Your annual event might be over, but the next trade show you’re attending is right around the corner. You’re going, but the majority of your staff isn’t. So while they’re holding down the fort, keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to make the experience valuable for your staff.
Things to know before attending your next trade show
Ask for input
Maybe your colleagues are slightly jealous you get to leave for a long weekend in some exotic location while they toil away behind their desk. But don’t let that keep you down.
Like any conference, you’ll want to make it fun, take the opportunity to network and do the learning when you can.
The easiest way to help your staff appreciate your trade show experience is to ask for their input. Which learning sessions should you attend? Which vendor booths should you stop by, or which presentations should you hear? The staff will feel involved, and they’ll know you’re working on their behalf to member experience a boost.
Learn what you can
Trade shows are a great opportunity to take stock of your conference layout or your association’s booth setup and compare it against those in attendance.
Look around the trade show expo hall. How’s it set up? Where are the breakout sessions? What are people doing? What are they gravitating toward? Take what you see and consider if those best practices would work for your upcoming conference. Perhaps the easiest of the trade show attendee tips, this one could end up most valuable.
Be on the lookout
Remember that relative or friend who would always come home with a souvenir from the latest adventure? Take that approach with your staff.
No, don’t come back handing out the free magnets, stickers or other useless swag you crammed in your bag while walking the floor. Find a vendor who could expedite your core operations — making the job easier for everyone you left behind. You don’t have to sign the dotted line sight unseen, but bringing back some information on your offices’ latest and greatest new tool could lift some spirits upon your arrival. You’ll turn from deserter to hero in no time.
Take notes like a journalist
The job of a reporter isn’t exactly enviable these days, “Fake News” and all… But there are a couple lessons you could learn from the Fourth Estate.
Armed with a pencil and notepad, if you’re into that sort of thing — or a tablet, phone or laptop if your trade show happens to be taking place in the 21st Century — pound the pavement just like a beat reporter once you arrive at the conference center.
Do some research beforehand to separate the must-see events and vendors from those who might not be as beneficial to your association. Take as many notes as your soon-to-be-tired hands can handle. Grab a handful of business cards. Make some connections on LinkedIn. (Did we mention LinkedIn Sales Navigator naturally integrates into Microsoft Dynamics 365?)
When you return, look through your notes and recap what you learned in a staff-wide email. It’ll show you weren’t just gallivanting around the city seeing the sights or enjoying the nightlife (even if you’re not the type, it could be what your staff is daydreaming about back at the office).
Conclusion
It’s hard not to attend a trade show or other annual conference with an agenda. Things change so rapidly. One minute you have a plan, and the next you’ve been swooped away to a cool reception outside of the expo hall.
Plans fail. But if you stay true to your agenda, you’ll make your association proud to have sent the right staff member.
After all that, your staff is sure to think you were the right choice to send to that trade show. More importantly, following these trade show attendee tips ensure you made the most of your time out-of-the-office. Bonus: you’ll be the first choice for the next trade show adventure.
If you don’t feel like waiting for the next trade show or conference to find a new tool to boost staff productivity, check out Protech’s partners for a list of fantastic integrations.