Trade shows are an important part of business networking in today’s on-the-go society.

Exhibitors spend massive amounts of money and time to peddle their wares and attendees enjoy the luxury of their displays and information.

Large crowds of exhibitors, each vying for undivided attention, intimidate some people. The reality is you do not need to be intimidated at all.

You may think trade shows have carnival-like performers who jump out from behind every partition, waiting to sell their products to you. Those circus-esque, Vaudevillian days are

over, making way for the new style of trade exhibiting — expertly targeted mass-media peripherals and exhibits specially designed to show off products in front of as many prospective buyers as possible.

Make no mistake: Vendors still man the booths and make every effort to answer your questions and make you comfortable with their products. And you can have a lot of fun in the expo areas.

To get the most out of a trade show requires maximizing your time — before, during, and after the show. Chiropractic Economics spoke with three trade-show experts who shared their knowledge and insights to help you get the most out of your next trade-show experience:

• Barry Siskind, Siskind Training (www.siskindtraining.com), author of Powerful Exhibit Marketing;

• Peter Brunold, Business Event Marketing (www.businesseventmarketing.com); and

• Susan Friedmann, The Trade Show Coach (www.thetradeshowcoach.com), author of Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a Small Market.

Here is what these experts advise concerning developing objectives for the event, deciding who will go to the show with you (and what their role will be), travel, attire, appointments, business cards, common courtesies, and decompressing after the show.

Although attending a trade show can be exhilarating and enjoyable, it can also be overwhelming. Our experts all agree the top cause of trade-show anxiety is the lack of a proper objective or not having a specific plan in place.

“Even as an experienced practitioner or professional, you need a plan that lets you control the event, not the event controlling you!” Brunold says. “Often, first-time attendees without objectives find themselves tired and overwhelmed with a bagful of giveaways after two hours, and sore feet from walking up and down aisles of concrete show floors. Trade show attendance should be more about inspiration than perspiration.”

“You need to ask yourself, ‘Why am I going to this trade show? Just for CEs or to see what’s new in the industry?’” Friedmann says. “I would completely prepare for the show beforehand by determining who and what you want to see.”

Friedmann suggests you make two lists — a list of must-see vendors or workshops, and a want-to-see list. She believes if you expertly research the event and plan your time around these two lists, you’ve already maximized the time you will spend at the show.

Also involved in the preplanning stage is deciding who from your clinic will attend with you. “Some companies or clinics literally bring vertical buying teams to a show, depending on their ‘purchasing influence,’” Brunold says. “Decide which key team members to bring and give them ‘ownership’ by dividing your overall must-see list into individual lists of vendors/exhibitors to visit.”

Siskind also identifies some staff objectives, such as:

• Departmental objectives. These might include such things as lead generation, new product introduction, and reinforcing relationships.

• Individual objectives. These are personal objectives that go beyond collecting leads and writing orders.

“Trade shows are wonderful places for learning about an industry, adding to your network, or practicing new skills,” Siskind says. “It’s these individual objectives that often are neglected.”

After you’ve done your preplanning, decided who is going, and developed your objectives for the show, decide how you are going to get there and where you are going to stay.

Most experts agree staying at the convention site is the best thing to do while at a trade show.

“Try to stay at the main hub, the convention center hotel, or the ‘official’ hotel. It is the center of the action, and you will run into more peers almost by default, from the lobby to the restaurants,” Brunold says. “You will save valuable commuting time, avoid bus or taxi lines, and feel much more a part of the event.”

Making sure your hotel arrangements are comfortable also plays into staff morale. If you are staying at a less-expensive hotel several city blocks from the convention center to save money, your staff may become disgruntled about having to travel back and forth. Also, after a long, hard day pounding the trade-show floor, having subpar service or beds will not make your clinic staff happy.

“So much of going to a trade show is not the location, but all of the networking opportunities,” Friedmann says. “If you’re staying at the host facility, you don’t have to worry about
a cab, or going to other parts of the city, etc.

“Ultimately, though, you really need to do what works best for you. Networking is so important, but you also need to make the best bet economically for your clinic.”

Trade shows are often held in destination locations, such as Las Vegas or Orlando, Fla. But don’t let the vacation like atmosphere influence your choice of attire too much. You have business to do while attending the show.

Most experts agree you should dress comfortably and appropriately. Avoid “downdressing” (gym clothes) or “overdressing” (evening clothes).

“You can’t go wrong with ‘smart casual attire’ at most trade shows,” says Brunold. “Consider that most of our communication is established nonverbally, by a positive attitude and positive expectations. Whatever dress code you adopt, remember that you typically won’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Brunold adds that the one thing you must pack for a trade show is your most comfortable pair of shoes; you will be on your feet a lot.

Appointments are very important; they help keep you and your staff on a tight schedule. You could easily walk up to a booth, look for someone who works there, and strike up a conversation with him or her — just like hundreds of other attendees.

However, if you set an appointment with a vendor, you have his or her undivided attention, and it adds accountability into the mix — on the vendor to show you everything about his or her services, and on the attendee to listen and ask specific questions about said services.

“Preset appointments, on or off the show floor, are especially valuable for attendees who have very clear objectives and interests in very specific products and vendors. Such objectives include a thorough competitive analysis of multiple products or services and/or direct purchasing decisions,” says Brunold.

“When talking to vendors, you can get

the most out of an interaction when the person approaching you demonstrates to you that they are listening to your needs; they are knowledgeable about their company’s products or services benefits; and they don’t put down their competitors,” he adds.

When at a trade show, you will collect a lot of product information in various shapes and sizes: bags, brochures, buttons, pins, and even some “toys.” These things are all great resources for jogging your memory about the products and companies you have an interest in.

Something else you will collect is business cards — not only from vendors, but also from colleagues. Business cards are the networking lifeline at a trade show. Always come prepared to hand out many, and to take home exponentially more than you arrived with.

Friedmann says, “You want to always give and receive cards, but make sure you follow up with the people with whom you’ve talked. When you get back up to your hotel room, separate the business cards you’ve received into contact piles. That way, when you return home, it will be easier to follow up with your contacts.”

A word of advice: “Be selective and discriminate when leaving your business cards in ‘fish bowls’ and other ‘free raffle drums,’” says Brunold. “You may end up receiving more product mailings of unrelated products than you care for.”

Brunold says etiquette and courtesy apply at a trade show just as they apply in business life. “Wait your turn if a vendor is busy talking with another attendee, or leave your business card with a number to call you at during the show, or with a date after the show,” says Brunold.

Friedmann believes the best times to talk with a vendor are early in the morning and at the end of the day. At those times, the vendor usually isn’t slammed with people and will be able to give you his or her full attention. Or, you can also make an appointment for a later time.

“There’s nothing worse than going to a booth and seeing someone you didn’t expect or want to see. Then you have to come back, and he’s still not there. How many times will you come back before you get frustrated?” says Friedmann. “Going to a booth at an appropriate time not only helps you, but also helps the exhibitor.”

“At some shows, the last day of the show is a great day to talk to vendors, because they are prepared to offer more abundant ‘show special discounts,’” Brunold says. “Some vendors are prepared to make special deals on the last day, in order to avoid postshow shipping expenses.”

Decompressing after a show is important. Some people rush back to their normal lives to disseminate all the wonderful information they’ve learned. Others stay an extra day at the trade-show location, enjoying a mini-vacation. Either way, it’s important to have fun and relax.

“You can make reservations for a staff dinner to discuss successes and highlights, at which time you can divide up business cards with brief notes for follow-up and action items to do after getting back to your clinic,” says Brunold.

He adds, “You can enjoy a sightseeing trip before leaving or get a massage. Some even share their newly gained knowledge with your clinic and patients with never-ending enthusiasm. Keeping up with industry trends and staying ahead of the curve does have its benefits.”

“Make notes to remind yourself of important things while you are still at the show — a to-do list of sorts — because you have been bombarded by information for several days. Most people forget a lot of the good stuff,” Friedmann says. “A handheld voice recorder works well, too.

“That way, when you get back home, you can make sure to remember all the important information to give your staff, or to share with your clients.”

One thing is for certain, trade shows are not to intimidate or overwhelm you as a visitor or an attendee. If you do your homework, make your preparations early, and arrive at the trade-show location full of questions, objectives, and enthusiasm, then the sky’s the limit.

“Remember, shows are not all about serious business, they are also about being memorable, informative, and entertaining,” Brunold says. “Trade shows, at their best, can offer you the quality of ‘face time’ while building new business relationships and trust, thus complementing your clinic and your overall practice.”

John V. Wood, an Emmy-award winning journalist and frequent contributing writer to Chiropractic Economics, is a nationally published freelance writer. He lives in Willow Spring, N.C., and can be reached at 919-632-1827 or by e-mail at john@johnvwood.com.

Trade shows — events at which exhibitors show off their most current products — attract thousands of participants each year.

Some people go to large events that draw thousands of participants, while others choose to attend smaller shows. And still, others opt out of attending at all.

We wondered: Are there differences between those who attend trade-show events and those who don’t?

To find out the answer, we sent out a single invitation to readers to answer a short survey. The survey attracted 156 individuals. (See the sidebar, “A look at trade-show attendees,” on page 30 for a profile.) Of them, 86.5 percent said they go to trade shows, while 13.5 percent said they do not.

As we analyzed the responses, we were surprised by one thing: Nontrade-show goers seem to have little in common with trade-show goers — from how they practice (solo or group) to the economic size (gross revenues) of their practices.

Of course, it is not possible to make valid conclusions from this small sampling, let alone infer a cause-and-effect relationship between success and attending trade shows. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see the differences between the groups.

The only similarities between trade-show (TS) DCs and nontrade-show (NTS) DCs were the number of clinics they own — 1.1 clinics — and the number of people employed (2.8, TS DCs; 2.2, NTS respondents). Every other measure showed significant differences:

• Age. TS DCs are about four years younger (45.1 years old) than their NTS counterparts (49.2 years old).

• Years in practice. TS respondents have been in practice on average 16.6 years, compared to 21.2 years for NTS DCs.

• Practice type. Groups or partnerships are more popular among TS DCs (24 percent), compared to NTS DCs (9.5 percent).

• Patients per week. DCs who go to shows average 126.5 patients per week, compared to 108.8 patients per week for those who do not go to shows.

• Product offerings. Both groups offer products to patients, but more TS DCs (96.0 percent) carry products, compared to NTS DCs (85.0 percent).

• Gross revenues. Respondents who go to shows claim average gross revenues of $287,700. Those who do not go to trade shows indicate average gross revenues of $184,094.

Linda Segall is editor-in-chief of Chiropractic Economics magazine. She can be reached by e-mail at lsegall@chiroeco.com.