Whether you’ve attended hundreds of trade shows or you’re attending your first one, networking can be an intimidating aspect of your trip. You might spend time staffing your company’s booth and going to panels, but you have to fill your networking pipeline as well. Having a strategy going into your trade show is essential—not only taking into account professional development but building connections too.
1. Make a list of categories of people you want to meet.
While you might see a list of speakers and attendees on the trade show site, not everyone has time to research those folks. A list of types of people you want to meet can be just as effective. Maybe you’re looking to talk to salespeople in the logistics management space or marketing managers in higher education. These categories can be based on your customer personas—the ideal people who will purchase your product or service. And when you’re engaging with folks on the floor, you can identify those who fit into those personas.
If you do have some extra time, it might be worth looking at the vendors on the trade show website. Identify a couple booths you want to visit. Make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes—especially if they’re going to be far away from your booth.
2. Have some conversation starters to pull from.
You always have the standard trade show questions surrounding what brought an attendee to the show, what that person does, and where they work. In order to keep a conversation going, try adding in:
What prompted you to start your current career path?
Where did you go to school?
Have you read any good books lately?
Do you have any podcast recommendations?
While your goal is more of a snapshot of each person rather than understanding everything about them, it doesn’t hurt to find out unique aspects of their personality or interesting hobbies to circle back to in future conversations.
3. Tell people to meet you somewhere neutral outside of the show.
When you establish a mutually beneficial networking connection, you may want to continue the conversation. Reserve a table at your hotel’s restaurant, or if you’ve booked your hotel room far enough in advance, see if you can get some conference room time. You can also make a list of coffee shops or bars surrounding the conference location and plan for some time there. You want to maximize your time at the show, and while you don’t want to cut off good conversations, try to meet as many people as possible without overwhelming yourself on the floor. (And give other people the chance to make more connections before they leave as well.)
If you can’t continue developing a connection while you’re traveling, you can always continue the conversation virtually. A great way to do this is to connect with that person on LinkedIn before the initial meeting is over. You can have them scan your LinkedIn QR code to connect or you can scan theirs.
4. If you can’t help someone, you’re allowed to end a conversation.
Sometimes, when you’re having a conversation with someone, you realize you won’t be a beneficial connection to them. Networking is all about helping before you ask for favors. And if you can’t help, you can end a conversation. You can excuse yourself to go check on your booth, say you need to attend a meeting, go get lunch, or otherwise. If you’re able to introduce that person to someone in your existing network that might offer some benefit, you can direct them to that individual. Just because you’ve decided to stop talking to them doesn’t mean you’re being rude.
5. Design your booth to be a magnet.
Passive networking isn’t always the solution, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. If you’re working a booth, make sure you have some parts of your booth that are conversation starters. For example, create a photo scavenger hunt in which people have to tag your company’s social media pages and use a branded hashtag. Rent some massage chairs for people who have been on their feet all day. Or have charging stations for social media managers who have been on their phones constantly—and anyone else who needs a quick boost. Keeping people in and around your trade show environment offers you more chances to build a networking relationship with them.
Trade shows attract all types of attendees which is why they can be so valuable for business owners and team members looking to expand their networks. Continue to show up authentically and bring value to all the trade shows you attend next year—and the rest of this year.