By Bob Shaw

At Travel Trade’s last CRUISE-A-THON in Vancouver, a supplier friend asked me to help staff his company’s booth since they had developed a scheduling conflict. I was pleased to help since that was part of my job years ago at both Ford Motor and Shell Oil.
My experience led me to assemble the following ideas on how to achieve optimum results during the few hours of a LT/C-A-T Trade Show. Relate each of the points below to your own situation and your own business needs. If some of the points need to be tweaked to suit your own situation, by all means, do so.
Suppliers come to trade shows for very specific reasons. Your reasons should be just as specific. That’s why you need a game plan.

Here are some tips to help you maximize the time you spend at a C-A-T Trade Show:

Before leaving for the show:
• List the travel segments that you want to improve on or begin to sell. Boil them down to three top priorities.
• Compare your list to the supplier list attending the trade show.

Find suppliers that match you and your interests:
• Put the suppliers in a specific order based on your priorities.
• Do your homework and research the supplier’s offerings and capabilities.
• Prepare three key questions to ask each of these suppliers.
• Study the trade show floor plan, find your priority suppliers, then plot your strategy.

Once you’re at the Trade Show:
• Go directly to the person in the booth, shake hands and establish eye contact.
• Share business cards and brief pleasantries.
• Move on to your questions and listen carefully to the answers.
• Always remember your most important goal is to establish rapport and hopefully begin a strong, long-term relationship.
• Set follow-up time and plan with the specific outcome desired.
• Make notes later on as you revisit your business priorities.

Think about how you can get the absolute most out of the trade show. Keep your plan simple. Effective results will come from preparation and focus.
Don’t miss a single opportunity or waste a minute at the Trade Show during Travel Trade’s 23rd Annual Leisure Travel/Home Based/Winter CRUISE-A-THON being held Nov. 30 through Dec. 3 in Ft. Lauderdale.

Bob Shaw, owner of Bob Cruise Vacations in Houston, has been in the travel business almost 10 years. He is the Chapter Director for NACTA, Southeast Texas/Houston Area. Recently he was named Regional Area Manager (RAM) for the South/Central States.
Bob’s career has been spent in sales and management for both Ford Motor, Shell Oil as well as owning his own business. He has been a trainer for sales and management for over 30 years and a “business coach” for the last 10 years.