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It’s Only Common Sense: How to Get Your Money’s Worth at IPC APEX EXPO 2018

It’s time to head down to sunny San Diego to seek your fame and fortune at IPC APEX EXPO 2018. Without a doubt you are investing a great deal of time and money and you want to get as much from your investment as possible. Whether you are an exhibitor or just walking the show, here are 10 tips on how to get as much bang for that proverbial buck as possible.

1. Plan, plan, and plan some more. Even before you get to San Diego, make a list of the things you want to accomplish during your time there. Include the people you want to meet and why you want to meet with them: customers, prospective customers, vendors, and potential partners.
2. Speaking of vendors, make a list of what you would like to accomplish from those meetings. This show is a great time to touch base and settle any issues and negotiate new contracts for the coming year, besides just renewing your relationship with those vendors.
3. If you are in the market for a new piece of equipment, then do your research first. And I mean deep research—an $800,000 LDI should not be an impulse buy. Buying equipment off the show floor is a great way to get a marked-down price, especially on the last day of the show when the vendor would much rather ship equipment to your company than back to headquarters. But, do your homework. Decide on the equipment you want to buy and how much you want to pay for it before you even get on that plane to San Diego.
4. This is a great time to be looking for new people. That show floor is going to be loaded with potential hires for your company. That new quality manager you are looking to hire is probably standing next to you at the Orbotech booth. Or that might be the sales manager you want to hire coming down the aisle. And of course, if you are already talking to some candidates, this is a perfect time to sit down and have a talk about the possibilities of working together.
5. If you’re looking for sales reps, IPC APEX EXPO is a great place to do that as well.
6. Make sure you check out the things happening beyond the show floor. Loads of interesting and informative seminars, panel discussions and talks are taking place in those conference rooms you walk by on the way to the show. Check them out.
7. In fact, this is a good time to check out your show guide: Download a copy from the IPC website before the show. It will help you plan and enhance your show experience. All courses are listed, including a description, speakers, and time/locations. The show guide also lists the press conferences that are taking place throughout the week.
8. You can also use the show guide to locate the companies who are exhibiting at the show in advance. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the show floor and make note of exactly where you need to go to meet up with the people you want to prioritize.
9. One of the best things IPC has done in the past few years is provide a show App for your smartphone. Just hook into the App when you hit the exhibition floor and it will be the only guide you will need once you arrive.
10. And finally, make sure you get yourself and your company some publicity. Stop into the I-Connect007 booth and meet the team. They are a great bunch of people, very friendly and very happy to welcome you in and talk about how they can help with your business’s marketing and sales. 

Take full advantage of your time at IPC APEX EXPO 2018 this week. Grab as much information as you can; meet as many key people as you can; find out everything you can about what’s new in our industry and most important of all, have a great time.

It’s only common sense.