Masonry Magazine February 1996 Page. 12
Becoming A Savvy Visitor:
Working the Trade
Show Booths
You can parlay your limited time in the exhibit hall into a genuine learning and networking experience. With a little attention to planning, you can get a tremendous return on the time you spend there.
ENTER THE EXHIBIT area at Masonry Expo and look around. You'll see booth upon booth- several hundreds of them, in fact. It's easy to spend your time meandering through the exhibit hall, chatting with friends and colleagues, and only occasionally interjecting some purposeful business with an exhibitor when you happen upon a booth of particular interest to you.
But there's another alternative. You can parlay your limited time in the exhibit hall into a genuine learning and networking experience. With a little attention to planning, you can get a tremendous return on the time you spend there. Here's how:
Plan your stops-Pick up a map of the exhibit area before you begin browsing. Then identify a selection of booths that might offer especially useful information.
Divvy up the work-If you're attending the convention with a colleague and you have a lot of booths to visit, split the booths up between the two of you, either by interest area or physical location.
Stay in shape-Don't kid yourself: spending a few hours in an exhibit hall can be a grueling experience. Whenever possible, wear loose-fitting clothing and, above all, comfortable shoes. Or take a lesson from veteran exhibitors, who often wear padding inside their shoes. Before setting out, eat a light meal. Avoid sugary snacks, caffeine or soft drinks in the hall; water and easy-to-digest snacks, such as dried fruit, will help you keep your energy level up.
Know when to browse-Take the tempo of the exposition. When exhibit traffic is light, make your high priority, business-oriented visits. You'll be able to spend more time with exhibitors this way. When traffic is heavier, you can browse through the lower priority booths more casually.
Set goals-Decide what you want out of each exhibit even before you start making the rounds. Do you want help with a thorny service problem? Want to learn about a new product? Want to save money? Keep these goals in mind as you visit each booth. You might even want to develop a list of stock questions to ask each exhibitor you visit.
Understand the goals of exhibitors They vary. Some exhibitors want to foster an image or impart positioning statements. Others may want to build prospect lists. Others may want to gather qualified leads. And the list could go on and on. You can often discern an exhibitor's purpose with a quick glance or a brief conversation. Ask yourself: is the exhibitor's goal compatible with yours? If not, don't spend excessive time there.
Stick to your agenda-Approach each booth with your agenda in mind.