The 5 reasons to bring (all) our employees to a trade show

On April 21 and 22, we took part in the third edition of the ECOM trade show in Geneva. The Net Design agency, a Gold sponsor of the event, invited us to share its magnificent stand—or rather, its splendid private beach. 

We wanted to make the most of the event, which brings together the cream of digital agencies, IT and CRM players, and attracts many major companies from the Rhône-Alpes region and French-speaking Switzerland. 

During the preparations, amid the multitude of organizational questions, we inevitably asked ourselves “who’s coming”.  The first reflex is to call on everyone whose role puts them in front of customers, and those speaking at the conferences when they are not the same people. But is that enough? 

I then tried to find the 5 good reasons that justify bringing one, several, or even all employees, whatever their role (let’s be clear, for the Scrum enthusiasts at the back of the lab, getting their explicit agreement is going to be tricky !). And, by contrast, the 5 worst ones. 

To carry the roll-up banners : a trade show is a team sport played with all the players; whatever the rank, the boss can also carry the stand and set up the coffee machine.

Creating buzz with pretty girls : if car shows are still fond of languid car-wash-style girls, it is desirable to do without this antediluvian view of women.

To drive me back after the rather boozy partner evening: you might as well bring your sleeping bag, that’s the safest option for designated drivers. 

To test their physical and mental endurance: eugenics in the workplace is still only an exploratory theme, and less than 1% of genes characterize human beings—no, definitely, it’s too complicated.  

Making coffee : ever since George Clooney, everyone enjoys handling the capsules, no more need for an intern. 

Demystify the act of selling : it’s an opportunity to toughen up those usually on the front line in blitz mode, and push the “non-salespeople” into contact. In short, get everyone out of their comfort zone, and ultimately draw an obvious conclusion—we all contribute to the business

Refine the pitch : delivering the message over and over, to people with varying levels of maturity and different interests, makes it possible to  refine it, develop it, and perfect it through successive iterations. 

Enhance the partner relationship :  the shared experience makes it possible to bring the teams together, get to know each other by listening to each other pitch, try out joint demos, and introduce one another to others. And also to party together … with the formal prohibition on compiling dossiers! 

Team building : sweating together, supporting a teammate in technical difficulty or overwhelmed by the crowd, coordinating and taking turns to be present everywhere.

Continuous training : putting on the famous white coat of the respected expert becomes easy after spending 2 days immersed in the commercial environment, the technologies in vogue, who does what, service offerings, the key messages of partners and competitors, and the benefits for customers most often cited. 

Beyond the internal benefits, I note the excellent results, with nearly 95 leads in 2 days from 62 agencies and around thirty companies. In other words, the work of several months of prospecting in less than 2 days. Good job team!