Preparing for Entrepreneur Expo

Come with Great Expectations! (Sounds like a Dickens novel). Expect great answers. Great ideas. Great connections. Come expecting, and go get what you expect!

That's how you work a trade show regardless if you are an exhibitor or an attendee. Here are some ideas and concepts that help you meet your expectations.

Many exhibitors are like the lady who woke up early and frantic in New York City so she could get ready, catch a cab and wait in line at the airport for TSA and then arrive in Reno, take a cab to her hotel and wait in line to get registered so she can get to a room where at least 1000 other people have slept. And the next day hope that her display has arrived at the convention center so she can set it up and be ready to do business. She is frazzled and frustrated. Where do you think her head is and what would you guess is her expectation?

This lady needs a good hefty helping of attitude-pick-me-up. She needs to put her best foot forward and have great expectations with potential customers.

As an attendee, the mind set can be "Another trade show where sales people are going to open up with, "Hi, how are you today? Enjoying the show? Let me tell you about my left-handed widgets...'" And you think, "Oh well, I'm here for the conference, I might as well go to the trade show and stuff a bag full of trash and trinkets to take home to the kids."

With those expectations, it is no small wonder that trade shows represent a scary abyss of unknowns filled with strange and dangerous creatures from the far reaches of the solar system.

Great Expectations will help make a trade show work for you and make it a little more fun. The bottom line is we're all human beings doing a job. A trade show is a great place to bring buyers and sellers together. In fact it's like the car malls where there are five or six or more brands in a few short blocks so that the consumer can shop them all in a shorter period of time. The dealer locates there because there is more traffic looking for what he is selling.

As a trade show exhibitor, our lady from New York needs something to differentiate herself from the other exhibitors and yes, from her competitors. More important is to make her booth stand out from the others with something that shouts, "Remember me!"

About 15 years ago at an escrow convention in Los Angeles, we put on an Escrow Safari. We were all dressed in safari garb, including hats, cargo pants and jungle print shirts. We created a board game through the escrow jungle. Our booth was always filled with people playing our game. And, we had a sketch artist doing caricatures of people who asked, for free.

In March at the NCET Entrepreneurs Expo we put up a sign that said: "1 FREE business idea". We had so much fun creating over 100 ideas, each one unique to what those budding entrepreneurs needed.

As an attendee you have an opportunity for "Great Expectations." You have the luxury of knowing your company needs a certain product or service. You can peruse the menu of vendors in attendance and set a priority for the ones you specifically want to visit. And you'll want to talk to the competitors as well. The important thing is to treat it as information gathering. As an added bonus, you might find a product, service or concept you didn't know you needed.

Now, attendees and exhibitors alike there is a bit of a cliche to which we whole heartedly subscribe. "You never know!" You never know who somebody knows; you never know who they might know that is a contact. Everyone is a potential customer. So arrive with great expectations for great answers, great ideas, and great connections. And go get what you expect. Negative attitudes are guaranteed to produce negative results.

We know of a manufacturer's representative who sold a product that all manufacturing facilities need. He would not give the time of day to a young lady at a networking event/trade show because she sold gift baskets ...and what possible good could a gift basket lady do for him? He brushed her off and she gave up trying. Had he been a little more engaging, he would have learned that this basket lady's father is the president of the Manufacturer's Association and could have facilitated an introduction to every manufacturer in the area. His expectations and hers were quite different.

Trade shows can be both the bane of your existence and the lifeblood of your business. Rather than the bane of your existence, inject some fun. And have great expectations.

As an exhibitor, add games and spice to your booth. Look for specific things you can do to differentiate your booth and your company so that you stand out.

As an attendee, check your "guard" at the door. Walk in with an open mind, great expectations and learn what you can. The trade show floor has many experts that may be able to solve issues and answer questions you have...and maybe even ones you have just not had time to ask or think of yet.

Trade shows. Have great expectations. Expect great answers, ideas, concepts and connections. Be prepared. Be smart. Have a goal.

Now go out and get what you expect and have some fun doing it.

Norma Havens and Bob Belknap are owners of University of Street Smarts in Reno. Contact them at 746-5340 or info@UniversityOfStreetSmarts.com.