MPI Keynote || New Ways to Think about Trade Show Networking Opportunities-The Best Solutions for Event Planners and Exhibitors

NEW WAYS TO THINK ABOUT TRADE SHOW NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVENT PLANNERS AND EXHIBITORS

I know I might be wired funny, but I absolutely love trade shows. I've been to more than I can count in more countries than I can name, and I'm not even embarrassed to tell you I go to trade shows that aren't even my industry where I don't know anybody, where I don't know a thing about what I'm looking at. I just go and wander like a tourist amazed at everything that's happening. For me, it's about the energy, the hum, the hustle. I love it. Where else do you get such a condensed version of buyers, sellers, manufacturers, suppliers, press, teachers, lecturers, old friends, new friends and opportunities sitting in one singularity?

An entire ecosystem gets condensed into space and time. The excitement for me is palpable.

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And my favorite part is that it’s like a big giant game of CLUE to figure out Who’s WHO. Like a Mystery WHO DONE IT Real life game.  Trying to figure out each player’s role and motivation.  What their win is. Right???

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And to understand that everyone has their own agenda and that the wins are different for each player. Right!!!

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Like check this:

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OK. So for the rest of this talk… You all - from here to here. You’re going to be representing the exhibitors — all the employees and volunteers who work for the companies who purchase booth space.  YOU ARE THE people looking to sell…To get noticed. To gain visibility…

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Right? SO how you spend your time at the show? Who you want to meet? What’s YOUR motivation? What’s your win?

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Because your win is radically different than {POINT TO DIFFERENT SMALLER SECTION OF CROWD.} YOUR WIN.

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OK. You all. From here to here. I want you to be the buyers. You all are like the PROM QUEENS of trade shows... Everyone wants to meet you - you sexy Unicorns!

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OK. So what’s your motivation? What’s your win?  

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Well… For starters… You’re here to meet with your EXISTING partners  - to spend some facetime with old friends and associates — and to demo the new stuff they have FOR YOU to sell… and to maybe– just maybe… To find that NEXT BIG THING… To find that uncut gem before everyone else gets it. Right!!!

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How else are you spending your time? Or should I say — how else are you GUARDING YOUR TIME?

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You are being bombarded by All the noise competing for your attention. There are only a FEW of you and OH SO MANY of them…..So you keep quiet. Like a secret shopper… Looking. Evaluating… Taking notes…

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AND YOU GUYS — you over here. You are my show heroes!

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Just like how the buyers are trying to avoid getting cornered by 90% of the exhibitors… The Exhibitors are trying to avoid getting cornered by you all. Yeah you know what I’m talking about. You all are the vendors who see all those sitting ducks neatly organized row after row.

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You don’t buy booth space - but you do buy a ticket. And you walk up and down the aisles — walking up to every booth. And each exhibitor greets you happily thinking that you might be a new customer wanting to buy THEIR wares. But nope. You’re out maneuvering!! You’re trying to sell them something. You’ve got a product or service that you think can benefit the exhibitors and you’re essentially using the show as an opportunity to cold cold and prospect. It’s a great business move and a smart play. I love it. It’s genius.  But you all are not the Prom Queens. And if we’re being honest. No one wants to see you.

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Ohhh the drama!!!

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OK. So you’ve got THE EXHIBITORS (pointing at Exhibitors) want to sell to (pointing at buyers) ——_THE BUYERS…  But you can’t just easily find them. They’re hidden from sight.  You have to sit and be patient and hope and wait for them to come to you. Right….

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And you all —  (pointing at vendors) THE VENDORS want to sell to you all — (pointing at exhibitors) THE EXHIBITORS. But you don’t want to talk to them and heaven forbid - they’re taking up your time when a BUYER walks by and you miss THEM…. The worst! The WORST!!!

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And it’s tricky because everyone looks the same. And there’s no easy way to tell.

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Which is why everyone wants to see your badge. Not for your name or to see what organization you’re with but to determine your status…Your level. Your total overall ranking!!!

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Then you mix in press. And influencers. And talent & entertainment. And the hobbyists And the general audience — and it’s an absolute zoo. It’s pure unbridled chaos. How can you not love it?

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Everyone is on their A-Game trying to make their moves. And everyone thinks that they’re playing against everyone else and yet each game is radically different.

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And that’s before we overlay Experience. Right.

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Because for each of you in your group - your levels of experience vastly differ.

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Some of old timers have done this forever. And you can do it with your eyes closed now. Through trial and error — you’ve somehow figured this all out. Like me perhaps - maybe you’ve drank your way to the top.

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But for most of you — and especially for all of you who are coming up now. This could be your first show and you have absolutely NO IDEA what’s going on. You have NO IDEA what to expect. No old timer has taken you under their wing and walked you through all layers and players and dynamics... And you are feeling vastly overwhelmed and lost. AND YET — YOU can’t look clueless. So you have to pretend like you’ve got it. Even though you can’t even conceptualize all the various games being played or all the players or even really the game board itself.

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Which brings us right to the topic at hand.

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(6:00)

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Because NETWORKING AT A TRADESHOW is simply knowing how to navigate through all of this.

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Right. Because like we talked about. EVERYONE has a different objective.

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What success looks like for you (point) is radically different than what it looks like for you. Or you. or you. There’s no universal win.

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AND IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT, then you will never find your specific win or accomplish your personal goals.

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And you will certainly be in no position to enable and to help others find their wins!

Which is really the core of networking, right?  — Being of service to others.

Helping friends and strangers achieve their wildest dreams! Their biggest wins!

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See. Most people only talk about networking when they’re thinking about looking for new jobs. Like - oh. I better do some networking. Gotta tap my network. Gotta find New Work.

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But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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Networking is about collaborating. It’s about tackling the BIG CHALLANGES — working with others to create lasting impact.

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Networking is about GETTING THINGS DONE.

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It’s not about your future job. It’s about being awesome in your present job!

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It’s about creating value for everyone around! At every touch point.

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It’s about being able to move effortlessly.

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SEE - Whenever I talk about networking, I always talk about navigating.

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About Socially Navigating.

And about maps.

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Because I really think that’s the perfect analogy. Right? It’s always about knowing and understanding where to go.

We have maps for how to get around in a city. So its odd to me that we don’t have maps for how to get around in our own industries. Or how to get around a trade show. Or our lives… for the matter.

Right? Because at it’s core. Networking is about understanding your world and how you FIT INTO IT.

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It’s about being able to decipher

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Who you are in relation to where you are.

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Are you a buyer, a seller — something in between? Are you old hat? Or brand new? Because not only does the game change based on your role but it radically changes based on your level. And that’s a fundamental distinction that we’re going to spend a lot of time unpacking later on in the talk.

Anyway — another reason that I like to talk about networking in terms of maps and of gracefully moving from point A to Point B is that as you all know — networking doesn’t always have the best reputation. Maps and navigating are much more neutral and approachable for everyone. Or should I say for everyone else.

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Because here’s where this talk gets funny. And slightly ironic. I'm up here talking to YOU ALL about networking. I am here — talking to a group of EXPERTS about your very lifeblood. That’s like me getting invited to do magic tricks for David Copperfield’s birthday party. Or to sit down and explain how to do some slight of hand to Penn & Teller.

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It’s ridiculous. DO you have any idea how silly I’m feeling up here?

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But bear with me — because this point actually matters a lot.

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You’ll notice that when I was handing out roles when we first started —  that I purposefully left out Event Planners and Organizers. I left you all out of the equation. And I did that on purpose because  I really want you each to be in someone else’s shoes for just a minute. Because for you all — everything that we’re talking about is SO 2nd nature.

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You all play 8 dimensional chess. NETWORKING IS what makes you all so good at what you do. You run into a problem and solve it with a phone call. Someone needs the impossible. And you’ve got it. You pull it out of your hat like a magic rabbit.

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This room right here is so connected that for fun, I should just simply throw out some of the silliest things to ask for and watch in amazement when each of you over-deliver and try to top each other for that WOW factor!!!  Seriously! It would be a great game.

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There is nothing - literally nothing - that you all collectively cant do.

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You are all so connected and fluent in all the principals that we’ll be discussing that I thought about calling this talk: HOW TO NETWORK LIKE AN EVENT PLANER:))

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Seriously, you all are the maps and the gameboards. The glue that holds all the events and chaos together. You all are the fiber and connective tissue. The show floor — the directories. ALL OF IT _ And it’s all in your head. It’s YOU.

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And that… That’s the problem.

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You are all so good at what you do that it just DOESN’T COMPUTE when other people don’t track.

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You’re like come on. Catch up. You want something. Make it happen.

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Just call.

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What are you waiting for/…

Chop chop.

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You kidding me? It’s still not done? Do I have to do everything for you. Here… Let me call on your behalf….

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SOUND FAMILAR??? RIGHT!!!!

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Except that the REST of the world isn’t wired like us.

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They don’t love tradeshows the same way we do.

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They don’t want to go and talk to new people the same way we do.

They do not think about getting things done the same way that we do.

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They do NOT think about networking like how you & I think about networking.

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In fact. This is the stuff that makes everyone else feel very anxious and uneasy. This is the stuff that makes everyone else really really really uncomfortable.

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Which again is where this gets really really really funny — because from our perspectives we’re designing a system that should BE PERFECT for NETWORKING.

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We create the platform and ecosystems that are a networker’s absolute dream scenario. We host the best parties. We bring EVERYONE under one roof. WE set the stage for everything to happen. We create worlds of possibilities.

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And then we BANG YOUR HEADS and wonder why no one taking advantage of it all. In this smorgasbord of a buffet that we all breath to life — why oh why is everyone staying in their own little lane? Their own little tiny world? Why isn’t everyone maximizing this to its fullest???? Why isn’t anyone NETWORKING????

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Well. It turns out that OUR SUPERPOWERS just so happen to be most people’s kryptonite. And so what we think of as perfect and ideal habitat and environment — turns out to be  a cruel form of minor torture for most people.  

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You overlay the fact that most people don’t even really understand what Networking means and then the story just gets funnier and funnier from there.

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Because here’s the real kicker. The real punchline.

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Everyone has been told so many times that they need to network that they genuinely do go to trade shows TO NETWORK.

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(EVEN IF THEY DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WORD MEANS.)

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In spite of all their fear around it. In spite of all their anxiety around all of it. People still show up!

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People still show up. HUNGRY.

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The reason that in person events work is because of the human to human connection and interaction. And we all want that so badly. We all crave that so badly. That we will literally put ourselves into the most uncomfortable situations just to hope to get a little piece of it. To get a little taste… We are social beings and we are living through such a loneliness epidemic.

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So let's start with that. Let’s start with all the people who need these shows to work as much as we do!

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In thinking about how to fold in new and better ways for people to network at tradeshows and events, let’s first recap all the underlying dynamics and to acknowledge all the energetic boundaries and barriers at play. Because If we can get these seemingly contradictory pillars right, then everything else falls into place.

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HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE NEED TO SQUARE UP.

• NETWORKING AT A TRADESHOW is simply knowing and understanding how to navigate through all the chaos and to score your own personalized wins based on your unique role and experience level. There is no one-size-fits-all definition of success.

• Events & Trade Shows are designed and Organized by people who LOVE NETWORKING even though Nobody (else) likes Networking.

• All attendees — no matter what their role or experience level — show up to tradeshows and events knowing that meeting with people is important. And for this point to really matter we also have to overlay 2 more facts. 1) Everyone wants and needs more meaningful relationships and friendships and 2) No one will ever admit that they are needing more meaningful relationships and friendships. By the way — the only reason that we call it NETWORKING is because as adults and professionals — we can’t for some reason just call it what it is. Making Friends.

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Right. It sounds so much more grown up to say — I’ve got to go to this show to NETWORK rather than to say I want to go and hopefully make some new friends.

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Which is funny because as true as this is - the next statement is equally true and valid.

• All attendees — or at least NEARLY ALL attendees — really do not like meeting new people. Or at least they don’t like being put in awkward situations forced to make pointless small talk with strangers. Most people do not like to initiate the conversations and NO ONE likes being cornered and trapped by someone who is monopolizing your time & clearly trying to get something from you.

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Another way to say this is that making friends as an adult is not so easy. Or — If I’m being blunt and honest. A better way to sum this one up is: We all want to make new friends but we don’t know how to and we are also scared to try. Because what happens when I try to make a new friend and get rejected??? That’s like worse than high school all over…

• And here’s my personal favorite. Because I actually think this one is THE MOST relevant point of all. If you think that having people who LOVE networking designing Networking Events for people who don’t like networking is funny… Wait until we let this one sink in.  Because as we really illustrated when we first started talking about everyone’s roles and responsibilities and wins — Events & Tradeshows are driven by commerce. They exist to facilitate buying and selling. NOT FOR MAKING NEW FRIENDS. We’re really jamming that square peg through the round hole now.

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Now we all know that Networking actually doesn't have a thing to do with selling or marketing — even though it’s often confused as such. But that doesn't matter. Most people DO NETWORKING so badly that it deserves its bad reputation. And One of the BIGGEST reasons that People think that they hate networking so much is because they hate getting sold to almost as much as they hate doing the selling. Now look. On a show floor. It is 100% appropriate and expected to buy, sell and trade. That’s the game. That’s why you are there. That is what you are PAID TO DO. But at the bar afterwards…. mmmmnnnh.. At dinner.. Nope… In the hallways when you need some respit. NEVER> And at an “AIR QUOTES’ Networking EVENT — ABSOLUTELY NEVER. You don’t have to be always on!

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  • Don’t lead with a vanilla whitebread story about yourself while simultaneously telling someone what you want and need from them. Don’t do that ever.
  • And STOP SELLING. Shocking News. But Nobody actually cares about your elevator pitch — unless you think you’re in a hollywood movie.
  • All goes back to what we were just saying, we want that connection. We want to make friends. But We don’t exactly know how to do it. So we just keep talking about work when NOBODY wants to hear about work.

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AND THAT’S IT!!! If we can hold and balance each of these 5 competing truths, then each of us in this room has the opportunity to truly impact our business. And to really HELP a lot of people. To do something fundamentally revolutionary.

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So by now. If it’s not evident. I think about relationship development a LOT. Like this is the reason I get up and do the work. Like this is my jam! How can I make networking fun and relatable for introverts and accountants? So when I first applied to speak here, I figured I’d just repurpose my canned keynote on How to Effectively Network Before, During, and After anyTradeshows or Event.

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But something clicked and I realized that there’s too much at stake. That we really do have an opportunity to do something special. That we could really have some impact on how we help people connect and make friends. I mean it’s not like I wanted to make an entirely new one-off talk.!! But if we can do our part in mitigating the loneliness epidemic and make things better for everyone, than what’s more important? I figured I had to try.

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So for the next chunk of time, I want to get us thinking about PRACTICAL solutions that each of you can implement into all of your upcoming shows. And then I want to leave you all with a few exercises that will be really fun and that will drive everything home.

OK. HERE WE GO. Real Solutions to Bake into Your Shows Starting NOW. Just spitballing and riffing. So just consider these opening salvos for much bigger conversations and brainstorming jumping off points. I’m around for the rest of the show and I would love to dream big with all of you individually flushing any of these out.

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OK. Let’s start with some super simple ones.

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We keep talking about everyone’s individual motivation and win. Make everyone who signs up for your events — and I mean EVERYONE — think about it and articulate it. Then make them distil it down to 55 characters like a Google Headline. THEN PRINT IT. PUBLISH IT. Make everyone’s wins the central tenant of all show conversations. It should be part of the badge. Or the name tag. Because here’s the thing. I can’t read your mind and I don’t like playing the guessing games. Tell me exactly what you need and I’m either a) the exact guy you’ve been dreaming to meet. b) I know someone who can unlock your doors or c) can’t help you at all and talking to me is a waste of your time. It’s pretty simple! Give people a FAST EASY AND CLEAN way to sort and filter. Take all the guess work out of it.

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You want to have some fun with this one? Turn it into a game. Who are you looking for BINGO. Turn it into an art project. A mural of dreams. Or better yet — turn it into your central marketing campaign. When the event is over, send an email to each guest and check in and ask them to tell you about how they achieved their win. You want some real data to sink your teeth into for next time, this is the only question to ask. And by the way, when you are wearing your win on your sleeve and everyone knows and everyone becomes accountable for helping you help yourself - you know what happens, You surpass your wildest expectations. THAT’S NETWORKING IN ACTION. Even if you’re not calling it as such.

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Speaking of which.

LANGUAGE matters. It REALLY MATTERS.  SO PLEASE Quit touting your “NETWORKING EVENTS.” Just the phrase turns off most people. Because all your audience hears is A) Great. Just another place that I’m going to get sold to. or even worse. B) GREAT!!! ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO PITCH.

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Networking events NEVER worked. Not in the old days. And CERTAINLY NOT NOW. If you still think that YOUR show or event has a monopoly on where and how people meet and talk, then we have bigger things to talk about.

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BESIDES — You serve too many different groups of people at any given show or event and you can not design an overarching Networking Event that works for everyone. So by nature, let’s say that the mixer works for and targets 20% of your audience. Congrats!!! you are alienating 80% right from the get go.

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So instead. Just more direct and just say the truth. Say what people want but are too afraid to admit.

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THE PLACE TO CONNECT WITH OLD FRIENDS.

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THE PLACE TO DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS.

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CATCH UP WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES

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THE PLACE TO BE SEEN —

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And for all the dreamers out there. GET DISCOVERED

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It’s subtle but it matters. Networking feels like a chore - a burden. Like work. The others are aspirational.

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Drill down on that and think about Customization + Personalization + Loyalty!!!! Use this to your advantage. Rather than working that one-size fits all angle — What kind of INVITE ONLY micro-events can you throw? Who doesn’t like to be hand selected?

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What about an event JUST for your exhibitors?

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How many of you cut your teeth working booth detail? It sucks!!!! It is backbreaking spirit crushing work. It is exhausting. And whenever I’m working a booth, I have no idea about anything else that happens at a show. I am booth bound. I don’t even know what’s happening on the aisle next to me. I ONLY see the show when I get to run to the bathroom.

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So how about you come up with a party or something special JUST for everyone who’s working the booths and who hasn’t seen anything else for 4 days straight…  Give all the manufactures a chance to interact with their peers. And I’d even go so far as to say NOT to invite the bosses or managers. Focus on the workers  — the show heroes who make it all possible.

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And here’s the best thing. Talk about bringing an INDUSTRY together. When you’re working the trenches together, you’re no longer competitors. You are Compatriots. There is nothing that breaks down barriers better than hanging out with my friends from competing manufacturers at a show. Just imagine all the great sponsorship opportunities for this!

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OK. Same idea but just deeper. Let’s keep drilling.

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What about the person at each booth who is responsible for getting it all set up and organized.

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Thank god I’ve never had to do that. I would have dropped so many balls. And thank god I’ve always had great people on my team who have just killed at this position.

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WHY NOT do something super special for them. (besides - these are your inside people! You take care of them and they will keep taking care of you.) And are you kidding me? Imagine if at the event - you brought in some of your friends who SPECIALIZE in booth exhibits and building and transport and blah blah blah…. Can you image how sweet it would be to serve them up an opportunity to get to know every exhibitor booth planner? You become the platform to HELP EVERYONE do their job better while getting to know each other. Trade war stories. Get to ask for help and lean on each other. Trade valuable info… And can you imagine how you set this up. It’s INVITE only. THe booth planners feel like the king and queen for a minute. This would be HUGE for them. And TALK about stickiness and loyalty. And folding them more into the Freeman fold…

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OK. How about buyers? How can you help them? Don’t throw a party for buyers. They already get wined and dined enough;))) And god knows that wining and dining is lost on the buyer… (Come on… Best inside joke of the century!!) But seriously. HOW can you help buyers?

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Buyers are nuts and bolts mechanical. So Get them the contact sheets for all exhibitors. You know what I’m saying. Just like how you (SOMETIMES) give exhibitors the registered press list. Give buyers all the registered exhibitor list. And here’s a real bonus tip! Don’t just give them names and an email. Give them a reason to care! Tell those buyers a thing or 2 about each exhibitor and WHY IT MATTERS. Help them find that uncut diamond in the rough. You pull this off and you’re not just doing a solid for your buyers — You are going above and beyond for your exhibitors too.

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Focus on Each Exhibitor's new product launches and WHY they are exhibiting. Play some real YENTA match maker, here.. LEAN INTO IT> That’s YOUR SUPER POWER right there. So really set this up as if you were hosting the cocktail party where you’re introducing them together to make it all come together. I see you do it in person. Why not Apply those same skills and attention to detail AT SCALE to making the connections happen before the show!

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And why not do the same for press and influencers? I mean really really really lean into that segment. This is the segment that you want to focus on when you talk about your branded parties. This is where all that stuff matters. DO YOUR “NETWORKING PARTIES FOR THESE GUYS AND GALS. That’s where you can really move the needle. And boost show visibility. And ALWAYS. ALWAYS. Help make sure that press and influencers are connected with as many relevant exhibitors as possible. Right! . We know that getting visibility is one of the top wins for exhibitors. That’s a HUGE part of why they show up. What they pay for. So serve that up on a platter.

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And by the way, the more that you take care of your buyers and your press and influencers  — the bigger and better mousetrap that you create for your exhibitors. You make it hot for them and your exhibitors don’t really have a choice about participating now do they? I told you, this is all just a game. Just a big prisoner's dilemma game. That starts to all make sense when you apply those networking skills for solving for everyone’s wins and motivations.

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And hell!!! If you were really clever about it — you could EVEN tap into the vendors — you know those people who aren’t buying booth space but just wanting to sell to the exhibitors — and actually help validate them and codify it. You could flip this on it’s head and you could share a list of vendors who will be attending with your exhibitors so that your EXHIBITORS CAN PROACTIVELY reach out to the vendors that matter to them and set something up….Properly. Without having to furtively sneak around.

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BE THE MATCH MAKER. BE THE NETWORKER. THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU ALL ADD TREMENDOUS VALUE… DO THE HEAVY LIFT ON BEHALF OF YOUR GUESTS TO REALLY FACILIATE IT ALL HAPPENING. I would attend your show for life if you took care of me like that. Think about that for a minute and really let that sink in. It’s not hard to do. You already know all the players and each of their wins. You’ve already set the stage. Just take it a little further and stop waiting for everyone to do it for themselves. They never will. That’s what they are paying you all for….

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OK. So what’s preventing this? I belive that it’s a misplaced perception of value.

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Which is a perfect spot for me to rant for a second. The idea of bogarting your info and contact information is old. Data is everywhere. Data is ubiquitous. Everyone can find anyone. So thinking that you have something proprietary that you have to guard is not helping your show or anyone attached to it. Free your data. And add UNLIMITED VALUE. Anything that you can do to make my life easier and my tasks faster, is a huge enormous WIN for me as an exhibitor.

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And don’t tell me that all of this is already all in your event software portal or that the buyers can reach out to the sellers or this exhibitors can reach out to that exhibitors through your platform or app. Oh my god!!  That’s not MY workflow. It’s kludgy. It never works. And making me conform to just another process that’s not mine is not adding value. It’s adding friction.  Just share spreadsheets. Plain. Easy. Simple.

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And I know, your like wait. If I share that list than everyone is just going to spam everyone. Like that’s not already happening. This is the whole point of building relationships. Moving beyond the spam. An EMAIL is just an email and if there is no relationship behind it or no real human interaction, then it’s not moving forward.

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Allright. Allright. Let’s keep going. How else can we better leverage all of your superpowers and keep unlocking NETWORKING wins for all your guests?

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I think that the most important thing that we need to discuss is that your event is not a finite point in time. It exists all year long. Not just the few days when everyone shows up.

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Whenever I’m speaking to attendees about ways to maximize their time at a show, I always break this down into 3 parts.

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The PRE-SHOW PREP

GAME DAY

THE FOLLOW UP

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OK. Pre-show prep happens months before the actual show. And if we’re being honest about it all, almost no one does their pre-show prep. Which is a shame since that’s where all the work actually happens and if you don’t invest here, your odds of nailing your wins are pretty pretty pretty low.

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Then there’s game day. And if we’re being doubly honest about it, most people are barely even showing up for this. I mean they’re there physically but if you look around any floor, you’ve got a lot of people just going through the motions.

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And then for the follow up. Come on. Sounds great on paper. But no one. AND I mean no one bothers with this aspect. Which is a shame since if you made it this far and then choose to blow it, all the investment is sort of a waste anyways….

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But rather than lamenting any of this, flip this around too and help your guests move through each phase. Again. Be that consummate host who has thought of everything!

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Offer Networking Workshops to your guests months before the actual event. Don’t get me wrong — I love getting paid but whenever I’m doing my networking talk AT AN EVENT, it’s kind of too late. The value that we can all really offer happens months before you’ve even bought the ticket.

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Imagine just how bustling your events would be if you gave everyone the tools and the confidence to set up ALL those productive meetings.

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It’s not hard to do. It’s one of the easiest lowest hanging fruits that you can implement.

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You want to that a step further. Offer targeted dedicated Networking workshops to just your exhibitors. Or better yet — to just single individual exhibitors. THINK of this as your ULTIMATE UPSELL. Because whenever I’m walking a floor, I only see 2 things.  

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Booths that are hopping and booths that are dead.

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And we all know what the difference is.

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Booths that are dead have implemented ZERO networking best practice skills — the workers are sitting down on their phones not even saying hello or welcoming or inviting me as I pass by.  And they deserve to be dead for those reasons. But I promise — those exhibitors are not blaming themselves for their lack of traffic. They are blaming YOUR SHOW and your audience. YOU CAN FIX THAT.

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Not only can you unlock a new revenue source, but you can help ensure better overall show performance and experience.

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OK. How about this one? Offer a post-mortem show assessment as another upsell to exhibitors. Let them know what was working in their booths and what could be better for next year. It’s pretty binary. The booth killed. Or it didn’t. And you all know why. You all are THE SHOW EXPERTS. I would pay such great money to get YOUR feedback on my booths and shows!!! 100 bucks says that this is what you all talk about when all is said and done anyways…. So and so bombed again… So and so’s Stock is rising…. So why not find a way to bring us all up to your level. Can you imagine if all your exhibitors performed like your stars! What would it take to make that happen?

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Success or loss at a show always comes back to networking principles. The days of just throwing up a booth and hoping and waiting are over. As an exhibitor, If your team isn’t doing the work ALL YEAR LONG BEFORE AND AFTER THE SHOW, the show itself isn’t going to change anything. Which is really my favorite part of all of this.

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The show is simply a mirror. It’s like Snow White.

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Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

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If you’re company is hot and if your brand is growing, odds are you’re going to have a great show. If you’re just phoning it in, that will show on the floor too. That’s the plain simple truth. And the most reliable way to turn things around is by adopting networking principles throughout your organization.

AND YOU ALL — YOU ALL GET TO TEACH AND SHOW THEM THAT! Imagine if every business ran as flexible and nimble and impactful as a tradeshow!

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OK. A couple more based on thinking about the function of time and about maps. See how I’m tying this all back together?

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We need to find a way to facilitate a transfer of knowledge from the old timers to the newbies. Not just for the tradeshows themselves but for all the industries that we serve. There has to be a better smarter faster way than the whole idea of paying your dues and coming up and learning it all the hard knox way. Why waste time on that when we have the ability to bring everyone up?

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If you think about your show being relevant for the entire year and being the platform where people connect and where ideas are exchanged, then take that to the 10th degree. When you are hosting your pre-show HOW TO NETWORK classes, put on a few additional classes that really start to paint a picture of the overall landscape. Focus on defining WHO IS WHO. And that’s easy — Just turn your show floor back into real life.

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If we believe that shows are simply condensed versions of every market that the show represents, then use your last year’s show floor as a guide to tell this story. If you’ve been in the space long enough, you know how to interpret it all and to decode it. But talk to me like it’s my first time attending and be my tour-guide in helping me understand all the different regions and territories and fiefdoms.

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Start by defining the major companies in your space — these would be the exhibitors who bought the large format spaces and big booths. They will be grouped into a few orderly categories. Help define those for me. And then focus on all the inter-relationships and interdependencies that are playing out on the show floor. Breath life into your trade show exhibitor floor map. Interweave in all the stories. The drama. Show me the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon that’s alive and kicking on every show floor.

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You can do this in house or better yet. Invite experts that represent each major fiefdom to help explain Who’s Who and why it matters.

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You can start building these tour guide classes out right now. And you can double down and create interactive workshops BEFORE & DURING & AFTER the event. Invite your guests to participate. Capture all that institutional knowledge that’s locked up on the show floor and share that with anyone who wants to learn. It’s like the most perfect scalable mentorship.

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Here’s how I think about this. Look. If I gave you a brown paper bag of 1000 jigsaw puzzle pieces and told you to build me out the puzzle, you could do it. But it would just take a LOT LONGER and be a LOT harder than if I gave you the same 1000 pieces but this time in a box with a big picture on the front of what the puzzle is supposed to look like. In the first scenario, you’re just hunting and pecking - defining your borders and then just looking for similar colors. In the second scenario, you have a real plan and real vision of how everything is supposed to go together. Same thing as if I just teleported you to the capital of Bangladesh and then send you on some errands without giving you any context or directions. But if I gave you a map!!! A really simple easy one to follow that you could understand,  Even if you had never been there before, then you’d be able to find your way around well enough to get those errands done.  The map wouldn’t make you fluent or proficient, but it sure would save you the time of racing off right in the wrong direction.

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COOL. So with that. I’ve got 2 exercises for you.

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I want you to make small groups. Try to have at least 1 buyer, 1 vendor, and 1 exhibitor per group. And I want you to introduce yourselves by telling your team what your win is. Be direct. Why are you taking the time out of your busy schedules to be here. And for everyone who is listening, ask yourself. Can you help make that win a reality? And if you can, then make it your mission to fulfil it. If you can’t, that’s that.

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OK. Then after all the introductions are out of the way, I want you to talk about the MPI New England Map. Who’s who? Who are the big players and who is coming up. We have about an equal number of planners and suppliers so this is going to be fun. You’ll notice that each of you has your own map in your own head but when you start to overlay them together, it gets more interesting. The way that I always start my own map projects is that I get a big piece of paper and I draw myself and the company that I work for in the middle. Just a big circle. Then I list all the companies that I buy from on the left. And then all the companies that I sell to on the right. That’s a good place to start if you’re feeling stuck at all.

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Take about X (10) minutes and then we’re going to wrap up and get back together and overlay some larger points.

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