Another Consumer Electronic Show (CES) may have come and gone, but for countless of professionals around the world, there’s a whole year of tech tradeshows to attend. And the next one is coming soon.Though it’s thrilling to travel and meet up with other industry experts, stress tempers this excitement as you await something Cisco Live, Microsoft Ignite, or WWDC. There’s a lot of work involved being a tradeshow attendee. Even a modest seminar brings with it feelings of anxiety as you gear up to a day (or weekend) of non-stop travelling and networking.
Tune into this list if you’re one of the many journalists, marketing professionals, and IT specialists preparing for their next trade show. This guide is full of tips that will help you survive the next big event.
Tip #1: Wear comfortable shoes.
Remember that you’re going to be on your feet for most of the event. Though you want to look your best, you also want to feel your best. Don’t let fashion compromise your comfort during your next trade show, or your feet will be sorry. The shoes that are only tolerable for an hour or two won’t cut it. Leave any footwear that rubs, pinches, or otherwise feels awkward at home and opt for a pair of shoes that you know will carry you through hours of walking.
Tip #2: Bring a refillable water bottle.
During your usual routine, you’re pretty good at getting youreight glasses of water a day, but a trade show can throw you off your game. You’re running from booth to booth, carrying conversations, networking, and managing interviews. It’s far to easy to forget to drink some water when you’re busy schmoozing. Combine this with the dry air of the convention center, and it’s simply a countdown until you suffer from a dehydration headache.
Staying hydrated will keep you on your A-game, so throw a bottle from this list into your bag and remember to sip from it throughout the day. Many convention centers offer convenient refilling stations, so you don’t have to spend $5 on a plastic bottle of water.
Tip #3: Wrap your iPhone X in a skin.
Some of the biggest tech conferences have over 100,000 people in attendance. That’s a lot of competition. You need to do everything you can to stand out from the other attendees. First impressions account for a lot in these situations, so you’ll want to equip your iPhone X with a skin.
They’re a huge advertising tool because of how they can transform your X into an attention-grabbing gadget. For a professional looking decal, check out what the dbrand skin designers have to offer. They have an exclusive partnership with 3M vinyl that lets them offer premium styles you can’t find anywhere else. With their help, you can turn your phone into a slab of marble, a sleeping dragon, or a piece of hardwood.And because of their partnership with 3M, they can guarantee their skins are grime-, scratch-, and water-resistant. That means you can take care of your amazing iPhone X while you show it off.
With a variety of colors and textures at your disposal, you can choose a unique design that sets you apart from the average phone. Once you have your preferred style, you’ll be a walking billboard in a sea of black handsets. Your fellow trade show attendees might not remember your face, but they will remember the person with the bright red carbon fiber iPhone skin.
Tip #4: Bring healthy snacks.
Like getting enough to drink, getting enough to eat can be a challenge during a trade show. Presentations and demos run throughout the day, and they often cut into your typical meal times. Go too long between meals and you’ll get hangry. And nobody likes you when you’re hangry.
Avoid scaring off potential clients by keeping portable, healthy snacks at hand throughout the day. Some great ideas include protein bars, dried fruit, and nuts. These help to keep your blood sugar level even when it’s 4:00pm and the last real meal you had was the hotel’s continental breakfast. Having these snacks handy will also stop you from buying overpriced processed snacks that have zero nutritional content.
Every trade show offers an exciting opportunity to meet new people and get your name out there. But don’t let your eagerness hinder your ability to perform to the best of your ability. Use this list to help you pack properly, so you can feel at your best at every hour of the show.
