experience.
Your team didn’t hear the presentation on patient flow optimization. They weren’t in the session about improving consultation conversion. They didn’t see the demonstration of the new device you’re excited about purchasing. So when you come back ready to change everything, they see disruption, not opportunity.
Bringing key team members eliminates this problem.
GAC offers tracks specifically designed for non-physician attendees. Practice managers get sophisticated business education on inventory management and operational efficiency. Patient coordinators learn conversion strategies and communication techniques. Even front desk staff benefit from sessions on the patient experience and practice growth.
Yes, bringing multiple people increases the investment. But the return multiples. A practice where everyone is aligned outperforms one where only the owner attended a conference.
5. Review Your Notes ASAP
The worst thing you can do is attend an incredible conference, collect a stack of business cards and brochures, then return home and let everything sit in a pile on your desk for three months until you’ve forgotten why any of it mattered.
Successful conference attendees build implementation plans before they leave Miami Beach. Block time on your last day to review your notes. Identify the top five actionable insights you want to implement, and schedule follow-up tasks in your calendar for the week after you return.
Did you have a great conversation with an exhibitor about a device? Schedule a follow-up call for the following Tuesday. Learned a new technique you want to add? Block time to review the technique, research any additional training needed, and discuss implementation with your team. Met a surgeon whose approach to a specific complication resonated? Email them while the conversation is fresh.
When you exchange contact info, do it deliberately. Don’t just grab someone’s card and shake hands — take 30 seconds to add a note in your phone about what you discussed and why you want to follow up. That context becomes essential two weeks later when you’re staring at a stack of business cards trying to remember who everyone was.
Consider debriefing with your team on the flight home if you brought them. Each person shares their top three takeaways. That way, these insights will stay fresh and relevant even after the ‘conference high’ wears off, ready for you to put into practice.
Make Your Investment Count
The providers who get the most from GAC are the ones who treat it seriously. Not as a vacation with some CME credits attached, but as a strategic investment in practice growth that requires preparation, engagement, and follow-through.
If you haven’t already, register for GAC 2025 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Then start preparing to make it count.
