With Car Care World Expo coming up in less than a month, I pose the following question:
How do you attend a tradeshow? Do you devour the tradeshow? Do you take it ALL in? Or do you get business done at the booths you planned to see before your visit?
It is interesting to observe that many attendees hurry into the show and walk past booths on the way to their destination- a company they want to buy something from, a company they have an issue with, a company a friend works for. As a supplier to the industry, standing in a booth, you can see these focused individuals making a B-line toward their goal. Meanwhile, you may have the most interesting new product, and it is near impossible to stop these focused attendees. It isn’t a bad thing if you eventually slow down and “take in” the show, but slow down and hit all the booths. If there is any operator who says, “There is nothing new” or has an attitude that “he/she knows everything,” that is probably not a sign that they are going to find the new and innovative products or services.
Tradeshows provide an excellent opportunity to learn. Take advantage of all the experienced professionals under one roof and learn something new! Take the time to check out what the exhibitors have to offer. In the case of Car Care World Expo, seeing every exhibiting company can be tough; try to see as many as possible. Try and work a system of up and down the halls, north and south. If you take a break, go back to where you left off and keep going. Take the time to get ideas for your business and find new products. Most exhibitors offer show specials that you can’t get throughout the rest of the year.
I propose the following challenge: If you are attending Car Care World Expo, step out of your comfort zone and check out every single exhibit this year! Go to the dark corners of the show and find that new product or new service that is just getting started and see if it lights a fire in your heart that you might be surprised could happen…
Brent McCurdy, Senior Vice President, Blendco Systems, LLC
Blendco manufactures a full line of detergents and waxes for the professional carwash industry. You can contact Blendco at: www.blendco.com.
