Trade Show Samurai — Learn to Get Leads

Top Tchotch

March 22, 2010

At a typical trade show, you’ll find more tchotchkes than there are flies at a barbeque. The choice of the perfect item that provides the right mix of clever, cheap, relevant and memorable is an area of much discussion and much pride. Marketing and sales people love to pass out tchotchkes and they love to [...]

Read the full article →

A Nice Trade Show Dojo

March 21, 2010

When the booth staffers look like a team, they act like a team. However, there is often great resistance to booth uniforms, especially between genders, generations and management levels. Women don’t want to wear what men wear and senior managers don’t want to wear what their lowly subordinates wear. Likewise, “old-dog” salesmen don’t want to [...]

Read the full article →

Trade Show Samurai vs. Trade Show Ninjas

March 11, 2010

Time is the enemy. Even the longest trade shows only last a few days. During these few days you must make meaningful connections with hundreds, if not thousands of attendees. Every minute wasted on the show floor means lost opportunity. When practicing the Trade Show Samurai Arts, I recommend treating all attendees more or less [...]

Read the full article →

If Trade Shows Were Toilets

March 10, 2010

Traffic flow is a major concern for most exhibitors. Much has been written about traffic patterns on the show floor and how you can position yourself to get the most traffic. Booth space is often chosen based on seniority meaning that the companies that have been exhibiting at the show for the longest get the [...]

Read the full article →

What Time Outs and Trade Shows Have in Common

March 7, 2010

If you’ve ever had kids, you know that the popular culture tells you to use a “Time Out” rather than a spanking when kids misbehave. Deep down you might really feel like laying the smack down on the toddler when they paint on the living room furniture with your wife’s make-up brushes, but you know [...]

Read the full article →

The Tao of Tchotchkes

March 5, 2010

Years ago I owned a company called Bananagraphics that, among other things, supplied tchotchkes to people who wanted to pass them out to every Tom, Dick or Harry who came within spitting distance of their booth. I love them, they are essentially toys for adults (not to be confused with adult toys). The best tchotchke [...]

Read the full article →

Trade Show Camouflage

March 4, 2010

This is what Trade Show Samurai do not wear. Fitting in and not being seen at a trade show is quite easy. Simply don what is known as “Trade Show Camouflage.” It will keep you hidden from pesky attendees who might want to talk to you. [...]

Read the full article →

When Talking Kills Trade Shows

March 3, 2010

When most of us attend a trade show we do a lot of talking. Talk, talk, talk, talk. Talking is good, but talking has a cost for both the exhibitor and the attendee. The cost is time. Time is a finite resource on the show floor and the more you talk, the more time you [...]

Read the full article →

Trade Show Lead Zappers, the Blessing and the Curse

March 2, 2010

One of the biggest challenges faced by companies who employ a Trade Show Samurai-style strategy at the show is handling what can be an overwhelming number of sales leads. Mild-mannered employees will generally bring back only a small handful of leads if they bring any back at all. A Trade Show Samurai, on the other [...]

Read the full article →

Trade Show Leads, the Essential Ingredient

February 27, 2010

A fishbowl filled with business cards is what most companies bring home from trade shows. The sales people may go fishing in the fish bowl to find a recognizable name or two, but for the most part the business cards are worthless. They are worthless because they have no meaning. How do you value one [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →