Best trade shows to attend

Re: [spiers] Best trade shows to attend

Does anyone have a list of the best trade shows to attend for gifts, arts &
crafts, and housewares? The ones that most buyers will attend? Tradeshow
contact information?

***Google search will turn up such a list, but it misses the question which is
the show YOUR customers go to for merchandise, something you cannot find out
until you ask them those who will be buying from you. The shows your customers
find best mean other birds of that feather will be there... probably one of the
most attended shows for gift and housewares is the November show in New York,
but almost nobody places any orders, since it is considered a "pre-show" and
just ideas about what is coming up next year.

Talking to possible customers and visiting trade shows takes too much in time
and money if every trade show attended, every customer spoken to does not pay
off with orders, now, directly. Since it is possible to gain orders from every
customer spoken to at every trade show, then any alternative is a deliberate
waste of resources.

But some will object: "you 'gain orders from every customer spoken to at every
trade show?'" and I reply "yes, via independent sales reps." With reps, a
professional shows my product only to the customers who should see my product
(this is something i would not know). That custoemr either places an order now,
OR tells the rep with what changes my product would undergo that would cause the
beuyer to place an order. In effect, this is a future order, since I will be
changing everything to please customers.

Sure, we all need some entertainment sometimes, and going to a gift show before
you have custooemrs would be like going to a movie. Fun and divertiing, but it
will not do anything to advance your business.

Of course, once we have the very best reps, they will naturally have us in the
very best shows. And of course, the names of the very best reps come from the
very retailers who told us our product ideas were good and so far do not
exist.***


Do these trade shows sell the buyers attendance list and contact info?


***You bet they do! ***

John

Bookmark this post --- Email this post