Major Trade Shows are taking place this season, including Landscape Ontario & the Canadian Greenhouse Conference.  Here are the top Trade Show tips! These are some of the most anticipated events of the year for flower, vegetable, cannabis and nursery growers. They have become an outstanding place for all growers, suppliers and research partners to learn from each other and make crucial industry connections.

We wanted to share some tips to help you get the most out of any conference or trade show experience.

Top Trade Show Tips:

• Go in with a plan: You never want to go into a trade show unprepared—there is so much to see and do! Therefore, have some specific goals and objectives about what you want to learn and accomplish. Map out which booths you want to go to and in what order, so you can more efficiently navigate the trade show floor. If there are multiple speakers, plan out which you would like to hear, and which sessions you want to attend.
• Bring business cards and sell sheets: Whenever you are at a conference or trade show, you could run into a new, important contact just about anywhere. So make sure you have plenty of business cards and sell sheets, no matter where you are—the lobby, the bar or the trade show floor.
• Try to avoid going to packed booths: This is an especially good strategy if the trade show runs for multiple days, and you can come back the next day. When a booth is extremely packed, the chances of you talking to the right person or connection are small.
• Allow salespeople to engage you: Sometimes standing and observing is just as effective as approaching booths. In these cases, a salesperson will come up and approach you, talk to you about the company’s products and answer any questions you have. It gives you a chance to avoid some of the mayhem at the booth while still making connections.
• Take notes: Keep track of who you are meeting and any key pieces of information – you never know what small tidbit can turn out to be a deal closer later on. Have a checklist of what you need to do to follow up later.
• Plan your attire: Make sure you dress the part. For a greenhouse conference, you don’t necessarily have to wear a three-piece suit, but people will take you more seriously if you are dressed appropriately for the event. Make sure you have comfortable shoes for walking the floor.

#1 Trade Show Tip

• Follow up: Perhaps most importantly is following up with the contacts you have made. Save all the business cards that you believe will benefit your business. Add all of the contacts you have made into a database, keeping track of where and when you met that person and some information about them. Select a few of the people you met, and take immediate action to follow up with them—especially if they asked you to contact them. You should also consider sending personalized cards or promotional items in the mail.

We would be happy to share more trade show tips to help you get the most out of your trade show or conference experience, contact us anytime.