It seems like every sales person in New England right now is talking about the upcoming tradeshow, EASTEC. They’re offering free tickets, cool samples or a free lunch but what are you really getting out of taking a day away from getting work done in your shop? Do the benefits of attending EASTEC really outweigh the costs? Well here are a few good reasons you might want to consider attending, some of which you may not have really considered.
- Learn what’s new & where things are heading – many manufacturer’s use trade shows such as EASTEC to unveil their newest products. It’s a great way for them to promote new ideas as well as get immediate market feedback. So if you want to get the first look at the newest industry technologies, this is the place for you! Tradeshows are also a great way to get a read on the pulse of the industry. If everyone’s talking about a certain technology that’s a pretty good indication of where the market is going.
- Network with other attendees – often you think only of the conversations you’ll have with people working in the booths at the show, but what about the opportunities to talk with other attendees? Be sure to bring a stack of business cards as this is a great chance to meet potential customers, prospective employees or future business partners.
- Check out the competition – EASTEC provides a unique opportunity to see what your local competitors are doing. What types of equipment are they investing in, what markets are they pursuing, what suppliers they are using, etc.
- Get inspiration – often as you walk the show floor you’ll see new ways of doing things that you haven’t thought of before. These new ideas can send you back to the office with ideas on how to streamline a process, operate more efficiently and ultimately be more profitable. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh perspective to change the course of a business.
- Meet with exhibitors – most people think of this in terms of the attendee listening to the sales pitch of the exhibitor but there can be a whole more to it than that. This can be a great time to observe companies you’re considering doing business with and get a sense of the company culture. It can also be a great chance to give your feedback to vendors that you’ve bought from in the past. Most companies find that kind of customer feedback invaluable in the development of their new products and product improvements.
- Gain firsthand experience – there’s nothing better than getting the chance to actually put your hands on the machine you’re considering purchasing. Seeing something in operation can help you get answers to your questions as well as give you considerations you may have missed such as do we have enough ceiling height in the location we planned on putting this? Or is the employee we planned to have run this really the right choice? In addition, you’ll get to hear the kinds of questions other attendees are asking which could be invaluable.
- Compare multiple products – there’s nowhere easier to see how the competition stacks up than a tradeshow. This is really the only time you’ll find multiple vendors of the same product all under one roof. In an afternoon, you can check out the top 5 OEM’s and do a thorough comparison. It’s also a great chance to compare multiple product lines offered within one company.
- An efficient purchasing process – another advantage of being able to compare products is the ability to take weeks out of the purchasing process. It can be a major ordeal to get all of the decision makers from your company together multiple times to meet with sales people from several companies, travel to several demos, and then negotiate back and forth on pricing and final purchasing details. EASTEC can combine all of these in to one day saving you countless man hours. At the end of the day, you want the best solution to your problem not the lengthy process it can often take to get there.
- Get a deal – every vendor wants to make sales at the show. Often they have equipment in the booth that they don’t want to have to ship back across the country and they’re eager to make you a great deal. In addition, vendors are sitting on a huge expense to be at the show and sales from the show help justify the cost of being there. They also know that you can easily walk around the corner and start talking to one of their competitors, so for attendees this can mean a great chance to find exactly what you need at a fraction of the normal cost.
- Find the specific solution for your needs – most vendors will bring in a variety of their best talent for tradeshows. This can include technical experts, application specialists, software engineers, and finance professionals. All of these people can be a valuable resource that you might not otherwise have access to during the purchasing process. Take this opportunity to pick their brains and get solutions custom tailored to your company’s needs.
EASTEC is fast approaching and with any luck the weather will be sunny and warm so think beyond the push of the sales person and make the drive over to the Big E. There are at least 10 good reasons that it will be worth your effort.