Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It's Only Common Sense: Walking the Show

Editor's Note: To listen to Dan's weekly column, as you've always done in the past, click here. For the written transcript, keep reading...Okay, let’s get down to it. You’re not exhibiting at the trade show, but you're attending to take a look around and see what you can see, who you can meet, and what you can find out. That’s good, but is that really all you can do? Not if you’re smart. There's just so much more you can do at a trade show to make sure you get the most from your time and expense.

Here are eight great things you can do at a trade show:

1. Set your goals. First, decide why you want to attend this particular event and make a list of the things you wish to accomplish while there. This list should include the people you want to meet, the equipment you want to check out, the vendors you want to talk to, and the technical presentations you want to attend. Once this is done, go about planning your time and schedule in advance.
2. Figure out if you should be exhibiting at this show. If you're thinking about taking part in a particular trade show in the future, take this time to check out it. Find out who's at the show--from your customers to competitors. Check out the traffic. Figure out what kind of people are walking the show. Are they the kind of people/customers with which you want to do business? It’s better to find this out now rather than later when you’ve already spent your money.
3. Find out who's going to be at the show ahead of time. Most shows list exhibitors on their websites. If you see someone you want to meet, make all your arrangements ahead of time. This is an excellent way to make sure you don't waste any time. Plan ahead.
4. Be specific in what you want to accomplish. This goes beyond setting goals. If you want to buy a piece of equipment a trade show is the perfect time to do just that. First, the equipment people are all there showing off their best stuff allowing you to compare and contrast what they have to offer. These folks have come to the show to deal. There's nothing they like better than putting a “sold” sign on their demo machine with your name on it. There's no better time to negotiate for a piece of equipment than at a trade show.
5. Sell. Just because you are not exhibiting at this show does not mean you can’t be selling. After all, the show has attracted customers--both current and future. You have a captive audience so use it to you benefit. Set up meetings with your customers. The show is a common meeting place that attracts your customers, so take advantage of that. For example, IPC APEX EXPO is a show for both contract manufacturers and fabricators. If you're a board shop selling to CMs, go at it like an insurance salesperson at a Christmas party. The same applies if you’re selling commodities to the board shops or equipment to the CMs--it all works in your favor.
6. Take advantage of your freedom and nimbleness. The very fact that you don’t have a booth at the show means you are free to go anywhere you want, meet with anyone you want (at any time you wan)t because you're not chained to that booth. This is a good thing.
7. Spend a few days in the area. Don’t just go to the show and come home--that's a waste of your travel expenses. Go visit your customers in the area. Better yet, do some cold calling or hang out with your rep or salesperson in that region.
8. Speaking of salespeople, look for some good ones while you’re at this show. Use your time to meet and sign some good reps or direct salespeople. A show is a great time to meet potential sales hires. The same applies to other good key people: Engineers, operations, and quality control people all go to shows, so plan to meet them there. You never know, you might find your next great production manager at this show.

And finally (remember, I underpromise and overdeliver), here's a tip that many exhibition companies might not like: If you have a friend exhibiting at the show, ask him to get you one of their special exhibitors’ badges. For a person like you walking the show, these are worth their weight in gold, because they allow you to walk into the convention center before and after hours--you'll have the show and the exhibitors all to yourself. If you want to meet privately with anyone, this is a great time to do it because they are usually just sitting around waiting for the show to begin. This is also a great time to distribute your sales materials and business cards throughout the show. Try it, it’s a great idea. Just don’t tell anyone. It’s only common sense.