Can You Work The Trade Show System?

Over the past 30 some years I have done a great deal of business at trade shows on six continents. To me, trade shows and conferences are not just a key tool for business growth, they are keystones in my yearly planning — my kids knew the names and seasons of various trade shows before they could ride bikes.

On many of the various online business and sales forums that I participate in, the question comes up of the value of trade shows. I recognize that many people might not see the value of trade shows at first, and often disparage the industry and consider the concept of trade shows as useless. Often that has to do with the nature of their business, but I also contend that many of these people do not know how to attend and work trade shows for their benefit, probably in the same way that I am not very familiar with how to use a band saw or sander correctly, which might make me doubt their ROI.

I'm not going to address trade shows in general here. I've written and taught extensively about trade shows — I have a short book on trade shows, and a chapter in my upcoming book on international sales growth covers trade shows. In this article, I want to talk about how to get the best results when a trade show isn't really a good fit for you and your offering.

I live in Chicago, and in December one of the biggest medical trade shows in the world rolls into town: the Radiological Society of North America. I have never sold radiology equipment, and North America has only been a small part of my territory over the years. But here is the interesting thing that I noticed decades ago — because the most expensive things that get sold to a hospital usually fall under the umbrella of "radiology," this is the one show that the heads of purchasing at hospitals come to — as well as, often, the CEOs — and they come from all over the world.

This show (I'm using this one as an example, but I can think of 20 similar shows in other fields) has changed completely from what its founders intended. I have never had a booth at RSNA, but I have had meetings there every year with my best customers and prospects. In other words, I have enjoyed the benefits of having a booth at a trade show without actually having one.?

During RSNA, there is usually a hockey or a basketball game going on. For far less than the cost of a booth, I can pick up 20 decision-makers in limos, take them to a game, then to dinner, and at dinner, I can have a private room set up with a demo of my solution. Over the years, I have driven huge business opportunities and partnerships from this strategy. Don't be afraid to work a trade show in a unique way — just because you buy a ticket doesn't mean you have to buy a booth.?

The key to a trade show is meetings — it is an excellent opportunity to have meetings with a lot of people in a short period of time. If there are no trade shows that fit what you sell, can you find a different show where lots of people who you want to meet will attend? The people who buy your solution buy other things. You just have to figure out what they are.

Once you think of a trade show as a place to have a lot of meetings, it leads to other opportunities. Over the years, I have worked for multinationals and I have worked for startups, and there were years with greater budgets and years with smaller ones. Some years I have had great booths with three closed meeting rooms as well as demo areas, and some years I haven't had the budget for a booth at all.

If you've purchased your trade show ticket and know the trade show hall well, you can find places to meet. There are cafeterias, there are coffee shops, and often you can find a meeting place in the various national pavilions. Very often you can even find a friend who has a booth who will let you have a couple of meetings there if you are careful not to abuse their hospitality.

If you get a suite in a nice hotel, you can have a meeting or demo room that is separate from your sleeping room, which will still be a fraction of the cost of a booth. I won't tell you that people won't notice, but I have also sold a great deal of product under these circumstances and have not been embarrassed.

In short, a trade show or a conference is a sales tool in your toolbox to be used in a utilitarian way. What it brings you is access to meeting a lot of people in the same place. You don't need to use it exactly as the organizers intended.