By Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC
President, NACTA

Travel Trade’s fast-approaching 25th Annual CRUISE-A-THON, June 1-4 in Seattle, will be a tremendous opportunity for you and your business. The lineup of speakers, presentations, panels, workshops, ship inspections and other programs are guaranteed to help take you and your travel business to the next level.
In looking forward to this great event, let’s review some tips to maximize our time — and, as a result, make things HAPPEN. Conferences and trade shows are your opportunity to take home new information and education, as well as new connections, that might further your endeavors down the business highway.
Trade Show Tips
As one who has exhibited at literally hundreds of trade shows over my years in the travel business, I feel confident with the following suggestions for making the most of your time with the suppliers at the trade show part of a conference.

1. Make a list of your top stops —
and remember, timing is everything
Go in after the crowds have subsided, since this is the best time to get one-on-one time with the vendors. Try to avoid the last 30 minutes because that is when the suppliers are getting mentally prepared to close up shop. If it is a two-day show, make an effort to go both days and split up your must-stops between those days. I have seen several agents study the list of vendors and highlight their necessary stops in order of priority. I am always impressed when I see this since it indicates that the agent is focused on doing business.

2. Be Prepared
Be prepared with questions if possible. As a supplier, one of the most difficult tasks at a booth is repeating the “sales presentation” throughout the show. By the end of a two-day event, I even have difficulty speaking clearly! When an agent has done a bit of research in advance about NACTA and comes to me asking specific questions, I simply love it. I respect the time they have taken to do a bit of research. Of course, this will not be possible for all suppliers because one of the greatest things you enjoy at trade shows is seeing and learning about new programs. Just keep in mind that if you have made that list of your must-stops, it will help to make the stop very focused for both you and the supplier.

3. Get contact information for follow-up
Taking time to find out who you should follow up with should you have other questions is a great idea. Often the representative at the booth is not your local representative, so ask them for the contact information of the individual you should be working with. Having the right name and E-mail address is tremendously helpful when you get home ready to do business.

4. Take Pictures
When you have the opportunity to get up close and personal with an important player in our industry, make it a Kodak moment. Ask if you can have a photo taken with them for your local media. It is best to stand next to this individual right there in front of their booth sign. Today’s digital cameras ensure that you never have a bad shot, either.
Take this photo and write up a press release for your local newspaper about the educational event you attended and highlight some of the interesting facts you learned about the company. If your press release appears to be information of use to the general readership of the paper, you likely will see yourself in print very soon.
If you have clients come to your home office, frame these photos to show your strong presence with the leaders in the travel industry. Agents who have tried this have had great success getting their releases published. It is simply a win-win idea. In fact, I hope to see a great number of you with cameras at the upcoming CRUISE-A-THON.

5. Be social
If the trade show puts on a mixer or other networking event, don’t miss it! These events are wonderful ways to make initial contact with people you’ve never met before. Don’t view these events as the chance to close a deal, but rather as the chance to take the first step down the long, profitable road of friendship and mutual benefit with a new word-of-mouth marketing partner. The most important thing I can impart is that you must approach this with a sense of wanting to learn as much as you can about the other people you’ll meet instead of trying to tell them all about you.

6. Friendships
Sometimes we take a business associate along to a travel industry event and as a result have a constant companion and a built-in comfort zone. While it is always great to enjoy these events with a friend or associate, it is also important to break away and meet new contacts.
You and your friend should make an effort to separate at some events and each meet at least two new contacts you can then introduce to one another. This widens your horizons and helps you to learn new and unique ideas that other agents may have.
Likewise, it is more comfortable and perhaps even more fun to sit with friends at dinners and other social gatherings at a conference — but in doing so you are limiting your exposure to new people and new business ideas. When you sit at a table of new potential friends, reach out your hand in introduction to each person and get to know them. Exchange cards and make a note on the back of each regarding where you met so it will refresh your memory when you return home. A follow-up E-mail might make for the beginning of great networking contacts with like-minded professionals.
I encourage you to come to Seattle and make this event the best it can be for you and for your business. Travel Trade’s CRUISE-A-THONs are like no other shows in the business. They are truly the best there is, because they offer a tremendous educational experience along with a huge family atmosphere.
I look forward to sharing this experience with you and to honoring our beloved Joel and Lenore Abels at the special tribute to these wonderful leaders who enriched so many of our lives.

See you soon in Seattle!