Can I Buy You a Drink?

There have been many articles written on trade shows. I’ve certainly written a few of them myself. But here is one from a different perspective.

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Please Visit Our Booth #1234!

In January we have two significant trade shows in the east and the west. As is the case every year, flurries of e-mails come from suppliers asking that we visit their booths at these shows. The question I ask is why?

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A Supplier Nightmare and Why Should You Go to Trade Shows

Full disclosure here… I like trade shows. I believe good business is based on strong relationships and trade shows give me the opportunity to meet face-to-face with my colleagues.

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Trade Shows… My Perspective. What’s Yours?

There are few topics in our industry that stimulate more lively discussion then trade shows. Are there too many? What do you really get out of them? What will you miss if you don’t go? And the question that seems to be hotly debated recently… should industry trade shows allow hosted end-users to attend?

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Thinking Outside the Price

In observing a recent sales conversation, I wondered why the salesperson had automatically assumed that price and saving money were the most important factors to the CMO.

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2008 Editors Picks

To wrap up the year, I wanted to take a minute to share the promotional products that the team at Promo Marketing found to be the most desirable. With each of us having reviewed hundreds of products for the magazine and seen hundreds more at trade shows, I thought the choice might be difficult. But, to my surprise, within five seconds of the asking, each of my co-workers had an answer they were sure of. Their choices (and mine) are as follows:
Michael Cornnell: Symphony Handmade Paper—Recipe Bookmarks
“What’s not to like about handmade paper?”
Kyle Richardson: Minya International—The Butt Station
“I don’t

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Trade Show Hangover

It’s not a literal hangover, but I have to say three trade shows in five weeks really takes a toll on one. The latest and greatest trip was to Dallas, where I did not get to visit Dealy Plaza, but where I did get to meet a ton of people and add to our growing product video library. Keep an eye on the Web site for new videos from companies like Pro Towels (who all call me Chaz) and Snugz (starring national sales manager Sydra Newell). By the end of the third day both the camera and myself had enough. Ugh.<br

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