A 6 Pack of Ideas to Make Sure You’re Popular at the Trade Show

Business people have such wildly differing views of what their attendance at the trade show is meant to accomplish that it’s useful to take a fresh look at what attendees can hope to accomplish and how to achieve it.

If you were to make a checklist of the goals of the trade show, it might look like this.

1)  Face-to-face meetings with companies we’re doing business with to get signed deals, or deals that can be finalized and signed shortly after the show.

2) Find out what the competition is up to by talking to your customers or to the competition itself. Don’t make this look like an inquisition, competitors are always talking and can gain valuable information from each other, as long as you remember to keep it friendly. You might talk about a common problem, for example. “Boy, these booths are more expensive than last year, what are they doing with our money?”

3) Ideally, you’d like to have every media outlet in town trying to interview you. You might ask, “Isn’t somebody taking care of that?” Sure, the trade association might have a press office, and they might think of you as a good interview source for your industry, but on the other hand they might not be good as you at getting media coverage, and they might be looking to promote themselves. When I was the editor of a major consumer electronics magazine, I not only had to look for interview sources as I covered the show, but I had to be available to be interviewed. (We used to joke that I’d end up interviewing myself.) If you think outside the box, you might be able to spend the entire show being interviewed.

Look beyond print to the various electronic news outlets in the city you’ll be visiting. Example: every major city has a 24-hour news station, like WCCO in Minneapolis or KYW in Philadelphia. They are dying for stories, because they have all day to fill. They are always short on reporters; you won’t believe this, but frequently they are short on vans and cars to move the reporters around. You have a rental car, so you can come to them and be interviewed live and on the set. And not only will you be bringing your expertise, but (if this is so) you have a retailer of your product right in town, and you can bring her along too. She’s going to tell the local station how popular your product is in their town, and where you can buy it. If the reporter can get out, maybe they’ll want to meet at her store that sells your product. That’s a home run.

4) If they don’t want you in studio, offer to do the interview on the floor of the trade show. This will give the viewer/listener a sense of the exciting atmosphere of the show, and place you as an expert there. If they want to do a “phoner,” retreat to the peace and quiet of your hotel room. I’ve spent perfectly productive afternoons with my shoes up on a desk staring out the window, while being interviewed by various media outlets. Be prepared for heavy cell phone traffic as you sort through the various media outlets and arrangements.

5)  This can be difficult if you’re a “one man band,” but if you’re part of a group you can divide time between the booth, the show, and the press. Ideally, you wouldn’t be seeing much of your team during the day; you can meet for dinner and compare notes then.

6)  Finally, while you’re dashing from the floor to meetings outside the hall, and all over town, pack a pair of comfortable shoes.

There’s no reason why you can’t be the most popular person at the trade show. Especially with a six pack.