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I have been attending trade shows for over 20 years. My trade show experience began in my first career as an inventor of a new candy product. I have traveled all over the country exhibiting at various trade shows and focusing on marketing candy products for children.
I have been attending trade shows ever since I made the switch to commercial real estate in 2016. While trade shows come in all shapes and sizes, I have noticed they all have something in common.
The purpose of this article is to share my perspective so that you can get the most out of any trade show you exhibit at or attend. Below are five concepts to keep in mind:
1. Travel
I always recommend staying at a hotel within walking distance of the conference venue, so you don’t have to struggle to drive or find other transportation to the conference venue in the morning. In most cases, conference organizers will provide rooms at a discounted rate for attendees. I recommend booking your hotel as soon as this information is distributed. Hotels near the conference venue are often booked first.
If you need to fly to a meeting, it’s a good idea to book as early as possible, so you can be sure of getting the best flight possible. Whenever possible, we recommend taking a direct flight. Even if you have to get to an airport that’s a long drive from your home, it’s well worth it. With a direct flight, you won’t have to worry about missing it because of a change of plans.
I always choose flights that allow me to arrive early and leave late so I’m not rushing to get to and from the conference. Conferences can be expensive, so I think it’s important to come early and stay late to get your money’s worth.
Related: 7 Trade Show Tips for New Business
2. Networking
Always remember to bring plenty of business cards with you. These days, many people opt for electronic business cards. It’s a personal choice, but I still like the old-fashioned business card. The problem with electronic business cards is that once you’ve saved the person’s contact information in your phone, it gets cluttered with your other contacts.
Following up with people you meet at conferences can be a pain. In my opinion, it’s still best to have physical business cards of the people you interact with. If you interact with someone on their electronic business card, you can scan it to get their information on your phone so you can take a snapshot whenever you want. At least this way you can go back and find their contact information.
Related: 7 Networking Groups Every Small Business Owner Should Join
3. Follow-up
Speaking of snapshots, I like to take pictures of cards throughout meetings, this way if I lose the card I still have a backup on my phone.
Another follow-up tip I use is to create a follow-up spreadsheet after a meeting. The spreadsheet contains all the tasks that I said I would follow up on. After I follow up, I adjust the spreadsheet to indicate that the task is completed. These spreadsheets keep me accountable for following up. Plus, it’s fun to cross to-do items off my to-do list.
Related: 4 Surprising Truths About Failing to Follow Up
4. Notebooks
It is very important to have a small notebook and a few pens in your meeting bag. During a meeting, you will interact with many people, and if you don’t write down the interactions, you won’t remember them. It is a good idea to have a few pens on hand in case your pen becomes unusable or you give it away. It is useful to hand out pens with contact information written on them.
Use this notebook to take notes during meetings and record who you spoke with. At a recent meeting, my managing broker let me know in advance that he wanted to know how many people I had interacted with after the meeting. This prompted me to number each person I spoke with and record the number in my notebook. This provided a good conversation piece to let people know which number you were. It also made following up much easier.
Related: I started my business with $1,000 and now it’s worth billions of dollars and serves over 163 million people. These 7 principles are the secret to my success.
5. Snacks
When you arrive at the conference, have snacks ready. I always bring snack-sized items in my suitcase. For a small water bottle, I stop at a market or convenience store once I reach my destination. Food and water can be hard to come by and expensive at conferences. Preparing in advance by packing snacks and water in your conference bag will make for a more productive trade show experience.
Many of the above items are obvious, but I often see people at trade shows unprepared. Planning your travel in advance, preparing to network, having a plan for follow-up, and packing your conference bag with notebooks, pens, and snacks will help you get the most out of any trade show.