As you probably know, there’s a huge event scheduled in Louisville next month. Whether this will be your first ever trip to the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International or you’re an Expo veteran, steps you take now can ensure you get the most out of attending.
Over 30 years, the Expo has grown to feature hundreds of vendor exhibits and educational opportunities to help you discover new ways to work better and smarter. Education Day, held the Wednesday before exhibits open, has matured into a “can’t miss’’ slate of seminars taught by industry experts.
A tradeshow provides more than one-stop shopping with industry vendors and access to industry experts. It’s a great way to learn informally from peers in the field, too. At the Pumper & Cleaner Expo, you will meet people who face the same day-to-day challenges you do. And since attendees come from all over the world, most are not your direct competition, so they will be willing to share information on how they meet those challenges.
But if you want to learn, you can’t be shy when it comes to walking the show floor, and you shouldn’t come unprepared. Here are some tips on how to get inside the heads of your fellow show attendees and get the most from the whole experience:
Divide and conquer
If you attend the show with a spouse, employee or co-worker, explain that it’s nothing personal, but you’d rather walk the floor alone. Why? For one thing, the two of you can cover twice the territory in the same amount of time if you go in opposite directions and, more importantly, it gets you out of your comfort zone. If the two of you are together, you’ll talk to each other. Go it alone and you’re more likely to make conversation with the exhibitors and other attendees. Take two business cards from every person you talk to and then meet up with your buddy later to swap cards and share information.
Come armed
Make sure you’ve got plenty of business cards with you to hand out to new industry friends or vendors you may want to hear from in the future. Also, the show is a lot to take in, so bring a notebook, a small digital recorder or MP3 player with voice recorder, or PDA — whatever tools you’re most comfortable with — because you’ll want to take notes, write down new contacts and schedule future meetings.
A digital camera will help you document your experience as you take photos of products you might be interested in. This can be a great help if you are going to be presenting a recap of your experiences at the show to people back home or if you are simply a visual person. Having a photo of a vendor and/or their product may jog your memory as to what you were interested in at their booth when you come across their business card days or weeks after the show.
Of course, these days no one goes anywhere without a cell phone, but don’t spend your time walking the floor talking on the phone. Just like having another person with you, it keeps you from engaging with the exhibitors and attendees.
Schedule, but don’t over-schedule
Put together a list of people you’d like to meet with at the show: key vendors, friends from past shows, etc. You may want to set up a time and place to meet ahead of time. But don’t overbook yourself. Tradeshows are somewhat informal. Having every minute of your time scheduled doesn’t leave time for impromptu meetings with new acquaintances who may have information you could benefit from.
Meet the editors
Take a few minutes to visit the COLE Publishing editors’ area and introduce yourself. They’d appreciate your feedback on PRO and any suggestions for content that you might have. And, after learning a bit about your company, they might have some tips on how you can make the most of your time at the show.
Be the teacher’s pet
Arrive at Education Day and other seminars early and stay late. The minutes before the formal presentation can be filled chatting with other attendees whom you already have at least one thing in common with: an interest in the particular speaker or topic. Afterwards, introduce yourself to the presenter, offer feedback and ask questions. If you have a question they can’t answer, they may be able to refer you to someone who can.
Party
There are opportunities to socialize at the Expo, including the annual Industry Appreciation Party and the Saturday Evening Jam concert. Not only are these events fun and relaxing, they provide a great opportunity to network with industry peers.
And finally … possibly the most important key to Expo success:
Pamper those feet
Make sure to pack comfortable shoes, cushiony socks and perhaps some foot powder or lotion so sore, tired feet won’t interfere with your positive attitude. You’ll be on those feet a lot — walking, walking, walking — and you can’t put your best foot forward if it hurts.
