The Ultimate Guide to SAGE Mobile at The PPAI Expo

The PPAI - Promotional Products Association International Expo is almost here! We’re just a few short months away from the biggest event in the industry and we know that soon, Las Vegas will be packed with industry pros buzzing with excitement.

We also know prepping for and attending the show can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time. But don’t stress—SAGE Mobile has you covered every step of the way!

Enjoy the Show and Manage Your Business on the Go

First, let’s talk about being out of the office for a few days. If you’re like us, you’ll set your autoresponder in your email, but you’ll still be checking and responding to everything you can from your phone while you’re at the show. That’s where we come in. If you already have SAGE Total Access, you have everything you need to conduct your business from anywhere, in the palm of your hand. All you have to do is download SAGE Mobile and log in. You’ll have access to product searching, your presentations, your projects, your CRM – and never skip a beat. Plus, with the new features in the tradeshow area, you’ll have your smoothest, most efficient show experience yet!

Don’t have SAGE Total Access? You can still use SAGE Mobile for free at the show! As the Official Show Planner for The PPAI Expo , all registered attendees can use the tradeshow planner in SAGE Mobile to get in the show faster, see the exhibitor list and floor plan, create walk lists, take notes and photos for suppliers you’re interested in, and more.

Now, let’s talk about how you can use SAGE Mobile to get the most out of the show!

Before the Show

SAGE Mobile is available for iOS and Android devices, you’ll need your SAGE login or your show registration information, but we can’t help you with your app store password, so be sure to download the app and get logged in before you go! Need help logging in? Click here .

Creating A Walk List

Next, start your pre-show planning. The number one thing you can do before the show to make sure you’re set up for success is to look at the exhibitors in advance and create your walk list. This might include specific suppliers you want to look at based on projects your customers have coming up, or you’re looking for new product inspiration, or even because you’ve done business with them before and just want to stop by and put a face to a name!

With SAGE Mobile, creating a walk list makes navigating the show a breeze. Add your must-see vendors, and your walk list will map the most efficient route to ensure you hit every booth you want to! You can also customize your list to sort by company name, booth number, zig-zag, or even one-side walk order—whatever works best for you.

And if you happen to stop in other booths while you’re following your list that you didn’t initially include, you can still track each one you stop by. Just check off every booth you visit or scan the SAGE Mobile QR code sign in the booth to include them in your list—it’s that easy. That way, when you get back to the office, you can easily see every supplier you visit.

During the Show

Get In Faster

Now that you’re ready to hit the show floor, did you know you can skip the line and get in even faster with SAGE Mobile? Head to the Quick Print registration area and scan your barcode right from the app for express entry into the show.

Searching On The Show Floor

As you make your way through your walk list and visit each supplier, be sure to take notes on the products you’re interested in, snap photos, or even record video and audio to remember it all for later!

Another way you can use SAGE Mobile at the show to save time (and your feet!), is searching exhibitors by product. Say you’ve seen all the suppliers on your list, but you still haven’t found that one specific item – rather than wandering aimlessly, you can search All Products from the main menu to find exactly what you’re looking for! Oh, and as for saving your feet, the suppliers with that product who are closest to your location at the time of your search will show up in your results first.

And that’s not all! Now, you can also search for a product or exhibitor from your own notes. Why would you need to do that? Imagine you’ve walked the entire show, you’ve scanned a lot of exhibitors and taken a ton of notes over the products you saw, and now you’re trying to remember which exhibitor had that one really cool item – but which one was it? You can simply search from the notes you’ve taken with a key word or phrase you recall from the notes you took to quickly find exactly which product you’re thinking of.

See the Schedule

If you don’t already know, there are also a ton of educational opportunities and events throughout the show that you can attend, and they’re all listed on SAGE Mobile! So, instead of trying to write down and keep track of each session’s start time and location – you can see the full schedule right inside the app, mark each event you’re interested in attending, and even filter your view to show only the events you selected for a personalized view.

But the PPAI Expo isn’t just about browsing supplier booths and education sessions; it’s also about networking! SAGE Community is an industry-specific, collaborative social network where distributors and suppliers can engage with other industry professionals, and it’s accessible right in SAGE Mobile! If you have SAGE Total Access, join the community to connect with others at the show, make dinner plans, meet up at education sessions, ask questions, and more.

And what about keeping up with your team at the show? Sometimes, it’s easier to divide and conquer the show floor, but it’s hard to share everything you saw with the rest of your team. With SAGE Mobile, you can create group chats to send everything from product pics to where to find the best chocolate samples!

After the Show

Once the show is over, be sure to export your content, that way you can have all your notes and photos you took at the show to follow up on the products you looked at, the samples you requested, and everything in between. Just tap View Content from the main menu and add your email address (if you’re not a Total Access Subscriber, you’ll need to retrieve your leads before your free trial expires). You can also get all of your info from the Tradeshow area in SAGE Online – you can even filter your searches by exhibitors you visited at the show. It’s just that easy!

Want to Get Started?

Click here to download SAGE Mobile before the show, and don’t forget to check out our cheat sheet to using SAGE Mobile at the PPAI Expo! If you have questions in Vegas, stop by our booth #3435 for assistance or just come say hello. We can’t wait to see you there!