It is Trade Show Time Again

Over the years I have attended more trade shows than I care to count, both as an exhibitor and attendee. In a few weeks, a lot of you will be heading to the GlassBuild America in Las Vegas. Whether you are attending as a customer or an exhibitor, you will all be asking the same question. Is it worth my time and the expense?

Exhibitors will be there for many reasons: being good industry citizens, building relationships, seeking new customers, introducing new products or just saying thank you to customers and suppliers. Attendees will be seeking the next great product or industry trend, education, new suppliers or just to build better relationships with current ones. All important reasons to attend the show, but not any that can quantify the expenses.

Looking back over the years, I don’t know of a show where I could put a spreadsheet together that showed the immediate impact of attending. However, I can look back and identify many critical relationships, products and suppliers that changed our business forever that would never have happened if we didn’t attend.

This year, I will challenge our booth staff to identify a victory they can follow up on from the show, and suggestions on how to improve the booth for next year. Of course, we will give a list of all the customers that were there to our salespeople to follow up. It also gives your salespeople that attend something to talk about when they go back to work on Monday. While the show is important, it only lasts three days. We all make our living every day.

I believe it is important to attend trade shows. Companies are busy, but supply chains are still changing, and prices are increasing as many products are in high demand. The show will give you opportunities to expand your supply base and give you the confidence to expand suppliers. Knowing the glass industry, I know there will be many new and innovative products companies have been developing over the last year that could change your business forever. The most important reason to attend is to strengthen your relationships with customers and vendors. They are the people that keep us all in business. Of course, remember to keep your eyes open for that product or trend that you will one day look back on and appreciate how it impacted your business.

I hope to see you at the show. Stop by the FHC booth 6016 and say hello.

PS: I am glad that Paul Bieber wrote about his experience of being hacked last week. I was about to send him all my credit card information after receiving many desperate emails from Paul asking me to share my Amazon account with him!