By Chris Hillman, Recruiting Professional
SearchPath of Chicago, Inc.
www.searchpathofchicago.com
We’re heading to Las Vegas for SupplySide West 2019 in a few weeks. If you’re going to be there, let’s plan to meet! Exhibitors, we know you’ve been busy behind the scenes, planning and prepping your booth, scheduling meetings and agendas and doing the marketing to get everyone to know where you’ll be. If you’re attending as an attendee, a structured plan will also come in handy to ensure you get what you need to get done.
Our Most Important Tip: Schedule!
Number one tip is to schedule meetings in advance: schedule, schedule, schedule! A lot of people want to make sure that they meet everyone on their list while they are attending the show and thus, calendars book up fast! If you have a desire to sit down and talk to someone one-on-one, plan for it! Tradeshow floors are loud, and full of distractions that don’t allow for fully engaged, dedicated conversations. However, planned time at the coffee shop, of the designated meeting space, allows for a quality conversation.
Who Should You Meet With?
You might be thinking, ‘but who should I meet with?’ Well, there are a lot of options and it depends on your goals for the show. Make sure the people or companies on your list to meet with align with the goals you’re looking to accomplish. Here are some options:
- Potential Customers – Obviously, the trade show floor is a giant selling floor. Potential customers are going to organically come to your booth or be referred to your booth by others. I mean, they saw you’re awesome marketing, so of course they’re going to come by! However, targeting desired customers before the show is beneficial to ensure you get in front of those that you may not have the chance to in other settings.
- Vendors/Potential Partners – Trade shows are also a great venue to meet with other vendors and talk partnership and growth outside of direct sales. Maybe there’s a vendor that has a product that would marry perfectly with your companies – meet with them and discuss the possibility.
- Recruiters – Maybe you’re looking to grow your company internally and bring on new talent. What better place to do that than at a massive industry event with top tier talent? Even better, why not meet with someone that has those connections and get expedite your hiring process. Chris Hillman of SearchPath of Chicago, Inc. will be attending the show in Las Vegas and would love to sit with you and talk about he can help with your hiring needs.
Once you outline your goals for the show, make sure you plan accordingly and get those desired meetings on the books!
Chris Hillman
815.261.4403 ext 100
