#NAB0: the Exhibitor s Guide to Surviving a Trade Show

Trade showsare an ordeal.

Trade shows can be the very definition of work hard, play hard. But they are a pricelessopportunity to get your product out there, get known, make contacts and, most importantly,generate leads and sales. It's tough but incredibly worthwhile and thatswhy we're going back to Las Vegasthis year.

This year is the second time Aframe will be at NAB Show but we're all hardened expo veterans.We've been there, done that and got the promotional T-shirt, pen and stress ball. We've got theexperience and the scars mental and physical.

Here's our tips to surviving a trade show.

1.Be ready for businessNo matter how quiet it is, dont sit down, don't play with your phone, don't stand in a groupchatting. Your next potential lead could walk by at any moment and if they don't think you'reavailable for a chat, they'll walk on past. Stay looking active and alert. It's a good idea to have a planfor how you'll try and generate traffic when the stand goes quiet.

2.Make your booth stand outIn a sea of hundreds of booths, you need to stand out. Not everyone has Adobe sized pockets butyou can still make an impression on a small budget. Have strong branding, make sure everythingis integrated and smart. Make sure your demo laptops have clean and branded desktops andscreensavers. Try and do something that makes you stand out from the crowd.

3.Be distinctiveBeing distinctive doesn't just end at the stand. Our orange and black Aframe shirts may not be whatwe'd wear through choice, but they catch the eye and we get remembered. Our CEO, David, wasrecently talking to a journalist who remembered the Aframe shirts at NAB2012. For a small companyin a big show, that kind of recognition is all important. Anything that makes your product morememorable to leads who've spent all day talking to people is helpful. With such a tight schedule,chances are youll end up wearing them to social events too which just helps make you all the morememorable.

4.It's 24 hoursBusiness doesn't end when the show closes. Some of the best sales are done off the show floor overdinner and drinks. Evening social events are an opportunity to meet more leads and chat in morerelaxed circumstances. And make sure you have a process in place to follow up with any leads youget. Once you have a lead you need to keep it. Hit them with an email or follow up call as soon asyou can.

5.Be kind to your feetWear comfortable shoes. When you're at a fair youll walk for miles and stand forever. If younormally spend your day sitting at a desk, youll be very quickly reminded just how little time youspend on your feet these days. It's surprising how tiring it is so wear your most comfortable-yet-suitably-smart shoes. This is notthe time to be breaking in a nice, new pair of shiny leather brogues.

6.Fuel upHave a big breakfast. There will be no time for lunch and there is NOTHING worse than someoneeating their sandwiches on the stand. It looks messy and you can't answer a question with a face fullof meatball sub.

7.Keep your water upYou'll be standing all day in a large air-conditioned conference hall (hopefully) talking to people allday. OK, it's not running a marathon, but you can still end up surprisingly dehydrated. Make sure youdrink plenty of water. Don't mainline coffee all day that just adds to the dehydration (and givesyou unappealing breath issues!).

8.Beat the lullThe final afternoon at a trade show can be deathly. Delegates are already heading home, yourenergy is low, you already have a large stack of new leads - it's very easy to ease off. But there's stillbusiness to be done. Have a plan for generating traffic from the last remaining delegates and try andget those final leads. It may be time to do something attention-grabbing!

9.Get socialYou can bet that the majority of delegates will be tweeting,facebooking and linking-infrom the show, so makesure you do too. Make sure they know you're there. Post pics, comments, make sure you use theofficial hashtag and be part of the event conversations. Mention other exhibitors and hopefullythey'll mention you back, putting you in front of their followers. It shows you're active and it alsolets the team back at base know what's going on.

10.Last of all, have funAs all the best football managers say, just go out there and enjoy yourselves. Trade shows can be a full onand exhausting few days, but they can also be a terrifically good time and the more relaxed you are,the better your sales pitch will be. Just remember you have to be up early and on top form each day.No-one wants to chat with a hungover exhibitor with the stench of last nights tequila on their breath...

About Aframe Aframes cloud video technology helps people connect and collaborate, making them more productive and improving execution in their video projects.

The ability to access high resolution rushes and production footage from anywhere in the world via a web browser enables companies to save time, money and focus on producing better video.

If youre going to be attending this years NAB Show, why not drop by and say hi. Well be in the Cloud Computing Pavillion in the North Hall (stand N-CP 13/14/15). See you there!

LINK:	http://aframe.com/blog/2013/03/21/nab2013-the-exhibitor-s-guide-to-sur...
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