Trade Show Day 3: Three Things
Vegas Travelog #6
Resting up before dinner - Wed, 29 Nov 2023. 7pm.
Trade shows are actually about three things. One of them is the people who come to the booth. While in literally terms this is the purpose of trade shows it is actually the least important element. That's because 90% of the people who come to the booth don't care about the company or its products and are just trolling for tchotchkes.
Beyond servicing the swag hounds there's also the buzz effect. That's accomplished through having a message- which can be total bullshit- that plays well with the media and on social media. I dislike it. (I know how to play the bullshit game, I'm just not a natural at it like people who are bullshit born-and-bred.) I put in a solid 4 hours at the booth today supporting this aspect of the trade show.
The second element of trade shows is talking to actual customers and prospects. I carved out a few hours today to talk to one and give a demo of our flagship product. On the one hand it felt like I was shirking booth duty; but on the other hand I was talking to a group of people who are legit considering buying something- as opposed to gaming us for how to get a free t-shirt.
The third element of trade shows is the extra curricular activities. These are critical for networking. In my case it was internal networking. Yes, I need to engage in constant effort to make myself known to my own colleagues. I've been working at the same company for over 6 years.... In that time I've had 5 direct managers, 4 (soon to be 5) department heads, and 4 CxOs, and 4 CEOs. Every few months I'm building a new relationship all over again with some manager hired in from the outside. 🙄
To that end I'm going out this for a team dinner being hosted by one of our sales VPs. It's a late dinner, 8:30pm, and I feel so sorely tempted just to pass on it, eat a quiet (and earlier) dinner by myself, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. But this dinner will be crucial relationship-building time with one of our execs.
Resting up before dinner - Wed, 29 Nov 2023. 7pm.
Trade shows are actually about three things. One of them is the people who come to the booth. While in literally terms this is the purpose of trade shows it is actually the least important element. That's because 90% of the people who come to the booth don't care about the company or its products and are just trolling for tchotchkes.
Beyond servicing the swag hounds there's also the buzz effect. That's accomplished through having a message- which can be total bullshit- that plays well with the media and on social media. I dislike it. (I know how to play the bullshit game, I'm just not a natural at it like people who are bullshit born-and-bred.) I put in a solid 4 hours at the booth today supporting this aspect of the trade show.
The second element of trade shows is talking to actual customers and prospects. I carved out a few hours today to talk to one and give a demo of our flagship product. On the one hand it felt like I was shirking booth duty; but on the other hand I was talking to a group of people who are legit considering buying something- as opposed to gaming us for how to get a free t-shirt.
The third element of trade shows is the extra curricular activities. These are critical for networking. In my case it was internal networking. Yes, I need to engage in constant effort to make myself known to my own colleagues. I've been working at the same company for over 6 years.... In that time I've had 5 direct managers, 4 (soon to be 5) department heads, and 4 CxOs, and 4 CEOs. Every few months I'm building a new relationship all over again with some manager hired in from the outside. 🙄
To that end I'm going out this for a team dinner being hosted by one of our sales VPs. It's a late dinner, 8:30pm, and I feel so sorely tempted just to pass on it, eat a quiet (and earlier) dinner by myself, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. But this dinner will be crucial relationship-building time with one of our execs.