Recently, Captain Reman sent a group of his trusty sidekicks on the road to exhibit at the VISION Hi-Tech Training and Expo in Kansas City. It took months of careful planning and organization, booking expo space, hotel rooms, rental cars, & multiple flights, and sacrificing time away from the office.  Quite the investment, as many of you who attend trade shows well know.

With all of the liking, tweeting, messaging, joining, circling, pinning, and posting that could have happened right from Milwaukee, why did we leave?
In this age of technology, we have endless ways to network & grow without getting up from our rolling desk chairs.  The ease and seamlessness of it all is hard to ignore, and you risk being left in the dusk if you do.
Zuckerberg and his friends should be thanked for the sleek convenience they’ve provided us. However, their platforms are not the most effective for building your business.

Well, what is? Set down your laptop, cell phone, iPad, and take a look in the mirror.

There is nothing quite like face-to-face networking. For your prospects, there is no better first impression than seeing the passion and commitment in your eyes as you talk about how your product helps THEIR business. For your customers, there is no better connection than recognizing them in a crowd and extending a friendly handshake. For your competition, there is no better showing of a strong industry presence than seeing you in action at a trade show…and with the most fun booth.
What tips do we use to grow most effectively via a trade show?

• Be prepared.  Review the exhibitor lists in advance. Who are your neighbor booths? Where is your competition located? Who is exhibiting for the first time?
• Be proactive. Reach out to those you want to meet in advance of the show, and set appointments & meetings for while you’re both in the same place.
• Dress the part. At a trade show, you’ll be making hundreds of first impressions…make them count. Resist the temptation to blend in with your industry crowd. You’ve got to look good if you want to make the right first impression.
• Do something memorable. To be effective, you have to stand out. Have the coolest business card on the planet. Invest in an electronic or custom nametag. Have a great 30-second personal commercial (sometimes called an elevator pitch) prepared. You’re going to be asked, “What do you do?” about a million times. Don’t be boring.
• Follow up quickly. You’ve spent your time and money to get to the show –earn a return on your investment while the excitement is still present. Your new connections are waiting for your call when you get back, but their memory of you fades with each passing day. Call them – NOW.

It’s all well and good that we were able to network at VISION and take full advantage of one-on-one time with prospects and customers alike. If you watch our recap video above or the clips from our live feed, we’re confident you’ll agree that our efforts were worth it.

But how can our experience help you?

Maybe you don’t have the manpower to attend industry events. That’s ok.
Maybe you don’t have a large travel budget. That’s ok.
Maybe you don’t have the time to leave the office. That’s ok, too.
Beyond trade shows, there are still plenty of options to build your business with face-to-face networking. Here are 5 easily implementable tips that are wallet AND time-friendly.

1. Attend networking events hosted by local groups and associations. Don’t know where to find these groups in your area? LinkedIn is a great search tool for this. A big perk of these events? You can drive to them.
2. Show up at your customer’s office. Nothing shows that you care more than your time. Bring them lunch, and gain 20 minutes of quality time. Ask them how you’re doing…and really listen.
3. Join your chamber of commerce if you aren’t a member, and take another look at their event calendar if you are and haven’t in a while. Most events are at a nominal cost and scheduled after business hours.
4. Organize an afternoon at your location. Invite prospects and customers both for a tour, to get to know you better, and throw a barbeque in your parking lot.
5. Take the old conference call to a new level and invite a prospect at a distance to have a cup of coffee with you…over Skype. You can even email them a $5 Starbucks e-gift certificatethe day before. It might not be in person, but they can still see and hear you.

Interested in joining us at a trade show or conference to see our process for yourself? We’d love to have you with us! Send me an email for more details on how you can get free event tickets sent your way. In the meantime, do you have a face-to-face networking question that has got you stumped?  Any of us sidekicks or Captain Reman himself are here to help. Pick a time that works for you and we’ll talk it out. The coffee will be on us. 🙂