The Secrets Of How to make each trade show a sucess.

[Dwreck]

Well as time goes on we are seeing an explosion of trade shows. Gone are the days of the 2 big Las Vegas shows. With GfY, Cybernext expo's, Ynot's show in Mexico and the Pheonix Forum its time to Brushed up on your trade show nethods. Trade shows are priceless and are must go to event if you are a serious webmaster.

Im not writer and I wanted to Focus on The upcoming Pheonix Forum.

How To Effectively Make the Best of the Phoenix Forum.

Now this is not by any means a master list this is just something that I cam up with real quick to maximize your Phoenix Frum or any trade show for that matter. I broke this down into 4 main sections that I will discuss separately. Prep, How to Maximize your seminar times, Parties and Post show wrap up.

PREP

-Icq, email or phone everyone you want to meet and ask for his/her cell number. If you think you can just bump into them because Arizona is a smaller show you are mistaken. Sometimes I have been at the same party as a client and not even knowed it.

-The Forum has a cool feature where its lists all the attendees coming to the show http://www.thephoenixforum.com/attendees.htm. Check that out and see what would be an interest to you and make a *HIT LIST*

CLOTHES

I know there is no dress code in adult webmastering and most of us aren’t *SUITS* however dress your best relaxed clothes. Don’t forget your swimsuit a common orrucance. Bring on set of dress clothes no matter what you just never know you may get invited to a fancy dinner.

Shoes, you will me doing a lot of walking more than you think you drunk LOL.. so pick some runners during the day and wear your dress shoes at nights.

MEDS- Tylenol (Can you say hangover), bug bite stuff (it happens), aloe vera( you will be to busy to remember to put sun block on), Vitiam C ( keep that immune system goin in the desert air) and for 99 cents they have this hand sanitizer. YOU will be hugging, touching and doing lots of handshakes so every so often rub your hands down with it to reduce the chance of getting conference crud. I slang word for being totally sick after a show.


PROMO GEAR

-Have all your promotional gear ready to go way before hand. This included t-shirts, stickers, mouse pads stick and most importantly business cards. I will discuss each one in detail. I have witness people go ina day early thinking they can hit a Kinko’s and have all their stuff ready to go only to see poor product and disastrous results. Ideally have your stuff made locally and ship it down a a day before the show. Im sure if you contact the show’s organizer they would have a area for it.
If you are in the position to give promotional gear out. Don’t kid yourself most of you are. BE CREATIVE. T-shirts t have been done but still can be used if…..

Tshirts
You focus more on the style of the shirt and not so much having your logo as big as possible. That’s so lame. Again focus more on style. Maybe a different sleeve length or a colored collar or different cut neck like. I much rather have a nice shirt with a smaller logo then a white t-shirt with WETPUSSY.COM on it. Like really how many times you are going to wear that before the joke get’s old or the situation does not allow it. I would wear a t-shirt with that same logo if it was on the sleeve or on the upperchest in smaller letters a lot more often.

I’m a personal fan of the hoddie style sweat shirt. I much rather spend a few more bucks and have less and give to a select few people. Hoddies are great they are relaxed, you can wear them in more weather climates than t-shirts and they have way more staying power than a standard t shirt. A good example of effective use of the shirt as a marketing tool is Lightspeeds Jersey’s and Mr Skin’s. They produce much less and are given to the *elite* and they wear them with pride almost like a trophy. Rochard is sending me mine as we speak *wink wink*. Notice how the lightspeed jersey’s don’t sream porn and can be worn at anytime.

Stickers- S0 underrated. They are cheap fun you can come in all shapes and sizes. A good example of a success sticker campaign was done by me two years ago in Vegas. We simply made a bulleye’s style sticker with our company logo on it. We saw them being used as gags, saw them slaped on models bums and on some boobs uses as well. I even went as far as to put then in the bottom of the mens pissers so when let went to the washroom hey had a little target with our name on it. How’s that for creative thinking. So many guys came up to me later on dude I pissed all over your bulleyes sticker in Vegas. They can be used on guitar cases to backpacks and they *Stick* around forever. Total cost under 50 bucks.

Mouse pads. Don’t do em. Got 30. Lame.

You get the drift you can apply these same principles to pens, magnets, underwear and hats etc.

Cards
The ever important business card. Spend some time and money on these. It’s all you have to remember yourself my if they were to drunk to remember your face . Don’t do them yourself or use a template desigh. Make it unique and fresh. By the pro’s.

Make sure your card offers a show special or some kinda a promo that way your card doesn’t become filter paper for joints. Do not forget to add a notes fleid on the back of cards for they are great for special arrangements or any info you may feel warranted.

We are almost ready to go. One thing you do leave behind is your ego. I don’t care how many girls you banged or how many second page unique you had. Be humble be honest. I got no time for ego’s are assholes.



Part 2 torrorrow

Seminars How to Benefit from them.

[AudreyLive]

Very interesting thread Derek. You have very good ideas.

I don't run a sponsor but interesting to know :)

[qwebecexpo]

Thanks Derek. Very interesting ... :)

[PrincessX]

Derek, babe-

You spoke my mind... "I got no time for ego’s " :D That's why we get along...haha.

I started the new job this week and won't have all of the promo materials ready 'til Cybernet... but I'll definitely have your cell number on speed dial and will get you plastered (with stickers, that is).

Miss ya bro!

Cheers!

[Funbrunette]

Sweetie you're the best! I'm sending you a HUGE Hug!

:D

[poppy]

Nice post Derek.

[Dwreck]

AudreyLive i got some need ideas i would love to share with you in a private forum. Heheh

qwebecexpo - thanks again for your help with my avatar.

PrincessX- AHahhaa ow can you not love you. Why didnt you tellme you started your new job? Im so hurthehehe. We are going to Rip the expo apart.

Funbrunette- Thanks baby and the new pics of Ryan are awesome.


Ok now for Part 2

How to make the seminars work for you.

I’m an easy going guy as most of you know. It’s not a requirement to hit every seminar but I do expect you to at least hit one. It’s the seminars to early for you then it shows you just how serious you are about making in this biz. Wake the fuck up we are all hung over.

Grab a water, shut your cell phone off and get ready.

Wake up and get their early and observe who comes in. These are the same people that you can make friends with and learn together or can come to for help. Sit in the front and the center, This isn’t high school where throwing paper airplanes from the back is cool. When the speakers see who is their early it shows passion and support. They are much more willing to help and may remember you and make give you that inside info, tip or deal. You just never know.

I want you to sit by yourself or sit beside someone you don’t know. This is only one hour of your time and I want you to focus.

Leave you laptop at the room I know you just got it and it has a 33 inch monitor and is brand new but you simply cant keep up typing. Often speaker jump topic to topic even speaker to speaker and hand written notes are the best. The time my notes are done it’s a mass of arrows, stats and short form.

If a question comes up leave you hand down. Save you question for later for it will ruin the flow of the presentation.

OK now the seminar is over you not quite done wait around 3 minutes and personally thank the speaker and ask your question then. Often speakers are doing it for free and a lil thank you is all they need. And now you created a new bond and I bet you got a lot more than your questions answered.

Tomorrow’s Lesson

PARTIES- Is this where the real biz gets done??

[AdultLegal-Jim]

Derek,

when do you say

"don't fall asleep on the rode in Mexico or you'll wake up without your watch"

:D

[Dwreck]

Jim I so remember that night in Mexico at least the gave you his jacket. hahaha.


Here's Part 3

Parties!! Is this where’s all deals are made??

Ok first off it’s a party so rock out for sure. Have fun, be prepared for lots of guys and I mean lots. So that means a lot of testosterone. Beware.

The rooms costs lots of money and I don’t know why I have to say this but it isn’t a frat house. Ash in the proper spot, piss in the toilet and not the bath tab. Webmasters think they sent the sponsor joins he can drink and destroy the place. We are behind the 8 ball working in this industry so let’s try to maintain some level of decency.

The Introduction.

I don’t know who the fuck you are. I’m half drunk I just was at seminars all day ,sunburnt and in new place. So introduce yourself I would love to meet you. But still be proactive at the same time Let’s do into detail.

The Introduction

You better have this nailed down. The person has shook hands with 200 people before how are you going to stick out? You got three seconds to leave a permanent marker on this person. This is how. A genuine smile, strong eye contact then introduce yourself … state you’re real name first/last, your company then if you think your some sorta board celebrity stat your alias. All this is done while the handshake is taking place. DO not let go until you are done you introduction, that way the person in 100% focused on you and if the music is blaring and he may be pulled in three different directions but he cant brush you off cause you are holding on to him.

The handshake- I personally use a three tier system. Don’t overlook this it’s a physical bond you have with that person. It’s a deadly tool.
The standard handshake- make sure hand are dry and it’s strong shake firm with authority. Cold and clammy hands are signs that the person did E the night before. Mosy common.
The double handshake- it’s when you cover the other persons hand with yours so your actually using both hands for the shake . This is great when your meeting new people for the first time and it’s not used very often so it’s a great way to get yourself remembered. My personal fav
The handshake/half hug- this is done but shakeing with one hand and pulling it in ever so slightly and doing a half hug with the other hand. If you think this is gay then you are in the wrong biz go back to Wallmart. This greeting is used less and save it for the right time. This seems all remedial for me but no one seems to do it. The effect a genuine hug male/female in prices less.
Once the handshake is complete hand him your card in a manner that makes him actually look at it.

I once had a guy at the saw a guy a Toronto webmaster Summit . I never met the guy so I went up to him introduced myself and he gave me a half smile then said he was cyber whatever and had a certain thousand posts on GFY and hands me quikie mart card. Don’t be that guy. I never laughed so hard in a long time. I would like to thank that guy for making me smile that night.

Ok now if someone comes up to you ask for a card and repeat his/her name out loud when you are looking at the card so you make a visual and a audio reference. We need to remember this person and it’s not that hard if you make a physical refence as well look at a certain piece of clothing or jewelry and comment on that on a later date. Its interest that you are interested in their bussness. They would be more like to incline to hook you up (taffic, content, hosting etc) then next more so then if you’re like….Didn’t meet you at the topcbucks party Todd?And he goes no it was a the CE party and the name is Phil. Also if someone introduces them self to you and you’re sitting down. STAND up show the person the respect he derivers for coming up to you in a crowed party. Are you picking up what Im putting down?

Personally thanks the party sponsors. I hate that I have to remind people to do this. Find out who’s sponsoring it and approach them. You may likely get a few free drinks tickets out of that. Make a spefic comment in regards to the party more so then THANKS DUDE THIS ROCKS… something like I like how you have three bars set up there is no line s that way or the security was really cool. This is a great way to get a conversation going with the party sponsor who in most cases has a little bit more money than you.

DO NOT talk biz after 12 am. People are drunk. You got false promises, drunken talk and all of a sudden webmasters have so much traffic he doesn’t know what to do with it. This goes for everyone. If you really need to talk to a guy seeing him half cut at a party at 1 am may not be in your best interest. A good place to touch base and have a few drinks and feel him/her out. Set up a time the following day.

Don’t make the mistake of hanging out with same 20 people from the trade shows circuit or your icq buddies. I’m not saying to ditch your friends but some people get in their inner circle of friends talk among themselves and wonder why the show wasn’t profitable for them or their company. Have a balance.

Everyone will say all the deals are done at the parties. Well that’s not entirely true. Don’t limit it to im going to stay sober and hit all the parties and see what happens. The lobby to the hotel is a jack pot for meeting people from your *hitless* and the local hotel watering hole. Find out where that is and check that out. Where’s the t business done then? It’s done in our next segment which I will call my POST SHOW WRAP UP

[Dwreck]

any comments or suggestions? :D

[webgurl]

Originally posted by ContentGuy Derek
any comments or suggestions? :D

hmmm .. i think you said it all derek . Your the Pro now :p

[Pidgin]

Originally posted by ContentGuy Derek
any comments or suggestions? :D
I'll take shake #3 ;)
Looking forward to seeing you man :cool:

[monaro]

Thank you so much for sharing your professional advice. It would be an honor to experience your speaches in this comming June events.

[baddog]

re: dress - what do you suggest for the guy riding his bike from LA - Phoenix? Not much room for more than clean socks, an extra pair of jeans and a few t-shirts

[monaro]

Originally posted by baddog
re: dress - what do you suggest for the guy riding his bike from LA - Phoenix? Not much room for more than clean socks, an extra pair of jeans and a few t-shirts


Umm you could mail it there to a post office for you to collect it.
then mail it back again, wouldnt be that much to do something like that.

[Dwreck]

Webgurl are you making fun of your future roomate? hehe

XXXManager will you be there?

baddog bring a change of clothes that's all I Ask. hehehe

OK the Final Part

Post show Wrap up.

This where the magic happens so here’s how to benefit. At this point your overwhelmed and your all excited. I get like that too and I get in a mad rush to get back on the computer and hit everyone up as fast as possible. I used to do that and I got poor results. I used to have 50 icq windows open a mass of emails that haven’t complete or sent and between calls both personal and bizness wise I was a mess. I couldn’t understand why I had bad results when I was thinking I was a mover and a shaker. So I started doing what I call the Sniper Method. I will explain more first off goto you’re local Staples and buy a bizness card holder and organize your cards in them. They look like a cd magazine holder. That way you can see first hand who you met and what you talked about. Not what is the sniper method? Simply put you pick them off one by one till you get a deal close. Start adding their icq numbers, email address and phone numbers. Now open a corresponding spreadsheet and insert their name and what felid they fall under (content, traffic, trades, hosting, legal etc) and hit them up one my one. In your spreadsheet mark the times/dates and result of the conversation. I recommend starting small and sending out 15 emails, calls, icq’s and do not contact the next 15 until you have a concrete answer. Your response rate will be poor not to worry my friend it show’s you who’s serious and/or they just haven’t got back yet. Don’t take it personal.

Follow up Follow up Follow up- This is the single most important thing you can do.

If you send a single email and hope that he’s going to get back your wrong. He/she accidentally deleted it, Misplaced it or lost it in a crash so be prepared to email until you get some sort of reply. Start your emails pretty casual yet professional then talk about the trip, where you met, and what you discussed. Add a personal touch to you emails.
In regards to follow up I needed a tgp designed . So I made a post on a message board last week . I was going to use first person that emailed me and said hey Derek I saw your post and I would like to design a tgp for you here’s my portfolio. That simple cost was not a factor. I got a ton of replies in my thread but how many emailed me? NONE!! It’s been a week how many have checked back to see if I got what I needed? NONE. Show that your hungry. So I called my good buddy up Stevecore and he got the job and he wasn’t even looking for it.


Well there you have it. You wont find traffic secrets but you found out how to successfully market yourself which is often overlooked and is just important as a htaccess file.

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to seeing you at the next show. Please add your own comments and tips so we cal all learn together.

Im not done yet I have a few lil mics tips all webmaster should know as well.

[Pidgin]

Hey Derek
I will be there for sure.
Landing on the 31st.
Hope we get a chance to talk more thoroughly than we did at the past shows :)

[dyonisus]

Nice Tips derek
kudos to you for putting the info out there!

[Funbrunette]

I'm was hoping to make it, but I'm too busy working on a new project...:D

[Mr.Andersen]

Some good points in there man, i need to sharpen up abit on this for Amsterdam...did'nt even bring cards to cancun :rolleyes:

[Dwreck]

XXXManager we get in the same day and let's talk forsure.

dyonisus- thanks girl. How the fuck are you?

Funbrunette- you gotta tell me now. You tease.

Mr.Andersen- thanks so so much.