FROM THE EDITOR
Shanna Germain
AIRLINE TICKETS. Hotel rooms. Taxi cabs. Booth and entrance fees. Dinners
out…
The show season is upon us, and the travel dollars are starting
to add up. If you’re cutting costs, you’re probably wondering:
Is all this travel worth it? What are the benefits of trade shows, and
do they outweigh the expenses? Even some trade shows themselves are falling
prey, with shows like the EarthNowExpo being cancelled due to the poor
economy, citing that “green product manufacturers and service suppliers
were reluctant to invest marketing dollars for a trade show at this time.”
What are the benefits to trade shows? They’re wide and varied,
according to those in the industry who attend. Sales, of course. A presence
in the community, contact with clients and suppliers, educational opportunities,
discovery of new products and technologies—all of these are reasons
for showing your face at the show. As Craig Holt of Atlas Coffees says, “I
attend SCAA because of the necessity of staying in front of clients and,
to a lesser extent, for the educational components.”
If you exhibit at the show, it’s easy to make it worth your while.
An inviting booth, knowledgeable and socially adept staff members, a
willingness to attend classes and seminars—these all go a long
way toward making a successful show.
The best advice I heard from exhibitors (beyond, “hire really hot
booth babes,” which may or may not have been offered up in jest)
was to worry less about quantity and more about quality. Instead of just
taking someone’s business card or scanning their badge, talk to
them. Follow-up matters, but it’s so much easier to get a new customer
on the spot than it is to try and wrangle them over the phone. Especially
in our industry, conversation is important. Don’t just go off on
a tangent about your product and hard-sell them. Instead, take a few
minutes to listen, offer information and advice, compliment them on their
business idea/plan/structure (or their sweater, if you can’t think
of anything else) and see if you can enlighten or entertain. Not only
will they remember you, they’ll remember you either as “that
manufacturer who really listened and helped answer my questions” or
as “that guy who complimented my sweater six times.”
If you choose not to exhibit, you can still garner a great deal
from attending. Walk the floor with a purpose—know who you want
to talk to and why—but be open to new discoveries along the way.
Attend any aftershow events. If you’re shy, pretend you’re
not for the day. At Roast, we often play a game at shows where we compete
to see who can meet the most new people at any given event. For the introverts
among us (me, namely), it helps ease the fear of talking to new people,
and I often end up creating new friends and colleagues in the process.
Go to classes, ask questions, sit in the front. And, of course, wear
your best sweater. You never know who might compliment you on it.
Keep the flame burning,
Shanna
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