The MUST ATTEND Event Of 2017
Colin Bockman explains why you and your Team should make plans to attend the Expo in Melbourne April 6-8.
In the last issue of our trade journals I covered aspects of attending the Expo including taking your key team members with you and splitting up to attend the Seminars, and then ‘reporting back’ to each other, as a way of not only learning but even more importantly, of ensuring that the learning was shared.
Now I want to give you a heads-up on the most productive ways to attend the Exhibitors Stands.
The interaction and the enjoyment of being able to talk and touch and feel items at your leisure is great. You’ll even run your hands over the surface of a disc pad as if your fingers are trained to be a gauge for wear resistance or potential stopping power of the pad. Of course being Mechanically minded people, that is exactly what we like to do. Point is, you are in a position very different from when a Rep calls and you just can’t invest the time needed to take on-board all the info you’d like to, so often Workshop Owners miss out on knowing what is available and how it can benefit them.
A similar outcome can also happen at the Expo as there are so many Exhibits to view and limited time, and you can get caught up ‘talking shop’, which is nice and sociable but prevents you from gaining maximum value from your visits to the Exhibitors. Solution – don’t allow the interaction to be anything other than productive. How ? – by asking the key questions and stating your Business Profile in that question. Eg: “ My Workshop sees a lot more Euro Vehicles now, mainly VWs and with my 3 guys we are sometimes stretched with our current Diagnostics, what Solutions do you have for that scenario”
By using this Profile followed by desired solution approach, you will get an immediate response directed at your solution options. It takes less time, makes it brilliantly easy for the Exhibitor to advise and discuss, and very importantly you don’t have any confusing info to deal with. So that is how you can make it Definitely Not, just another trade show. Oh and a side note. Use your phone in a way you may not have thought of doing before.
Take photos of course, BUT then go to Voice Memos and do a quick talk eg: “ at the EXY stand, photo of ABC equipment. Can be bought for $95 per month over 36 months … do maths for ROI” you may think you look like a dork talking into your phone, who cares! When you get back to your Workshop you will be able to quickly review and take action. Just listen back to the recording, it won’t take long, as you will have only put on it things that need actioning. It works gang-busters and you will find you are able to have gained real value for your time invested at the Expo. Enjoy !
More details go to www.aftermarketexpo.com.au
