I’m very excited to have been asked by XBIZ World to write the third part of my ongoing series of articles on tradeshow etiquette.
In Part I of the series, I discussed business cards, substance overindulgence, leaving the comfort zone, flashy rookies, meetings, hooking up, taking care of oneself and common sense.
I’m probably going to take some heat for this one, but for those of you who haven’t figured this out yet — a tradeshow is not a vacation.
In Part II of the series, I wrote about, cleaning yourself up, drama royalty, picking up the tab, ignoring the size of the tradeshow, cellphone manners, introduction rudeness and inappropriate greetings.
It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t give credit to my friend Colin Roundtree, who inspired this series of articles when I read one of his pieces over a decade ago.
While some of the items I discuss in the article may seem obvious to you, they are being written about because I’ve either seen them with my own eyes or pop up in discussions.
A tradeshow is not a vacation.
I’m probably going to take some heat for this one, but for those of you who haven’t figured this out yet — a tradeshow is not a vacation. Tradeshows aren’t for your spouses, children, friends and neighbors. Tradeshows serve a very important purpose and your time should be spent wisely. Entertaining your spouse, engaging in relationship therapy or having public wars with your significant other is a waste of time and makes you look unprofessional.
If you want to take a vacation with your spouse, then take a vacation (trust me; your spouse would prefer spending time with you rather than all of your professional contacts). Naturally, if both you and your spouse are involved in your business then it makes perfect sense for you both to attend tradeshows for business purposes. I’ve seen couples try to turn tradeshows into vacations and it rarely works.
Travel smart and comfortably.
This is one suggestion that I had to learn the hard way on multiple occasions. Unless you are very fortunate, the chances of a tradeshow venue being in your backyard or at least close to your home are not very good. Tradeshows take place in cities and countries all over the world, so lengthy travel is inevitable. Time and time again, I have made travel reservations with cost at the top of my priorities. This is a mistake.
Realistically, people have to travel within their financial budgets in mind but saving a couple bucks by having five connecting flights, buying a seat that couldn’t fit a seven-year-old child, or traveling from an airport that is completely out of your way is a waste.
Far too many times, I learned the hard way and missed a connection, traveled uncomfortably and showed up to a tradeshow tired, frustrated, cranky, hungry or in need of significant time to get myself ready for business.
My advice is simple: Within your budget, travel smart and comfortably. Don’t schedule your flight that lands 40 minutes before your first meeting (I’ve made this mistake) and don’t put yourself into a situation where your travel experience sets the tone of your attendance at a tradeshow.
Check and double check your product before presenting it.
Tradeshows are great opportunities to show off your products and services. In fact, I’ve noticed that these days almost all scheduled meetings include a meeting participant taking out a smartphone, tablet or laptop to display a product of service. Your time at a tradeshow is valuable. After all, tradeshows only last a few days and, in reality, you can only do one thing at a time. So, you should always view your time as your most valuable asset at a tradeshow.
The last thing that you want to do at a tradeshow is waste your time or someone else’s time because you weren’t prepared to demonstrate your product or service. I cannot count the number of times that my time was wasted by someone who could not get their laptop started, couldn’t remember login credentials, whose product was broken and the list goes on.
Before you step foot out of your door at home, test your equipment, your website, your email, and even demonstrating your product or service — this will save you and whoever your meeting with a fortune.
Meeting Place
I detest tradeshow meetings at hotel bars, slot machines, sporting events or anywhere where meeting participants cannot hear 100 percent of what each other are saying. Don’t get me wrong — socializing and networking at noisy hotel venues is highly encouraged but business meetings should be given the respect that they deserve.
There is no possible way that everyone is getting the most out of a tradeshow meeting if they are in a place that is so loud and filled with distractions that the participants walk away from the meeting with confusion or misunderstandings or misinterpretations.
When I schedule meetings at tradeshows, I always try to ensure that the meeting takes place somewhere quiet and with as few distractions as possible. No excuses here folks, there is always a quiet hallway, corner, restaurant or place to go.
Meeting scheduling and technology.
While I am on the subject of tradeshow meetings, I cannot stress the value in prescheduling meetings before attending a tradeshow but more importantly using one of the many free digital tools available. A few tradeshows ago I didn’t even know how many different free meeting schedulers were available until my friend Stan D’Aman sent me a meeting request with a cool piece of software that displayed his available meeting times. It was simple to use and I quickly followed his lead. I use digital tools for all my meeting scheduling. Check it out for yourself.
Cancelling, re-scheduling and no-shows.
Tradeshows are marathons filled with obstacles, events, meetings, seminars and everything in between. Keeping to your preset schedule is tough and you will have a few speed-bumps along the way. If something comes up that requires you to cancel or re-schedule a meeting you need to give as much notice as possible to the person(s) that you are scheduled to meet with.
No-showing a meeting without notice is professionally and sociably unacceptable. If someone no-shows a meeting without notice it should tell you that the person is selfish and probably not the sort of person you want to be doing business with. Certainly, exceptions exist such as a medical or family emergency — but it’s rare.
Remember that you are not special and every person’s time at a tradeshow is just as valuable as yours. So, if you miss a scheduled meeting because you slept in, were too intoxicated or don’t have any other valid excuse then you are just an asshole, and I wouldn’t want to do business with you. Sorry but it’s true.
The party-crasher.
I needed to see it with my own eyes to believe it. Last summer I attended a tradeshow and sponsored a table at an elite event. I used the sponsorship as an opportunity to show thanks to my clients and invite colleagues that I spend a lot of time on the road with.
During the event, I noticed an individual wandering around and taking it upon himself to use the spirits that I had purchased for my group. I decided to confront this guy, and he tells me, “oh its cool … I got invited by Corey Silverstein.” I asked him to point out Corey Silverstein, and he identified some red-headed guy on the other side of the room.
The moral of the story is that this individual looked like a complete jackass and that is his lasting impression that he has left on both me and my colleagues. Most parties, meetings and social gatherings at tradeshows will clearly identify whether they are public or private.
If you want to attend a private event, network as much as possible until you get an invite from someone that has the power to invite you. Don’t be the uninvited guest.
Thanks for reading and get ready for “Tradeshow Etiquette, Part IV” hitting XBIZ in late 2017 or early 2018.
Corey D. Silverstein is the managing and founding member of the Law Offices of Corey D. Silverstein P.C., which focuses on representing all areas of the adult industry and his clientele includes hosting companies, affiliate programs, content producers, processing companies, website owners and performers, just to name a few. Silverstein can be reached by email at corey@myadultattorney.com; MyAdultAttorney.com and Porn.law; or by telephone at (248) 290-0655.
