Packing and shopping and selling, oh my!
As our team is busy preparing for the AVMA Convention starting on July 14 in Denver, we are reminded of all of the checklists, deadlines and orders that are involved in exhibiting at a conference. Many industries have trade shows, conferences, or the like for industry experts to learn about or sell new products. These shows happen all over the world, in all kinds of industries. For those of you that have not had the pleasure to go to one (as an exhibitor or attendee), we thought it would be fun to give a little bit of insight into what a show week might look like for an exhibitor.
Enjoy reading through a typical “day in the life” of an exhibitor, and if you are planning on attending the AVMA Convention – don’t forget to stop by and say hi! You can find our smiling ViziFolk team at booth #932!
Day 1
7:00am
Wake up, text your coworkers in other rooms to see if they’re awake yet. They’re not, so go back to sleep. You did travel all day yesterday, after all.
8:00am
Wake up for real this time or you’ll have to rock your “I woke up like this look” which, quite frankly, isn’t a good one.
10:00am
Drive all over the place picking up the last minute items needed for a successful show – candy, gifts, carpet, copies of forms… are we forgetting something? I feel like we’re forgetting something.
5:00pm-9:00pm
Do a full day’s worth of work in 4 hours – a tradeshow doesn’t mean we can keep our clients waiting!
Day 2: Exhibit Set Up Day!
9:00am
Load the car (which is really only meant for 4 people’s worth of weekend-luggage) with our backdrop, tables, tablecloths, monitors, computers, lights, gifts, carpet, candy, giveaways, and all the odds and ends that we bought yesterday. Somehow squeeze ourselves into the car along with all of the aforementioned supplies…
11:00am
Start setting up exhibit. That part goes a little something like this:
Day 3: 1st Day of Show!
8:00am
Walk onto show floor, ready to conquer the world. Set up booth. Drink your coffee. And begin.
9:00am
Talk to people. Over, and over, and over. Get them just as excited about your brand as you are, because after all, you have some of the best services and products to offer to this industry! Don’t just talk to business owners. Talk to consultants, bankers, other marketing representatives, giant companies, anyone you can get your hands on to tell them just how awesome your company is.
10:00am
*pause* Where’s the pens? Oh…that. That was the thing we were forgetting. Tell your team that we have to go to the store on the way to dinner to pick some up.
10:05am
Talk to people some more. You’re in the tech industry after all, you don’t need no stinking pens!
12:00pm
Lunch. Sit in the exhibitor lounge, and realize for the first time all day just how loud it is on the show floor. Embrace the quiet, take a few deep breaths and walk back onto the show floor, ready to conquer the world.
1:00pm
One of your clients comes to visit! After they tell you how happy they’ve been with the service so far, remember to ask them for a video testimonial. Those look something like this:
Day 5: 3rd Day of Show
*repeat*
4:00pm
Realize you have been on your feet so much that your shoes are now separated from the sole… tell your team that you have to go to the store on the way to dinner to buy new shoes. Decide you are going to start investing in better shoes after this show.
6:00pm
After buying new shoes, go to dinner and celebrate an already successful show, because you know you won’t have time to celebrate when you get home (it’s going to get busier, after all!)
Day 6: LAST DAY!
Day 6: LAST DAY!8:00am
Walk onto show floor, ready to conquer the world. Set up booth. Drink your coffee. And begin.
10:30am
Talk to a very important attendee that came back to see you because you made such an impression on them last year that they want to know more. Try to contain your excitement… at least until they are out of earshot.
2:30pm
Tear down the exhibit… Donate the table and chairs, give away the last of your candy to every passerby you meet, and once again, fit a clown-car’s worth of equipment + 4 people in a car that magically seemed to still have room.
5:30pm
Arrive at airport. Check baggage, run into someone who recognizes your team from the show, and board the plane.
6:00pm
Pay for in-flight wi-fi because our clients can’t wait just because we are 30,000 feet in the air! Besides, if you take care of those emails now, you can go straight to bed when you get home.
7:30pm
Land. Pick up luggage, take a Lyft home, and sleep like you’ve never slept before. There are big things coming your way after all – you need your beauty rest!
At the end of the day, these shows are exhausting. But, they are also incredibly rewarding! There is nothing like the energy of a show floor, the excitement of the people you get to talk to, and the information you learn in the process. If you are a veterinarian, we hope to meet you at the AVMA Convention from July 14-16 in Denver – find us at booth #932! Want to talk before the show? You can contact us online anytime.
Written by Cassandra Parsons, Director of Client Experience
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