Rock Your Trade Show

If you are considering your future career, are interested in learning how to lead a team abroad, or want to know how to win leadership buy-in, this interview is just for you. Julie Kim, Head of International Value Demonstration & Access at Shire, shares incredible tips and advice in this interview.  Julie provides key insights about making difficult career decisions, how to navigate cultural challenges in a global role and so much more!  Check out this episode and get ideas you can use to take action today.

Making Career Choices

• Career decisions-whether big or small, requires analyzing the benefits and the costs personally. Julie shares how she took a year to evaluate the benefits and possible down side to moving abroad.
• It is important to have a dialogue early on with your partner/family, so when an opportunity comes up, you are prepared.
• Do a final check and ask-"what does your gut tell you-will I/we come out better in the end".
• Look at your career as a "lattice" instead of a ladder-"think about what experience you want and what are you looking for" and the steps needed to deliberately achieve that role.
• When considering a career change- think about what experience you want- and determine what you are looking for in a position. If you have an end goal it will help you plan out all of the steps.
• Look at what experience you need to have to make you a strong leader in an area. Sometimes it requires you to take on roles that are a step back to move forward.  You have to be willing to learn the basics if needed in order to advance.
• Look at opportunities carefully before deciding to make a change. A role that is a promotion may sound great on paper-but if the manager isn't a good fit and there is another role that is a lateral role but the manager has a track record of helping lift up others it may be better in the long run.
• Decide what gives you energy and what doesn't give you energy.

Leading Global Teams

• Keep an open mindset. Don't assume that speaking the same language means everyone will communicate in the same way
• Understand culture with teams in different regions of the world and how people give and receive information.
• Leading global teams requires sensitivities to how different cultures communicate ideas.
• Choose words wisely. Direct communication in the U.S. is received differently in other countries.

 Mentors vs. Sponsors

• Mentors help with situational issues, and day to day experiences.
• Sponsors advocate for you on your behalf when you are not present.
• Sponsors will challenge you and make you uncomfortable and push you in a direction you may feel you aren't yet ready.
• Sponsors don't have the time to work on day to day but are there to help with big decisions.

Leadership Decision Process

• One of the biggest challenges for executives is they don't have a lot of time.
• Present ideas with clarity. Most people don't have clear messages and take too long.
• The story must be clear and have data to back it up.
• Business cases that have great data but the message isn't clear may not get approval.
• Know the people who will be in the room. If you don't have personal relationship with leaders in the room-leverage your network and understand their point of view before the meeting.  The more you understand where they are the better you can make your message relevant to them.
• Do your homework before you present and be ready to answer questions.

Julie shares how she is inspired by hearing patient stories and it makes her want to work harder knowing the impact the work her company has on people's lives.

Find more interviews like this one at www.rockyourtradeshow.com

Credits: A big thanks as always to Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Have you ever had fear or lack of confidence hold you back from doing something you really wanted to do?  Chantelle Anderson, Founder VC Consulting International, former WNBA professional athlete and TEDX speaker, shares how "we all start out confident…and then something happens and we are taught to be less confident".  Chantelle tells her personal story and one of the best answers to "what makes you qualified to do this job".  Listen and get Chantelle's super tips on how you can build "visible confidence" and take action today!

5 Actions to Boost Your Confidence

1. Make a Fear Resume. "Every time you were afraid to do something and did it anyway, write it down and prove it to yourself that you were able to do it any way". This is your personal document on selling yourself that you can do things that scare you.
2. Banish fear with visualization. Think about a moment when you were successful and visualize how you felt afterwards.  Chantelle says when she has any fear she thinks about her experience jumping out of a plane.
3. Respond to a difficult question using a personal story. The best way to show someone you can do something is to share a story. Chantelle tapped into her past and demonstrated during two job interviews why she was qualified and she received job offers for both, by answering the question "why are you qualified" in a bold way.  Listen to the full interview to hear what happened next.

"You have everything you need to get everything you need." - CHANTELLE ANDERSON 

1. Confidence is a skill. Everyone has doubts and questions themselves and the key is not to spend too much time thinking about it. It takes practice to build resiliency to bounce back when there is a setback.  Refer to your fear or courage resume.
2. Increase confidence by using this technique -Ask Listen ACT. Ask yourself a question about confidence (you can get Chantelle's 7 questions here), listen to the answers and then take action. Evaluate where you are, how confident you are, what areas you are lacking confidence and then take action.

If you think you don't need to build confidence, think again.  There is a cost to feeling afraid, and it isn't only monetary or about career advancement.  There is a cost to relationships, personal well-being and so much more.  Find out how you can build confidence at www.visibleconfidence.com.

Credits: Thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode.

If you would like more episodes like this one, visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com/podcast now.

Are you looking to use storytelling to communicate messages about your products or services?  Listen to this episode with Miri Rodriguez, Microsoft Storyteller for IT Showcase. Miri shares how you can connect with customers on a deeper more meaningful level using story. Microsoft has 4,000 Storytellers worldwide which is nearly 5% of their employees and they have a Storytelling Summit to share best practices together.

If you want to try storytelling but aren't sure where to start, this interview will give you the blueprint to get started and a little more!

7 Storytelling Tips to Accelerate Customer Connections

1. Visualize your audience to make an instant connection. Whether you are speaking to one person or one thousand each person will be drawn in when they feel you connect with them.
2. Bring a local element into the conversation. If you are meeting with someone for the first time, or are on the trade show floor with an attendee, or delivering a keynote-include a personal experience about the area you are in to engage with the audience whether it is one person or hundreds of people
3. Use a personal story to share product solutions. Instead of identifying the problem (the what), include stories from the people behind a product and describe their "why" for wanting to solve a customer's challenge.  The person listening will relate and feel like the solution relates to them.
4. On the trade show floor story will help to create interest. The promise of the story is that it leads someone in: "Can I share with you something you haven't heard about…" and tell the person/audience unexpected information.
5. Every Story needs 5 elements, Central Character, Suspense, Foreshadowing, Surprise and a Conclusion. The best story invites the central character (your audience) to make the conclusion their own.
6. Make the customer the central Character of the story. The person listening will become immersed in the story when they see themselves in it.
7. The journey of a story ends with a great conclusion.  The central character making the conclusion their own. When the person you are speaking to immerses themselves so much that they draw their own conclusion the story was successful.

Telling stories is an art and takes practice.  Miri recommends her mentor James Whittaker as a resource to help provide information you can use.

Connect with Miri Rodriguez on LinkedIn and on Twitter @MiriRod.

Credits: A big thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!

What needs to happen before we are ready to reset our work-life balance? Fawn Germer, best-selling author, Pulitzer prize nominated journalist and keynote speaker, shares in this interview how to get clarity and make change happen. If you have ever hesitated to step outside of your comfort zone or resisted making a change for fear of failure, Fawn shared 10 inspirational tips to help you make your first move to taking action.

10 Power Tips to Make Change Happen

1. Don't let others define who you are. Fawn shared how she worked for a "bosshole" and the moment she realized that his attempts to hold her back was his problem she felt free to take action.
2. Push through to the other side. After writing 29 letters to Oprah, Fawn's first book "Hard Won Wisdom" was featured as a "Must Read" on Oprah's show.  Listen to interview to hear what happened next.
3. Dig deep and be prepared. All really good things to happen in our lives don't come easy and when we expect obstacles it gives us inner power to be flexible to alter our plan without stopping in our tracks.
4. Always believe in who you are. This is a biggie that most of us struggle with and yet we can feel totally liberated if we stop looking at the small things we wish we had or could do and celebrate who we are.  Fawn shared a personal insight about herself and how she accepts the truth and ignores imperfections.
5. Positive affirmations have power to make real change. Sometimes words can't always wash away sadness or despair like a death of a family member.  Choose words that allow you to move into the emotion and be kind to yourself in where you are on the journey.  

"I do believe I am feeling stronger every day" –Fawn Germer.

1. Practice makes reality happen. Fawn recommends if you write down an idea 50x a day for 2 weeks, and 25x a day for 2 weeks and 10x a day for 2 weeks, change will come and you will have re-written the script.
2. "Fall down seven times get up eight". This Japanese Proverb that highlights the importance and necessity to get up one more time.
3. Segment your work life. Realize that work is not who you are-don't measure yourself by it. People in your life and the difference you make should be the method you use to be your best self.
4. Choose Optimism. If you are feeling risk adverse or afraid of failure, go towards the feeling and decide to pass through it.
5. Setting a goal is about finding clarity. Fawn shared how in her best-selling book "Work-Life Reset" finding what you love, taking time to disengage will lead to clarity of knowing what to do.

You can find more about Fawn at www.fawngermer.com where there are fantastic resources, her books and information about keynote speaking and more.

If you would like to talk about the tips in this interview and find how to push through, reach out to me, I love hearing from you!

Credits:  A special thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you ever wanted to really connect with your audience in a presentation? Christine DiDomenico, an Event Marketing Strategist, shares her personal story of being an "accidental trade show presenter" to becoming a strategic marketing leader within her organization.  If you need to communicate a message that resonates with stakeholders and ultimately win their buy-in this interview is just for you.

Christine shares her journey of transforming her role from a logistical resource to becoming a strategic part of marketing and how you can too with these tips below.

8 Power Tips to Connecting with Your Audience

1. Know what is important.  Whether you are presenting to a group of peers at a conference or to an internal team, the first thing to do is find out what matters most and start by sharing information that is relevant and of interest.
2. Introduce an idea using data. The fastest way to show proof of concept is having the numbers to back it up. If you want to achieve change in an organization, sharing market research on the competition for example helps reinforce the "why" for doing something different in your marketing approach.
3. Prepare for the unexpected. Christine shares how she took Improv classes to help her be ready for any situation when speaking publically. Having the ability to shift gears during a presentation can be the difference between winning or losing the audience's attention.
4. Embrace being vulnerable. In meetings with colleagues, leadership or a session at a conference there is a common interest by attendees to hear authentic stories that allow the listener to understand how success was achieved. 
5. Engage with the audience. When presenting ask questions that can be shared with the group.  Using a live audience response not only engages the audience but it provides data that can be shared within your organization.
6. Earn trust by speaking their language. Christine suggests creating a framework that makes you the subject matter expert so that when you deliver key message they make sense to your audience.  If for example you are presenting ways to increase leads at a trade show-start with here are recommendations on how to increase the quality of customer interactions that will lead to increased sales results.
7. Keep it simple. Attendees at an industry conference and colleagues in a strategy meeting all understand information if it is shared in a digestible format. Be brief, succinct and to the point so that your messages are understood easily.
8. Change perceptions by asking an unexpected question. Sometimes all it takes is asking "who owned the show" as Christine described to start a discussion on realities of the competitive landscape.

If you want to find more power tips like these, check out www.rockyourtradeshow.com and if you have questions about how to win leadership support, reach out to me, I love hearing from you!

Resources: If you are looking for ways to improve public speaking check out Karen Hough and Improv Edge.

Credits: As always a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you ever been asked to come up with a fresh idea but weren't sure where to start? We all have opportunities to solve problems and how we approach the process makes a big impact on the outcome.  Finding new ways to tackle a challenge is the inspiration for this episode using strategies found in the book "Creative Confidence Unleashing The Creative Potential Within us all" by bestselling authors and co-founders of IDEO Tom Kelley and David Kelley who is also the founder of the d. School at Stanford.  

How does design thinking transform into creative confidence in real life? One of the most memorable stories shared in the book is about Doug Dietz, who works at GE Healthcare to develop high tech Medical Imaging Systems. Dietz discovered that many children had a very strong fear of experiencing the scan and needed to be sedated. Instead of looking at the obvious and expensive way to make a change which would have been the MRI machine, Dietz and his team approached changing the experience for children instead. The outcome transformed how kids felt about the scan and reduced the need for sedation prior to the test.

If you aren't sure how to look at a problem and solve it in a new way, check out the 8 steps shared by Tom and David Kelley to help you turn a blank page into a canvas filled with ideas.

1. Choose Creativity: before starting to come up with new ideas, decide first that you want to try a new method of problem solving.
2. Think Like a Traveler: If you have ever gone to a new city or country for the first time, your senses are more in tune with the world around you. Tap into that feeling of wonderment and be open to seeing the world differently.
3. Engage Relaxed Attention: the best ideas come when the mind is quiet-when you first wake up, or after meditating an idea may come to you.
4. Empathize with Your End User: the better you understand the mindset of who the solution is for, the solution will come to you.
5. Do Observations in the Field: Look for things that are out of sight not obvious.  Think of an archaeologist who uncovers a find at a dig.
6. Ask Questions Starting With "Why": for example if you ask someone why they are using something that is relatively obsolete it could be more about change and less about features.
7. Re-frame Challenges: ask questions in a different way-from another point of view.
8. Build a Creative Support Network: one of the keys to creativity is having people who can collaborate with you to brainstorm ideas.

Once you have decided on your problem to solve make sure you use bite size actions to stay on track. The authors suggest these three tips to make it easier to take action.

• Start with one "doable" piece to the problem. At the end of the brainstorm session, prioritize your needs.
• Narrow your goal-don't start with a monumental problem, look for something that you can impact.
• Create milestones-it is very helpful to establish deadlines and include interim touch points so it isn't here is the challenge and then here is the solution. Having progress check points along the way makes it much easier to manage and arrive at the goal.

David and Tom Kelley have so many great insights in this book and at the end there are tangible exercises you and your team can try to practice your creative confidence muscle.  This quote as it circles back to being in tune with the world around us:

"Take Time to ask yourself each day "When was I at my best". - David Kelley. The answer may surprise you.

If you would like help to solving a problem using design thinking, reach out to me at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/letstalk.

Find more topics just like this one at www.rockyourtradeshow.com

Credits:

Inspiration for this book is thanks to Laine Mann and Don Schmid from Pfizer.

A big thanks as  always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Most of us hear the word networking and the first image that pops into our heads, is a room full of people who don't know one another exchanging business cards.  If your palms are getting sweaty and your heart is racing a little thinking about going to an event and meeting a room full of strangers-don't worry!  This episode is about helping you build your internal network…with people you either know directly or aspire to know within your organization.

8 Power Tips to Network Up

1. Boost Your Confidence First: In her Tedx Talk, Kathy Caprino suggests we should write down 20 Facts of what you have done-and don't hold back. This should be something that you feel really proud about and want to share with others. You will be able to use these 20 ideas in step 2

2. Prepare Before You Ask. If you are getting ready to schedule a one-on-one with a leader, be ready with something to talk about.  Think about an idea that would really resonate with that person like a new way to increase results on the show floor, a training technique, a proven marketing technique from outside your industry that you think would work internally.

3. Start with Your Immediate Circle. Before leaping forward to the CEO, take some practice steps by asking a senior leader in your division, or who is on your team for a meeting. 

4. Set Expectations. The higher the leader is within your company the less time they have for meetings so offer a time limit of 15-20 minutes.

5. Practice Before You Meet. Write down what you plan to say, and then practice it so that you are able to confidently express your idea.  I heard a story about a football player who was asked if their coach was inspirational and that was the reason for their winning season.  The player responded that it had nothing to do what the coach said, the team practiced the plays 1,000 times so they became second nature.

6. Offer Value During the Meeting. The leader you are meeting with his most likely a lot of pressure to deliver results.  If you can turn your idea into a way that will help them they will feel that meeting with you was a good idea-and they may want to meet with you again!

7. Show Gratitude. After the meeting, don't walk away and never take action.  The first thing you should do is send a thank you for the idea, with a one sentence recap and most importantly let them know how you are going to take action from the discussion.

8. Time to Network Up. You practiced, you met with a leader and you followed up.  You are ready to do this process all over again now with someone at an even higher level.

Bonus Tip: If you feel like there is no way for you to reach executive leaders there are two ways things you can do to gain access.

The first is to be on a committee where they are sponsor-for example if there is a Diversity and Inclusion group and the executive sponsor is someone you would like to meet, join their committee. 

The second is to find out their schedule and if they show up at 6:30 AM or stay late-you may need to do the same to have an opportunity to speak with them.  An earlier episode with Katie Lewandroski included both of these tactics and it helped her gain visibility and speak with senior leaders.

Now it is your turn, come up with an idea and share it with a senior leader in your vertical area first.  Watch how fast progress will happen, expand your circle of influence and be prepared for great things to happen when you take all the steps to network up.  And if you want to turn the volume up on your circle of influence, reach out to me, I love connecting with you!

Visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com for more tips and advice and the full article with tips on building confidence before you network.

Reference: Kathy Caprino TEDx Centennial Park Women "Time to Brave Up" https://youtu.be/7ZypRbxVekM

Credits: A big thank you to Christy Haussler of Team Podcast for editing this episode.

When you hear the words Emotional Intelligence what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Oftentimes, we are introspective and think about how we respond to a certain situation or how we felt during a difficult conversation.  EQ is much more than how we react and is about being keenly aware of others.

"Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships."        Doctors Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves - Emotional Intelligence 2.0

EQ is important in how effectively we lead and communicate ideas according to psychologist, Daniel Goleman, helped spread the impact of emotional intelligence and breaks it down into five categories: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.  Think about the possibilities if we integrate Dr. Goleman's categories into face-to-face marketing.

5 Ways to Implement EQ at Your Next Trade Show

1. Empathy – Shift the mindset from what "we hope to achieve" to why the customer is at the conference.  Deliver a message that helps attendees find solutions to their top concern in a short amount of time.
2. Self-awareness- Sales teams should be approachable and open for dialogue.  Resist the temptation to talk with other employees and focus on learning all that you can about attendees who visit the exhibit.
3. Self-regulation – Always demonstrate through verbal and non-verbal messages that you are present when you have the chance to engage and interact with an attendee. 
4. Motivation -The drive behind why you are at this conference must start with solving a problem for your key customer and not about sales volume or monetary goals.  Let service be the inspiration for demonstrating results.
5. Social skills – Practice how messages are delivered in conversations with attendees.  Focus on gathering information first then share solutions instead of telling your story bring the attendees story into your solution.

When we start with empathy, the other person feels more comfortable in interacting with us.  This can have powerful engagement effect and results on attendees feeling that they can know like and trust the representatives in the trade show exhibit.

"People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel." —Maya Angelou

If you are curious how you rate on an emotional EQ scale you can take the EQ test, the answer may surprise you.  The good news is with a little practice we all can improve our Emotional EQ.  Get your Free Download at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/EQ.

References for this episode:

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Doctors Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves

Harvard Business Review  HBR's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence with featured article "What Makes a Leader?" by Daniel Goleman

Six Seconds "Practicing Emotional Intelligence" By Dr. Joshua Freedman

Emotional Intelligence Test-Take the EQ Test

Emotional Intelligence Leadership by Mind Tools Content Team

Credits: A big thank you as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you wanted to show an innovative idea but weren't sure how to get it approved? Lesly Marban, Chief Marketing Officer of Medline Industries, Inc. shares key insights in this interview on how her company approaches marketing over 350,000 products including why starting with the customer's needs first is so important. Find out how to innovate and communicate effectively to sales, get ideas approved with leadership and create content that gets remembered in this interview.

7 Unique Ways to Market to Internal and External Customers

1. Always start by placing the customer's needs first. Whether your company has many products or one, the marketing approach is more effective when you work backwards from the customer to the products.
2. Use experts to provide customer insights.  In a changing industry like healthcare, it is important to have people who understand customer behaviors and also what the overall landscape looks like for things like reimbursement and trends in the marketplace.
3. Deliver marketing information in a consumable format. Lesly shared how she discovered the benefit of using a podcast to share information with the salesforce. 
4. Communicate product information using video. When employees see products being used or hear testimonials they retain the information.
5. Create a unique experience for company events. One way to make a national sales meeting more memorable is to have a fun theme for employees. Lesly gave an example of employees and their families were able to share in the experience.
6. Get approvals faster by knowing your audience. Talk with key stakeholders before making a presentation and find out who carries weight in making decisions and who might be a detractor. Align yourself before the presentation with an advocate who can help move your idea forward behind the scenes.
7. Win leadership support with a proof of concept. It is always better to test out something on a small sale first.  When you are able to demonstrate the impact of an idea, engagement or strategy, there will be a greater chance that the idea will be approved on a bigger scale.                                                                                                                    Favorite Resource: Four Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney and Sean Covey on managing a big team.  For more information about Medline Industries: www.medline.com

   If you are looking to attract, connect and engage with your target audience, reach out to me I love hearing from you! Find more interviews, tips and advice at www.rockyourtradeshow.com

   Credits:  A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast

    

If you are a marketer or association this interview is the perfect guide to finding out how you can collaborate to really amplify your results at your next show.  Gregg Lapin, Director of Meetings at the American Association of Diabetes Educators is also the President-elect of HCEA (Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association) and he shares a unique perspective of how to maximize trade show effectiveness through exposure to best practices.  Find out how you can take your program or next show to a whole new level.

7 Ways to Maximize Your Results by Joining an Association

1. Collaboration is key to effectively working together. The attendee experience is better when exhibitors and associations find ways to deliver value together.
2. Give and get feedback by attending an industry event. For healthcare exhibitors, attending a program like HCEAConnect offers a unique opportunity for associations to gain access to their top exhibiting companies and for exhibitors to offer feedback on what is working and what can be done differently to improve the experience.
3. Experience the newest technology trends. Whether you are the innovator or seeking information the best place to find what works is at an industry event.  Gregg finds he always has something new he can try at his event after experiencing it at HCEAConnect.
4. Expand your personal network to be inclusive of exhibitors and associations. Often exhibitors may not realize all of the sponsorships available or added value that can be promoted at a trade show without engaging with the association.  Attending
5. Best practices are meant to be shared. Association managers and corporate marketers discover what each are doing that is working and also things that didn't work to help everyone be more successful in the future.
6. Volunteer to take your experience to a whole new level. If you are hesitant to get involved, Gregg suggests you should "try it you… might like it and the more you put in the more you will get out of it."
7. Sponsorships revealed to exhibitors who engage with associations. Meeting in person at an industry event gives marketers the chance to find out what might be offered "on the published menu" and show how your company can leverage exposure at a specific show.

The American Diabetes Educators (AADE) show includes 5,500 attendees and has over 189 companies from PhRMA, Medical Device, Technology, and Food as exhibitors.  AADE has an integrated approach for attendees from across different disciplines and is includes includes other associations like American Diabetes Association, JDRF, ACE, American Dental and American Association of Ophthalmology. 

Find out how Gregg's association is innovating at www.diabeteseducator.org.

If you would like to learn more about how to boost your marketing program to the next level, reach out to me, I love hearing from you.  Find more episodes like this one at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea.