International Trade Resource Blog

Trade Shows
You don't just go to trade shows as if you are going window shopping. Trade shows are great to meet people face-to-face. In preparing for a trade show, there are several things that you ought to do.

I've had experience in attending all types of trade shows. I recently went to the Los Angeles Go Green trade show - about "green" technologies. I am planning to go to the Magic trade show - fashion in Las Vegas.  I have attending trade shows in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando, Toronto, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, and other places.  I have attended several types of trade shows including Magic(Apparel), KBIS(Kitchen & Bathroom), Global Pet Expo, Housewares, HH Backers (Pets), COMDEX (Computers), and many others.

A. Establish Goals
Set goals for each show. Set a list of what products and services that you need to source. Make it a priority to have at least contacts for 3 to 4 different vendors for what you might need. Also make sure you see all of your current vendors and suppliers as well.

B. Research the conferences and seminars
These are great opportunities to learn, listen, and absorb information from industry experts in the field. Find out more about topics and develop some discussion topics that are pertinent in your specific field for a Q&A session.

C. Research exhibitors
All trade shows will have an online listings of all their exhibitors. You can find new exhibitors through the listings. You can often find substitute as well as complementary vendors and suppliers. If there are certain companies that you are looking for, you can research the industry through trade magazines. If you research company's websites, they often say "See You at [insert trade show]", then you can summarily find them at the show.

D. Make meeting arrangements
With your vendors & suppliers, you ought to be able to have meetings at the trade shows - if only coffee or happy hour drinks. But its a great time to show commitment to the field and to your vendors that you are there at the shows. But your vendors may see that you might be shopping around for alternative suppliers at the trade shows. After trade show hours are prime times for parties and meetings. Dinner or drink meetings are great times to get to know your vendors.

Side Note: Sometimes you won't find a specific vendor/supplier that you are looking for. But often times, they will attend - to see the competition and/or gauge the industry. Contact them anyways. . .and perhaps you can set up meetings with them anyways.

E. Sharing trade show floor
If you are going with co-workers, use the trade show map to divide. It's tough to do a whole show by yourself. You can cover more ground if you split up responsibilities.

F. Packing Preparations
Make sure you dress appropriately. Business casual is fine. A suit and tie may not necessarily be the best attire or needed. Most importantly, make sure you have comfortable shoes for walking and more walking. In addition, business cards are a must. If you have pamphlets of your business, those might be helpful in providing information to your potential vendors and partners. I also like to carry my own shoulder bag, rather than the standard trade show bags. The trade show bags aren't comfortable to carry when you have a lot of flyers, samples, pamphlets, and business cards. Make sure you also bring a good pen.

Side note: If you can bring a bicycle to a trade show - it helps with parking and getting around the traffic in and out of the area. Trade shows usually mean long lines at taxi stands, bus stops, and parking lots traffic jams.

G. Hotel and Travel Arrangements
You can often find deals on hotel and flight arrangements via the trade show websites. These lodging deals are often hotels that are closer to the convention centers. Unfortunately, most hotels don't include complimentary internet access. So, make sure you call the hotels to find out about the costs of internet access to include this expense in your budget.


Later I will post up the following.