One of my favorite things to do at any conference is to visit the exhibit hall. It's a wonderful opportunity to renew industry contacts, to catch up on what's new, to get an education, and to see what's hot and what isn't so hot. The task at large conferences can be daunting, but with a little preparation you can maximize the return on your time investment. Following are a few ideas that may make a difference for you.

1) Review the list of current exhibitors before you arrive and identify those of interest to you.

2) Review the floor plan for the exhibition and mark your targets on the plan.

3) When you arrive, take a brisk walk through the entire exhibition hall. Start at one end and walk the halls, resisting the urge to stop, and check out any exhibits. This will give you a great overview of who is where, who has large and small booths, who hasn't shown up yet, and who is there that you somehow missed while reviewing the list of exhibitors.

4) Now you're ready to get down to business. There's no right way to walk the floor but it makes sense to me to combine hitting your highest priority exhibitors with a logical path through the hall. This will, of course, depend on how much time you set aside for the exhibition. You did set aside time for this didn't you?

5) I've worked many trade shows and it's a tiring and taxing place to be for the exhibitors. Recognize that and be great with everyone. I ignore booths where the exhibitors are lounging around talking with each other and expressing little or no interest in me. On the other hand, if the exhibitors are upbeat, interested, and engaging I'm likely to talk with them even if they are not on my schedule.

6) For booths where I have something particular in mind that I want to find out, I let the person who greats me know what I'm looking for and ask them if they are the best person to talk with. If not, then I ask who else they can hook me up with. I've seen many lame demonstrations in my time and I'm not interested in seeing a demo led by someone who knows less than I do.

7) One of the best times to be on the exhibit floor is when the free food and drink is being offered. Those who know me are groaning at this but my main reason for stating this is that these are the times when most attendees will actually be on the floor. Since my #1 reason for attending any trade show is to network with existing and potential colleagues, this is the time that I want to be there.

8) Most everyone wants to hand you their giveaways. It saves a lot of time if you just accept everything. You can always trash it later if you or someone you know doesn't have a use for it. I give my business card to everyone who asks and drop it in each fish bowl. I don't see the point in protecting my identity at trade shows. Most times every vendor has your information from the attendee list before the event starts anyway.

9) If you're ever at a loss as to what to see next, just engage someone in conversation and ask them what they recommend. I ask questions such as "What's the hottest thing you've seen this week?" or "Who's your biggest competitor that's exhibiting here?"

10) Sometimes, I get tired and just want to sit and rest. That's great too. There are usually other folks sitting and resting to talk to.

If you'd like to get to together with me at Ere Expo 2007 Spring, please let me know by emailing me here