Scanner Monkey member, Abby Hunt, recently attended the ASD trade show in Las Vegas. She summed up her lessons learned which really apply to attending any trade show.
- DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU GO. I researched vendors and products for the week prior to ASD and was completely prepared when I hit the floor.
- SCHEDULE SOME BROWSE TIME. Since I had prepared, I was able to enjoy browsing some booths & vendors by day 3 without missing out on the booths I HAD to visit.
- JUST SAY NO TO CATALOGS! I prefer a backpack to a rolling bag and by day 3 I had bruises on my shoulders from the weight of the bag!
- GRAB ESSENTIAL CATALOGS. There were 2 vendors that were not on my original search list so I did grab those two catalogs, researched at night on wifi at my hotel and placed an order the next day with the most profitable items.
- LEARN SOMETHING NEW ON PURPOSE. I was able to schedule just one seminar so I made it count by seeing Katharyne Shelton. She was such a wealth of knowledge, it was time very well-spent.
- WORK THE SHOW LIKE A BOSS. Save the meandering, window shopping for another time. The purpose of attending is to make money. I saw things I could have purchased as gifts for family or things I thought were cute, but I made myself research everything before buying. This saved me tons of money for sure.
- TAKE A SMALL RISK. I made a purchase at one booth that was probably profitable but WAY outside my comfort zone. It was a $200 wholesale purchase which was within my budget and if it does well, I will have a new category to continue to pursue.
- KNOW YOUR BUDGET. While this may seem obvious, it is still vital! Don’t go overboard. No deal is really THAT good and the vendors/wholesalers will always take your money.
- BE YOURSELF. (unless you’re a jerk… just kidding) It is much easier to have a genuine conversation with a business owner when you walk up with a smile and a “good morning” rather than being nervous with some sort of “pitch.”
- HAVE FUN. A nice dinner, a little gambling, goofing off and time to unwind are essential so that you don’t burn out by the end of the week.