How To Work A Trade Show

Be Sure to Register
As soon as you get approval to go to a conference, register with the organizer so you’ll be sure to get your badge, registration materials, and other information before you leave. Registering before you arrive at the conference may save you some money. The organizers may have a travel office that can help you with special discounts on transportation or lodging. Avoid the temptation to save money by staying some distance from the convention center or meeting place. You’ll use up the savings in lost time and extra transportation costs.

Even if you’re undecided about which sessions to attend or what companies to visit, decide on your objectives. By stating your objectives clearly, you’ll focus on key goals. At a big conference that offers many technical sessions and a lot to see, it’s easy to get sidetracked.

When I attended conferences and shows looking for design information, my objectives went something like this: "When I return I’ll be able to compare the merits of ‘QRS’ and ‘XYZ’ logic analyzers. And I’ll have a better understanding of how to apply the ‘ABC’ technology to control-system design." If you attend conference sessions, you’ll also learn how someone solved problems similar to yours. By stating your objectives before you ask the boss about going to a conference, your chances of going improve.

Obtain a copy of the preliminary conference schedule, and decide on the sessions you think will help your current work. Schedules change, though, so check the conference’s Web site for updates. When you arrive, obtain a copy of the latest schedule just to be sure you know when and where to go to the sessions you want to attend.

Get a copy of the session proceedings as soon as you can. You can review the printed information to make sure you’ll obtain useful information. Sometimes printed conference presentations amount to little more than copies of overhead slides. If the proceedings include complete papers, at least skim the relevant ones to be sure you will benefit from the content. Also, by reading the papers, you’ll be better prepared to ask the presenter questions.

Check the credentials of the presenters. Some conferences let marketers and salespeople make presentations about their products. The application information you expect could turn into a sales pitch for a product. Marketers can provide useful overview information, but you’ll gain more application information from fellow engineers who talk about what they have done and how they did it.

Make sure you balance your schedule between conference sessions and time on the exhibit floor. The latest information about conference sessions should also list companies that will exhibit their products. At the least, obtain a list of exhibitors with booth numbers, and a site map of exhibits. Some trade magazines run preconference articles that list a session schedule and describe products scheduled for display or introduction.

Investigate the Companies
If you aren’t sure which companies manufacture the products that interest you, compare the list of exhibitors to the appropriate categories in the Test & Measurement World Buyer’s Guide (July 1998). If you have time, check the Web sites of the companies on your must-visit list. These sites can provide information about the products the companies will have in their exhibits. A large company will usually exhibit only a cross section of products related to a particular conference. For example, don’t expect to see Hewlett-Packard exhibit its scopes at a production-test conference.

Once you have your short list of must-visit companies, set up a schedule. Block out the time you will spend at technical sessions, and then develop a plan for visiting all the companies you want to investigate. Plan on about 15 to 20 minutes per company visit. Remember that the exhibitors want to meet as many people as they can. Unless you represent a big customer, they can’t spend an hour giving you a private demonstration of a new mixed-signal tester. (But if you visit while most people are attending conference sessions, you may get more attention.) Keep your schedule flexible. Some companies offer demonstrations on a regular schedule, but you may have to adjust your schedule to attend such a demo. Many people spread themselves too thin by trying to visit too many companies and attend too many conference sessions.

Some companies may have a suite in a nearby hotel in which they conduct longer demonstrations of their products. If you want a more detailed explanation of a product or technology, ask about getting invited to the company’s "demo suite." Someone from the company may have time to give you more thorough information in a less hectic and quieter setting. Not all companies have such suites, however.

If you want to get into detailed discussions at an exhibit, put some information about your needs on a single sheet of paper. Make copies for your trip and have them ready to give to people at the exhibits so they better understand what you’re investigating. Be sure to include your name, address, e-mail, phone number, fax number, and other pertinent information. (Be sure to get your boss’s permission to hand out printed information about your requirements.)

Pack Your Business Cards
When you meet with company people at an exhibit, exchange business cards. Don’t rely on someone to run your conference badge through a card reader. That information can get lost. When you leave the exhibit, note on the cards what you talked about and any actions you promised to take such as scheduling a meeting or faxing more detailed information.

If you’re serious about continuing discussions with a company after you return from your trip, refresh the memory of the people you talked with at the exhibit. You can contact the people you met to set up a meeting, get more information, or inform them of changes in your needs. The people who staff exhibits are very busy and they meet many people during a conference. Make it a priority to reconnect with your contacts. Also, it never hurts to send a thank-you note to people who went out of their way to help you. These days thank-you notes are so rare that they make you stand out.

Although you have a schedule and a lot to do, build in some free time to cruise the aisles and see what companies are up to. You never know when one of the products you come across unexpectedly may be just the thing to help you solve a problem later on. Although you may have specific ideas about the products or technologies you’re investigating, keep an open mind.

At the end of each day, transcribe your notes and thoughts into an outline for the trip report you’ll write when you get back to the office. You didn’t think this was a free trip, did you? The trip report will let you distribute information to your boss and your colleagues. By writing down at the end of each day what you learned at the sessions and exhibits, you’ll recall information that would otherwise dissipate quickly if you tried to keep it all in your head.

During your visits, you’ll collect a lot of information. I recommend you ship back everything except the things you can’t afford to lose. Keep your notes and business cards, but ship data sheets, brochures, and conference proceedings. Most large hotels have a business center that can arrange to ship these materials for you, but they may be open only during normal business hours—9 to 5.