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Article
When Attending a Show as a Non-Exhibitor
-Linda Musgrove
-TradeShow Teacher
-www.tsteacher.com
Hello class…it's great to be back with another lesson for you! Usually we talk about all the things you can and should do as an exhibitor; not today. The focus of this lesson is how to get the most out of a trade show if you are "only" attending.
There might be a variety of reasons why you choose to attend a show vs. exhibiting at it; you may want to review products, attend networking events or go to meet with existing customers, attend educational seminars, etc. Just like you should have an exhibiting plan when you exhibit, you should also have an attendance plan to maximize your productivity, meet targeted contacts and justify the expenses of the trip.
Any trade how, whether you are exhibiting or attending is an opportunity to meet prospects, build relationships and network. Make sure to bring enough business cards and product collateral with you, but be cautioned that many shows have "suitcasing policies" and may ask you to leave if you are overly aggressive trying to promote your own products as an attendee!
Now that this is out of the way, let's talk about the items you should consider planning for:
Attendance and Product Budget
Before you do anything else, you will need to figure out your budget! And if you are at the show to evaluate products for purchase, you should know your budget for that purchase as well. You have limited time available and there is no point looking at the Ferraris if your budget only allows a KIA! Here are a couple of things to consider:
• Educational seminars
• Show admission
• Travel related costs, such as airfare, hotel, transportation, meals, etc.
• Expenses for client, prospect and/or media activities
Pre-Show Planning
• Set at-show and post-show goals you want to achieve. You should set goals for areas such as number of exhibitor booths to visit, number of meetings to pre-arrange, number of media appointments to schedule as well as number of networking events to attend and so on.
• List the products and criteria you are looking for at the show
• Review the show website and any other marketing materials you received from the show. They contain valuable information such as exhibit hours, exhibitor lists and booth locations, pre-show and at-show networking opportunities, seminar descriptions, schedule and so on.
• Write down the time frame you will be in the show city and items you will be participating in that have a fixed schedule such as seminars, show hours or networking events. This will let you know what time you have available for other activities.
• Write down the exhibits you want to visit; including competitors. To make your time on the show floor more efficient I suggest for you to review the booth map and put the exhibitor name and booth number in the order you want to visit them and have a schedule to follow.
• Pre-schedule meetings with existing customers, prospects and media.
Create a Networking Plan
Just like we discussed having a plan for the exhibitors you want to meet, you should have a Networking Plan and goals for the type of contacts you'd like to meet; to avoid wasting time at events. The plan doesn't need to be too long; bullet points are just fine.
Show sponsored events are usually listed on the show web site and are easy to find. Also be on the lookout for postal or e-mail invitations you may receive in the weeks leading up to the show and add them to your schedule as appropriate.
Media
• Important: Before moving into media planning, I advise you to make sure your company is comfortable with you speaking to the media before reaching out to the media.
• Even though you're not exhibiting you can still have press meetings while you are at the show. Press meetings typically happen over breakfast, lunch, in the press room or other meeting rooms, so having a booth is not a requirement.
• Keep in mind that accessing the media list as a non-exhibitor can be quite a challenge. It never hurts to call the show and ask for the list, especially if you mention you are considering to exhibit, but that doesn't always work. If a business partner or other contact of yours is exhibiting, they may be able to get the list for you by requesting it from the show's Public Relations person.
• Prepare to speak about a new product your company has, and/or have a list of upcoming articles from their editorial calendar you think you might be able to help with.
• Bring several press kits to leave in the press room.
Have Enough Business Cards
I am always surprised by the number of people that run out of business cards during a show! A "good rule of thumb" is to bring at least 3 times as many as you think you may need. It is unprofessional to have no cards and that situation can easily be avoided.
Meetings
As suggested earlier, you should have a set schedule with a fixed time you are willing to stay at a specific booth. To stay on schedule, you may need to guide the conversations in the booth to keep booth staffers focused on your questions and needs, rather than allowing them to ramble on about whatever they find great about their products or their company!
Take Notes
Bring a notepad to take notes. With all the things going on at a show, do not expect to remember details by the end of the day!
Disengaging from Unqualified Vendors
If an exhibitor's product does not fit the criteria of what you are looking for, stop wasting your time and their time and move on. Don't worry; you are doing them and yourself a favor! You can just politely disengage from the conversation and move to the next booth on your list.
Show Specials, Purchasing or Ordering
If you are expecting to make a purchase during the show, or shortly after, ask vendors if they have any show specials or discounts.
Visit Competitor Booths
Always take advantage of an opportunity to visit competitors exhibiting at the shows you attend.
After the Show
After the show, create a Post Show Attendance Report. Use it to record details about your show experience and to evaluate future attendance or exhibiting. Have the report cover areas such as:
• Vendor evaluations
• Product evaluations
• Competitor information
• Networking events
• Customer, prospect and media meetings (as applicable)
• Quality of the show, exhibitors, competitors, seminars and media
• Goals (list which goals were met and which weren't and why)
Having such a report will make it much easier to determine whether to attend in the future and get approval.
That's it for this lesson! Bye for now.
HOMEWORK
Apply this system at the next trade show you attend.
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