Business shows give you a wealth of information – you’ll never leave without finding out something new or meeting someone new. It might be a new product, service, business you didn’t know about, supplier, competitor or idea.
Business show exhibitors need visitors to their stand, so if you’ve not already got it in your diary, Business Vision Live is on Wednesday 15th May.
And here’s why you should spare the time to come along:
Learning
Workshops, seminars and exhibition stands – all a hive of information for you to learn.
You can find out about technology, finance, the economy, exporting, careers, compliance, trends, HR, marketing, wellbeing, growth…to name but a few.
The best thing you can do is look ahead to the speakers and workshops to see which you need most for your business. Plan your day and come away with some new ideas to push your business on and stand out from the competition.
Relationships
At every business show you go to, you will speak to people – exhibitors on their stands, in queues, in the lounges for a cup of tea, at workshops or just walking around. Some of these could turn into long-term business relationships and you never know who you might meet, who they might know and how you can help each other.
So look for people to chat with and see where it takes you!
Suppliers
Every business needs suppliers – for new ventures and also for procurement. If you’re looking to make savings or find someone better than who you already use, you’re bound to find someone to consider at a business show.
Take a look at the exhibitors before you go and make a plan of who you need to speak to and what you need to know.
Ideas
Business shows are great places to find out new ideas – you might see a great stand and be inspired to exhibit next year with something similar, or you might pick up some interesting literature and think now might be the time to produce something other than what you already have.
You’ll see ideas for so many things – so if you’re looking to revamp or improve your own business this year, visiting a business show could be like the Ikea of ideas for you!
Competitors
Business shows attract companies from all industries so you’re bound to find some competition there. Embrace it, take a look at what they do, research them before you go and then go over to say hello. It might be the start of a great business relationship!
Networking
You will meet so many people at business shows and if you can just be brave enough to start a conversation with people, you could meet some really interesting people.
Have some small talk in your back pocket to start some chats – ask them if they’ve been before, why they came, what stands they’ve seen that have been good, what seminars they’ve been to or are going to.
You might be able to help each other out!
And…I bet the stands they remember will be the engaging, interesting and interactive ones.
When you’re meeting all these new people and finding things out, make sure you take business cards and make notes. Then create some time in the days after the business show to follow them up and stay galvanised and enthusiastic about all the changes you’re about to make to improve and grow your business!
You won’t be able to do it all overnight but you could spend some time planning what you’d like to do and when.
It’s all about the planning!
I’ll be on stand 581 – come over and say hello!
