Episode 34: “Networking at Conferences and Trade Shows”
Synopsis
BNI does participate in trade shows, and so do many individual BNI members. Here are some tips for making a trade show or conference effective for building your business.
- Make new friends: you’re there to network.
- Meet the competition.
- Volunteer to speak when you first hear about the conference.
- Be social.
For help with Tip #4, listen to “The Ten Commandments of Networking at Mixers” Part 1 and Part 2.
Brought to you by Networking Now.
Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 034 -
Priscilla Rice:
Hello everybody and welcome back to the official BNI podcast, brought to you by networkingnow.com, the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice coming from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I am joined on the phone today by Founder and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Dr. Misner, how are you?
Ivan Misner:
I’m doing great, Priscilla. Thank you very much.
Priscilla:
What you have to share with us today?
Ivan:
Today we’re going to be talking about networking conferences and trade shows. People may wonder why we’re doing that at a BNI. podcast. The reason for that is the BNI does participate in a number of trade shows. Individual members of BNI ought to participate at trade shows. For the members, I wanted to give some tips on how to make a trade show or conference effective for the BNI member both in building their own individual businesses and as a way of inviting people into BNI.
Priscilla:
Great. What are they?
Ivan:
There are four tips that we’re going to talk about today. The first one is make new friends. What we mean there is mix it up. When you go to a conference or a trade show, especially if you have a booth of your own, don’t just stand behind the booth. Mix it up and connect with people. Certainly talk to the groups next to you on one side or the other side.
If there are conference sessions, don’t just sit by someone you have already met. Try to meet new people at the conference session. The key here is make new friends and mix it up. You are there to network, and just sitting in a corner or behind your booth is not going to help you do that. Go out of your way to connect with other people.
Priscilla:
Great idea.
Ivan:
The second is meet the competition. You may say what do you mean? By competition, I mean the other people at the trade show. Again, if you have a booth of your own, meet the other exhibitors.
Ironically, I have found that one of the best ways to get people to come visit a BNI group is to visit every other exhibitor’s table. Sometimes I have gotten more people interested in BNI by visiting the exhibitors’ tables than just those people who come by our exhibitor table.
You may find it to be a very effective way to market your business as well as your own local BNI chapter to go visit the other tables. Carry a big stack of your business cards around with you. As you go around to these other tables and meet them, give your card out. Meet other exhibitors, whether you are an exhibitor or not, and hand out your card to those other exhibitors throughout the convention or conference.
Priscilla:
That is a great idea. You can get kind of lonely behind your little table there.
Ivan:
If you do have a table of your own, you want whenever possible to have a partner there so that you can get away and actually connect with those other exhibitors. Try to have a partner or have somebody fill in at least for a couple of hours so you can go around and not leave your table unattended.
Priscilla:
Right. What else do you have?
Ivan:
Number three is be heard. By that, I mean if the conference has workshops or seminars, volunteer to speak. Presenting at a business conference is a great way to obtain more exposure for your company in your own area of expertise.
In order to have this opportunity, you want to plan for it in advance and meet with the coordinators of the event well ahead of time. You can’t just show up and ask to speak. When you first hear about the conference or plans for the conference, ask them if they have any speakers that they want to come in and talk? If so, are they interested in this topic?
You can certainly present topics that relate to whatever area of expertise you have, and you can always start with networking. It’s a great way to get people to come in and visit a BNI group by doing a presentation on networking.
Priscilla:
That is a great idea.
Ivan:
The fourth and last topic is to be social. If the trade show that you’re planning to attend puts on a mixer or other networking event, don’t miss it. Many trade shows do. These types of events are wonderful ways to make initial contact with people whom you have never met before.
You want to go to that mixer and connect with other people. If you are going to do that, you want to listen to Part One and Part Two of the Then Commandments of Networking at a Mixer which were previously done here on BNIpodcast.com. Get some ideas on how to work the mixers effectively.
Don’t view these events as a chance to close a deal but rather as a chance to make a first step down a long road of establishing credibility with other business people. If you do these four things, you will really improve the kinds of contacts that you make and the amount of business that you’re going to get at a trade show.
Priscilla:
Those are great ideas, especially the last one because after you are tired and you have been sitting behind your desk for the whole day, the last thing you want to do is go to a party, but I think it’s a great idea.
Ivan:
Thank you. I would like to get feedback from listeners who have used any of these techniques successfully. Or if you have something else that you want to add, at BNIpodcast.com, the bulletin board that we have is the perfect venue for the listeners to put up comments. This one in particular is a great topic for your input so that other BNI members around the world can see ideas that will help them.
Priscilla:
Well thank you, Dr. Misner. I think that’s all we have time for today. We just want to thank the listeners and tell them that this podcast has been brought to you by networkingnow.com. Thanks so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice and we will see you next week on the official BNI podcast.
3 Responses To "Episode 34: “Networking at Conferences and Trade Shows”"
Whenever I have a table at a conference, I always plan to take a “raving fan” with me to help me at my table. This is usually a very satisfied client who can speak well about the benefits of my services. This enables me to get the most out of the event by meeting the people I need to meet.
This is a great podcast. I actually produce a bridal trade show every year and have shared some of the ideas with them. This year, I can actually send them the link to help them increase their business. Thanks so much as we don’t all have to sit behind our booths and wait for business to come to us.
Great advice about trade shows.
I always invite as many people as possible to visit us at a trade show so that our stand always looks interesting with lots of people taking a look and chatting to us.
It’s the same with restaurants. I always eat at a full and bustling restaurant. Who wants to be the only diner in a deserted restaurant? It’s the crowd mentality which works so well at trade shows.