One of our clients, a leading economic developer in the Southeast, used to think attending conferences and trade shows was a waste of time. And many other economic developers feel the same—with good reason. They’ve shelled out a good chunk of change to travel to the “Next Biggest Trade Show,” only to spend four or five days sitting in a booth, watching people walk by, watching business happen elsewhere. They don’t meet with any qualified leads, and they leave the conference in no different a position than when they arrived.
Others spend the conference with a bustling booth, meeting plenty of contacts—only to get home and realize none of the businesses they met with are a good fit for their area. Nothing much was accomplished at the conference, and the trip seems, in hindsight, to have been a waste of precious funds.
When you allocate money for a trip, you want to make the most of that money and the time you’ll spend traveling and attending the show. You want to meet with qualified contacts that will actually translate into leads for your area. To do this, you must do two things. First of all, you’ve got to get the word out that you’ll be attending the show. And next, you’ve got to set up pre-arranged meetings with businesses that are open to discussing your area. Scheduling meetings for the conference allows you to have your contact’s full attention, and it also allows you to confirm ahead of time that the business is actually interested in your area. You’ve got to do this early, though—before competing areas contact the businesses first.
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