ADVICE TO BUYERS GOING TO A TRADE-SHOW, DON'T VISIT YOUR OWN MERCHANDISE!
by Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling

For those who are about to attend their first trade show, let me give you six pieces of advice my mentor's taught me when I first started my buying career almost 40 years ago. These six guidelines continue to be as true today as they were when I began.

GUIDELINE #1 - It is not a buyer's job to visit what the business already owns or uses! It is comfortable visiting those showrooms or booths offering familiar products and services. However, trade-shows are not a place to be comfortable. They offer an opportunity to learn what was not known before. It is the buyer's job to see everything offered at a show. Do not spend one minute longer than absolutely necessary with current vendors. Buyers should see what current vendors have to offer that is new . . . and then be on their way.

Start each day very early, and quit after 5 or 6 hours. Take only those breaks that are essential. A mind can only take in so much information. Retire, with co-workers if part of a group, to review all the papers and notes gathered that day. Make additional notes as they come to mind. Do this each day. It will help make better buying decisions.

GUIDELINE #2 - Orders should not be written at a show. If, like most industries, orders do not have to be written at the show, start taking notes by category - material, use, size, application, etc. Get numbers, prices, and information on the potential products and services applicable to the buyer's business.

However, if orders must be written at the show, then it is important to go well prepared by being armed with information about what has been used during the past six months or year, what is needed, what is asked for, and what has been missing from the firm's mix of products and services.

It takes time to think about what might be bought and how those products or services might fit in the buyer's business's environment. The poorest buying decisions are made when in the vendor's environment. Do not worry about not giving orders at a show; buyers are not at the show to help vendors justify their time, energy, and money.

GUIDELINE #3 Walk the entire show four times. Yes, four times! Buyers are spending their/their firm's money; walking the show four times is a good way to spend it. This is especially true when buyers attend a show for the first time.

The 1st walk through is to see who is there and what is where. This is done by going into every booth and showroom. Look high, and low, and behind every door, and not just what is on the middle shelves, in the center of the display, or what is being featured. Ask lots of questions -- questions asked as if one knows absolutely nothing about what they are looking at even if you do know. It is surprising what one will learn by playing dumb.

The 2nd time around the show is by category -- visiting vendors in groups of like products and services. It is a form of comparing apples with apples and oranges with oranges.

The idea is not to worry about writing orders or spending money. The task up to and through the second circuit is to learn about what services and products are available. By the end of the second tour, what to eliminate and what should still be considered becomes evident.

More important, during the second tour it is time to plan presentations about products or services still under consideration or have been purchased and those now out of contention. Presentations will have to be made both internally about what was seen, eliminated, will be or has been bought (to superiors, associates, and staff) and, eventually, externally (to the firm's customers).

For inexperienced buyers, the first two circuits through the market can take longer than one day, maybe two or more days. This is not a negative. Having been through the show twice will give new buyers lots more information to work with.

The 3rd trip through the show is to investigate in further depth those products and services under consideration for purchase. Ask for as much material and information as possible: catalogs, price lists, etc. Be sure to ask for information concerning the results of others having used the vendor's products or services.

The 4th and last circuit is an important factor in the learning process and can result in giving added value to attending a show. After decisions to buy or not to buy are out of the way, the task is to critique the way every vendor treats customers. Revisit each booth or showroom. Review the way you were treated or the way presentations were made. If you did not like either, you have learned what not to do when you go to make your presentations. If you did like the way you were treated or the way a vendor made a presentation, you can apply this to your presentations.

Some things to review, for example: Did they have enough information available? Did they use unfamiliar terms? If they did, did they define those terms so that others might understand what they meant? Were prices visible and easily read? Were their presentations understandable and logical? Were they prepared for questions? Were they interested in buyers' needs for information or were they only interested in getting an order?

GUIDELINE #4 - Buyers should not look for things for their personal use! Buyers are not sent to a show to outfit their own home or wardrobe, etc. If personal shopping is a must, take an extra day and go shopping.

GUIDELINE #5 - Comparing similar businesses is a function that should be accomplished at a show. Buyers should make an effort to meet other buyers and people known as leaders in similar firms. Many times, others find products or services before they come on the market. Some have experience using them. Often, as others talk about their problems, it will help solve your problems or will keep your firm from doing something that will become a problem.

GUIDELINE #6 - After returning from a show, it is time to review the notes taken and information gathered. Part of the review should be to walk through the business and try to picture how these new products and service fit into what the firm is doing or is planning to do.

Finally, it is time to make buying decisions. If needed, contact vendors for additional information before making the decision to buy or not to buy. If there are questions, have these questions ready to ask. Do not expect vendors to be mind readers. They will only supply answers to questions asked. If a point is not raised, they will see no reason for addressing it.

If these six guidelines are followed, the time and effort in going to trade shows will prove profitable. Writing orders will be easier and can be done with confidence. To the best of one's ability, the buyer's/firm's money will be spent wisely. If a show is "worked" correctly, the largest amount of money spent will be for lodging, food, and beverages.

This article was written to help you and your business. If you believe some of these articles will be helpful to your business, please e-mail me your comments on how you will apply them. ajz

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Copyright © 2000-2007 Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling, Portland, OR. All rights reserved.

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