Trade Fairs, Conferences and Other Events

Whether you are prospecting or maintaining important
business connections, these occasions can help expand
and support your work abroad.

PERHAPS YOU ARE USED TO ATTENDING OR EXHIBITING at the events where people in your business sector do business and gather new ideas and connections, whether locally, regionally or nationally. Or perhaps this is all new to you. Regardless of your level of experience, the magic key to making them productive comes down to three Ps: Prepare, Perform, and Produce. There are some special twists when you think in terms of international events.

Preparing

Suppose you think that maybe your product or service could sell well in a target country. Or you think maybe the labor, supply chains and other assets of another country could help you bring your product to market more successfully or profitably back home. Maybe it’s time to hit the road and see what is possible, in person.

Through your home country’s trade journals and associations, you should be able to identify gatherings that attract the organizations and people who could become your new customers or suppliers. These might be traditional trade shows with stands (booths), or tables, or suites in hotels where business gets done.

But there could be other venues for this kind of compressed market research. Maybe your field holds conferences where the latest thinking, innovations, or market trends are the centerpiece. Maybe academic symposia attract the people you need to talk to. In any case, talking to or corresponding with people who attend these events and asking them what events are key in your sector will point you to a few you should consider.

Don’t be afraid to also contact the organizers of the events, understanding that they are likely to be viewing you as a prospective customer for future events. Filter what you hear and test the information you gather this way carefully. You are after answers to questions like these:

• How many exhibitors (or presenters, or companies, or experts) attended last year?

• Can I get a copy of the attendee list or the catalog of exhibitors?

• How many non-exhibitors attended as visitors?

• Do you put on special presentations apart from the expo side, to facilitate information sharing and networking?

• What sectors are represented?

• Is this a show-and-tell event, or are orders placed on the spot?

• Is this a national (or local/regional) event, or is it broader in scope?

• What services are provided for visitors? For exhibitors/presenters?

• Are there online data sources that will help me set appointments, etc.?

• What are the costs, and what is or is not covered by them?

• Does the event work with hotels nearby to get good room rates for attendees?

• Is there a special program for first-timers to help them make the most of the event?

• What support do the organizers offer for any logistics you’ll need for display materials, set-up, take-down, or presentation technologies (like Wi-Fi, monitors or projectors)? What is the local electrical current and plug configuration?

• Will I need an interpreter or other local talent and labor to work effectively? What will they cost?

• Are there any tax or government incentive programs to encourage me to attend? (This could be provided by your own country, as well.)

• Can I recoup any taxes I pay to attend or exhibit?

• Are there any group stands or display spaces that are sponsored by my home country, region or particular sort of business that I could join for at least my first outing?

You should be able to articulate measurable results you hope to achieve from this adventure. Do you need to find two competitive vendors? Or identify three or more sales reps to handle your goods? Of course you are also attending to get the general lay of the land, but being clear about your goals can help you keep on track in the midst of the event.

Preparing also involves lining up as many contacts and making as many well-qualified appointments as you can ahead of time. The prior year’s attendee list is invaluable here. Book appointments as far ahead as you can, and expect delayed replies (so be politely persistent if you don’t get answers at first). After all, you are nobody until you connect with others.

Check to see if your local, regional or national government offers support or subsidies for your expansion abroad. See if there is a commercial attaché in your target market, and contact her well before the event to see if she can help identify local parties to meet with. Ask if the attaché plans to attend the event and set a meeting there, if so. If not, consider meeting her at her office. Making this connection sometimes really helps open local doors.

Do as much homework on the parties you will be meeting with as you can. This may involve a translator if their websites and trade news notices are not available in your language. Get your business card translated, and make sure you have visas, shots, maps, local currency and other basics covered. For some countries, your visa application may need to include an invitation to meet with someone, or a copy of your plane or hotel confirmation. Some countries only issue visas once you have arrived, and may only accept certain forms of payment (sometimes including only freshly printed cash notes!). So allow time and budget for these items as well.

Get your own kit together too. Pricing, schedules, specs, brochures, and whatnot may need time to develop and possibly translate before you go.

Think through the logistics as well. When do you need to ship materials you will need? Who’s going to set things up and take them down? Do you need to arrange for someone to babysit your stand and goods if you plan to leave before the event is over? Can you store things onsite for the next year’s show? When will you arrive and depart, and does that plan allow for local travel to the site, plus some kind of recovery from jet lag?

Performing

Seasoned businesspeople agree that foreign trade or professional events can be bewildering, exhausting, disappointing and worse. But they can also be great fun, and can open doors and build relationships in ways that long-distance contact just can’t. They notice that even though an initial meeting or two might not produce orders or the resources you are looking for, they ease progress. And those personal contacts are even more valuable if you run into problems down the road.

Along with your agenda of meetings and events, bring whatever form of record-keeping devices you prefer, ranging from a pad of paper to two-part forms to a smart phone (and its camera) or a computer or tablet on which you summarize info to share back home. Collect the sales or data documents you’ll be offered by contacts (if possible, request PDFs to be sent so you don’t accumulate tons of paper). As you progress through your meetings and events, assign initial priorities to the leads and contacts you develop. You can always revise them as you learn more over time. If you can, complete a summary of each key contact and follow-up actions, right away, when the details are fresh.

Try to schedule time to walk the show or just schmooze with event participants and its management or sponsors. Sometimes those moments can lead to discoveries you’d have missed if you stick to your expo table.

It’s essential to pace yourself. If you have business lunches and dinners every day and are working hard at the event all the rest of the time, you may burn out before the event ends. Particularly when the language, culture, food and climate are different from home, you can easily overextend yourself. If that limits what you accomplish, you’ve wasted time and money. On the bright side, if you can afford to stay a bit longer after the event is over, either to relax or do more market research, that can pay off in ways you may not recognize at the time.

Producing

To get the most from the investment you’ve made in this exercise, follow up rigorously. Prioritizing all your leads will ensure you focus on the prime ones first. Send out your specifications, quotes, samples, summaries, slides, pricing—whatever you must deliver—promptly. Confirm all the key points and highlight open ones in writing. Answer questions and requests for information by the deadline you promised, and so forth. Once you have dealt with everything in a first round of follow-ups, run through your summary sheets to point yourself to the best emerging prospects, and zoom in on them while the lesser quality leads simmer along. Plan regular reviews of your progress and don’t waste time with weak opportunities.

In some cultures, you may find that your first year as an attendee or exhibitor is rather disappointing. Sometimes it takes showing up and participating a couple of times or more to prove you are “serious” and worth trusting. Still, you will be learning as you go along, and with time and clear focus, you’ll know what your target market can provide for your company’s future.

K.S.