Rock Your Trade Show

Have you ever wanted to try something but fear held you back?  Laine Mann, Director of Global Congresses at Pfizer, had the chance to step way outside her world and in 3 short weeks made the decision to move across the globe to Australia.  She describes her journey and strategies she uses to take a leap.  Get inspired by this week's interview and take action with this power tips.

 by this week's interview and take action with this power tips.

8 Brave Tips To Help You Try, Fail and Try and Again

1. Take a Risk and Don't Look Back. When Laine had to decide and relocate in only 3 weeks she embraced the challenge and didn't regret her decision.  What are you on the fence about right now that in 10 minutes, 10 weeks or 10 years you will look back and wish "if only"?
2. "Fail Fast and Fail Often". The biggest hurdle is the fear of failure that keeps most of us from making that leap of faith. As soon as you embrace failure, opportunities will present themselves in ways you hadn't imagined.

"Success is not final.  Failure is not fatal.  It is the courage to continue that counts."  Winston Churchill.  Laine likes this quote because in every failure you learn.

1. Your Decisions Make Big Impressions. Laine shares the personal story of how she inspired her niece to see that nothing should hold her back. 
2. Change Will Happen-Focus on The Positive. Avoid only looking at things that are out of your control.  Ask yourself "what if I continue to do amazing work" and keep that at the center when things are in flux.
3. How You React to Situations Defines Who You Are. Staying positive during difficult challenges makes a difference.
4. Surround Yourself With Encouraging Leaders. A good leader knows how to motivate people, and they understand leadership includes "all of us".  They share in successes and failures to help people feel free to innovate.
5. Share Your Passion.  Express why making a difference is so important for others and express it to your colleagues, friends, family and network. 
6. Try Laine's power phrase: "You never know unless you try".

Favorite Book:  Creative Confidence-it reminds us that as kids we weren't afraid to express our ideas.  As we become adults, people start having a fear about ideas.  The book helps guide everyone to go back to the basics. 

Last words of advice:  "Face your fears and unleash your creativity."- Laine Mann

If you enjoyed this interview and want to get more ideas about how to build confidence, inspire others and share your passion, www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea

Credits: A special thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast!

Have you experienced a merger or been through an acquisition? Today it is becoming more and more commonplace for organizations to go through transformational change.  Sue Huff, Director, Global Conventions at Medtronic, Inc. shares in this interview strategies that she implemented during the merger with Medtronic and Covidien to bring together two large teams and how they formed a strong collaborating organization including developing new processes and best practices for their department.

9 Strategies to Manage Transformational Change during Mergers and Acquisitions

1. Meet Face-to-Face Quickly. When a merger happens, one of the best ways to create trust and collaboration is for everyone to get together in person.  Sue's team met within 2 weeks of the merger and it helped everyone get to know each other.
2. Evaluate Current Processes. Take the best of the best from all of the processes and learn from each other.  Discover what is already being done well within both organizations.
3. Communicate Effectively While Working Remote. Medtronic offers flexible work spaces and allows all the convention team members to work remote.  The team uses Zoom video platform to see each other in person.
4. Create A Process Task Force. Sue's team members each aligned themselves with one of 15 process groups.  Each group included legacy Medtronic people and new Covidien members.
5. Celebrate Success. After the teams developed their core processes together they created a presentation that was shared with leadership highlighting all of their accomplishments together.
6. Increasing Team Size Requires Clear Expectations. Each time a team member is added, Sue clearly communicates the requirements and how as a group they are held to a high performance level.
7. Share Your Leadership Philosophy. Sue provides examples of how to avoid surprises and learn from mistakes.  When situations happen, communicate early on so that adjustments can be made to processes to avoid a similar issue in the future.
8. Encourage Team to Volunteer. One of the fastest ways to build skills and manage your personal situation during a merger and acquisition is being part of an organization that can offer support and build career tool box.
9. Elevate yourself to be around people you aspire to be with in organizations and associations.  Join an association like HCEA (Healthcare Convention and Exhibitor Association) to find like-minded people.

Best Practice Power Tip: "Take time to re-enter when you get home.  You have to have downtime and take a "road day" when you return from being gone" -Sue Huff.

If you have questions about this topic and want to learn more, check out the HCEA Series at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea and if you want help navigating change-reach out to me, I love hearing from you!

Credits: Special thanks as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Do you experience personal enjoyment in your career?  Carol Fields, CME/H, HMCC Senior Manager, Congress Management at Edwards Lifesciences shares why she is so passionate about being in the healthcare industry.  If you have wanted to get into Healthcare Marketing or are already in the industry, this episode is full of great advice and insights just for you.

4 Ways to Maximize Your Experience in Healthcare Marketing

1. Participate in a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Project. Carol has participated every year in a CSR project at HCEAConnect and it has been an inspirational way to kick off the meeting.
2. Healthcare Marketing offers the chance to experience personal impact on patients. Edwards Lifesciences makes heart valves and Carol shared how patients come to the company and thank the person who sewed the valve that saved their life.
3. Join an Exhibitor Advisory Council. It is a great way to get involved and provide valuable feedback to the associations.
4. Volunteer in an Association like HCEA. Networking is so key, there is always someone you can go to and get a recommendation and one of the best ways to meet people is raising your hand and serving on a committee in an association.

Carol has a very busy show schedule and finds that it is really important while traveling to be sure there are quiet moments to recharge. For more information about Carol Fields, you can find her on LinkedIn.

If you are in healthcare, check out the HCEA series at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea.  And if you have a question about healthcare exhibiting, reach out to me, I love hearing from you!

Credits: Thank you to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Do you wish you could show value for your program but aren't sure how to do it?  So often the first line of ROI measurement is focused on the quantity of scans at a booth.  Cindy McCormick, CTSM and Associate Director Convention Marketing at Novo Nordisk shares in a recent interview at HCEAConnect 10 key ways you can increase the value of your trade show results and motivate your sales reps.

10 Ways to Boost Value, Increase Sales Rep Engagement and Show Results

1. Look beyond the scan. Lead capture isn't the only way to measure trade show results.  Beacon technology is one way to track traffic and allow the attendee to approach the reps on the show floor.
2. Use the attendee demographics to measure visibility. If you have a banner ad, or other sponsorship and you know the total number of attendees you are able to calculate how many people saw your message while at the conference. And depending on the placement, most likely attendees are seeing the message more than once.
3. Use the unopposed and opposed hours to measure traffic. If you establish the dwell time an attendee has with a sales rep you can calculate how many people sales reps talk to during unopposed show floor hours and then change the calculation to be less when there are fewer attendees during opposed (during sessions at the conference) show floor hours.
4. Leverage exposure in the poster areas. A lot of attendees go to the poster area at healthcare conventions and this is a metric that is valuable if you have a poster, visibility of your scientific information counts towards overall impressions at a trade show.
5. Find Sponsorships that offer visibility. Some conferences have hotel keycards as a sponsorship and other items that get repeated visibility.  This metric should be included in the overall impressions and impact on attendees at a conference.
6. Consider the location of the conference when determining overall traffic to the exhibit. If the convention is in a city that has outside attractions, the traffic in the hall may decrease during unopposed hours and that plays a factor in the measurement of people in the booth.
7. Focus on quality over quantity. Talking to the most people isn't going to give results as effectively as talking to the right customers.  Conferences aren't increasing the number of attendees and so the notion of getting more and more leads shouldn't be the end goal.
8. Create a pop-up territory for conference. Establish sales goals for the "pop-up" territory and communicate them to the sales reps and their managers.
9. Incent your sales team to have quality conversations. Choose a reward that is visible and makes the sales reps energized to have quality conversations over quantity. This strategy also helps the sales reps feel focused on the show floor to engage with attendees instead of with colleagues.
10. Host post-show daily debrief sessions. Solicit feedback during the show from the sales reps and give them the opportunity to share best practices on how they are engaging in conversations with target attendees. Acknowledge the daily leader in the pop-up territory and copy their manager about their on-site performance.

Cindy shares invaluable insights on how you can increase engagement, value, visibility and ultimately improve results. Check out the full interview here including how she re-invented her personal brand after being at a company for 22 years. 

Balance Strategy: Cindy recommends sleep being a primary focus when traveling. She also shares a resource for energy management and living a performance lifestyle in order to really accelerate your personal stamina for traveling. 

General Resource: Mark Goldberg has an e-book to challenge stakeholders about why they want to go to shows.

Find Cindy: [email protected] and on LinkedIn.

If you liked this article and want to learn more about how you can add value to your program, contact me, I love hearing from you.  Visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea for more interviews from the healthcare series.

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

Starting in a new industry can be overwhelming.  Whether you are new to healthcare or a veteran you will relate to Janet Aguhob, Senior Convention Planner at Allergan and her story about what she wished she knew when she started in healthcare.  Janet shares how she transitioned from non-profit to a highly regulated industry and what every healthcare marketer needs to know. Get this insider's perspective of leading a large healthcare exhibit program and how you can apply her proven strategies to your marketing program.

Healthcare Exhibitors All Need To Know "The Big 3"

1. The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion OPDP:

The mission statement for this office includes: "traveling to major medical meetings and pharmaceutical conventions to monitor promotional exhibits and activities"

1. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's (PhRMA) Code

"The PhRMA Code reaffirms that interactions between biopharmaceutical research companies and healthcare professionals should be focused on informing the healthcare professionals about products, providing scientific and educational information, and supporting medical research and education."

1. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act (PPSA)--also known as section 6002 of the Affordable Care Act(ACA) of 2010 "requires medical product manufacturers to disclose to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) any payments or other transfers of value made to physicians or teaching hospitals." The Sunshine Act dramatically impacted exhibiting in healthcare.

What Happened Post Sunshine Act In Trade Shows?

• Prior to 2010: PhRMA marketers were allowed to provide giveaway reminder items including pens, tote bags, wireless mice etc. The trade show floor was a popular spot. 
• Post 2010: Initially there was a dramatic drop in overall spend across many areas.
  • Vendors and Medical associations lost business.
  • Exhibitors reduced booth size and trade show floor plans were reduced.
  • Exhibit partners saw lower revenues, general contractors saw reduced revenues.
  • Few Sales Reps were needed and hotels lost room block space, and host cities lost revenues from conventions.

Positive Results of the Sunshine Act

• Attendees who come now are motivated to learn about the products.
• There are more qualified leads.
• Healthcare Practitioner (HCP's) are motivated to learn.
• Improved interactions with attendees who value information over giveaways.
  • Educational items are the focus of giveaways.  Sales Reps are able to follow up with busy physicians at their office with a disease-state product that will help them in their practice.
  • Increase in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) giving on showsite.
  • Allergan did a CSR project with a signature wall-the more signatures collected $10 was donated for every signature to the non-profit wing of the association.
    • Sales Reps found it provided a different way to approach the HCP
    • People feel good and conversation is more at ease when there is a CSR component

Janet manages 62 shows of various sizes, sponsorships, product theaters, room blocks, pre-con meetings.  In addition, she helps coordinate KOL (Key Opinion Leader) meetings.  Her marketing role includes collaborating with brand teams and in-house graphics for art production and approval. Her expansive role includes managing product theaters where she acts as the coordinate and helps speakers with transit, badges and lead scanning.

How does Janet Relax on the Road?  She makes a point to visit the host city of the conference.

You can find Janet on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected]

Interested in finding out more about how to exhibit in healthcare, read the full article with tips on how to plan a trade show project, FDA at trade shows what to say to International exhibitors and more! www.rockyourtradeshow.com/hcea.

Credits: A big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Have you wanted to gain experience or give back by volunteering but hesitated because of the time commitment?  Amy Lotz, Executive Director for the Healthcare Exhibitors and Convention Association (HCEA) was interviewed live at HCEAConnect and shares how the association is engaging with members in a new way by offering Micro-Volunteering. 

If you want to get more experience in your career, and are an Association or want to give back but have limited time this is the episode for you! 

Best Practices And Inside Tips from HCEA and HCEAConnect

Micro-Volunteering- Small Time Commitment with Big Rewards

• Gain career experience by trying out smaller time commitment activities like social media posting
• Get involved with a CSR project onsite to give back and network.
• Volunteer during the conference. It is an excellent way to meet new people.
• HCEA offers volunteers a first-timer match up where current members reach out to first-time attendees and connect with them onsite
• Become a Round Table Leader and help attendees share ideas
• Try something new and gain experiential leadership. It is a great way to explore something outside of your scope to see if you like it.

When you are ready to step it up you can join a committee and learn the organization.  By joining a committee it is the first step to taking a possible board role.

Keynotes and Education-A Format That Engages Attendees

• Conference agenda includes fresh content and interesting topics to help attendees feel value for their time attending the event.
• Round Table discussions provide an opportunity where attendees can share best practices with peers in their field.
• Different presentation style-TedTalk like formats keeps things interesting in educational sessions.
• Networking is an important part of the conference offering. HCEA has three member types, Healthcare companies, associations, industry partners and all like to meet each other at this event. 

Exhibit Floor Experience-How to Add Value

• Exhibitors are integrated into the educational and professional development format
• One exhibitor offered free headshots for online attendee profiles.
• A new Tech Hub area where volunteers talk for 15 minutes in a campfire environment. Topics included how to use Twitter, set up your LinkedIn profile for your career and engage and increase ROI on the show floor.

Having a Great Support Staff-Makes a Big Difference

• HCEA is supported by an association management company, MCI USA for the past two years.
• Customer Service is important and accessibility and response time helps ensure overall satisfaction.
• Staff also works on other groups and can transfer ideas from other associations
• The staff recognizes that attendees at HCEA like to have a good time-try to make sure there are fun evening activity.

Association Trends-Managing Change

• Membership is on the decline for most associations so there are other non-dues revenue sales
• Online learning getting information to stakeholder
• Member Engagement-the more engaged-more likely

Staying Balanced-Strategies for the Road

• Take breaks, even if only for a few minutes to re-charge.
• Stay connected with home while away makes things easier.
• As a leader of a team, or group making sure everyone understands they are there to help each other reduces stress.

If you have a question about anything you heard on this episode, reach out to me, I love hearing from you! And if you want to check out the entire HCEA series or other podcasts go to www.rockyourtradeshow.com

Resources

Healthcare Exhibitor and Convention Association www.hcea.org

Association Management Company MCI USA www.mciusa.com

HCEA Executive Director Amy Lotz on LinkedIn

Credits

Big thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!

How are healthcare companies getting involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects and making a difference? Find out what motivated associations, healthcare marketers and suppliers to come together at the HCEAConnect conference to make blankets for children at the Lurie Children's Hospital.  You will feel so inspired by their stories and what they did to help children.

The Healthcare Convention and Exhibitor's Association (HCEA) has for years has organized social responsibility projects prior to the kickoff of the conference.  Dedicated attendees have gathered together across the country in some cases challenging conditions to provide much needed help to very deserving non-profit organizations.   This year was no exception, and the thought of giving back to children in need touched the hearts of all who were at the event.

What makes people want to give back?  Here is what attendees shared.

Top 10 Reasons People Gave Back at HCEAConnect

"My daughter was at Lurie's Children's hospital and diagnosed with Diabetes.  This project has personal meaning for me". Mark Schab, Crepes A Latte

"VisitLEX always likes to give back to the community it is visiting and this was a perfect opportunity for us to collaborate" Roseanne Mingo, VisitLEX and CSR event sponsor

"Starting the meeting by giving back first sets the tone for the meeting" Carol Fields, Edwards Lifesciences

"Before starting at Regeneron, I worked at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and I have always wanted to keep my non-profits roots.  One thing that is important to me is to support local hospitals and charities" Julia Sokolohorsky, Regeneron

 "It is very fulfilling and good for the community and I am happy to be a participant" Sonia Fong, Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau

"I love this event, it is where everybody gets together, we are doing something positive for the community, and it is a great way to network, kick off the meeting and meet everybody."  Sue Huff, Medtronic

"As a healthcare exhibitor, everything we do is about giving back in some form or fashion.  It is a great way for the community to come together and benefit the greater good.  It is a great time to work together and to reflect and play a part in the community.  Jeannie Wert, Siemens Healthineers

"I was able to come here early, I think it is important to give back.  I have two kids and it's important" Eric Bopp, Czarnowski

 "It is an opportunity to do something good for the community and to network, as we collaborate, we get to know each other" Anne Marie Bermudez, Daiichi Sankyo

"I love the CSR event it is a nice chance to give back to the community and get to meet some of the attendees, get to know them.  It is a win-win." Janet Aguhob, Allergan

In addition to giving back, attendees experienced secondary benefits that helped round out their experience at the conference.  Here are the added benefits of doing a CSR project.

4 Ways Participants Can Benefit From A CSR Project

1. Team Building: Bringing people together for a common cause creates the opportunity to focus on the greater good together.
2. Networking: It is the ultimate ice breaker when you are making something together for someone else.
3. Sense of Accomplishment: You visibly see what you were able to do and know that you finished your project.
4. Feel Good Endorphins: The knowledge of doing something for someone in need who wasn't expecting kindness gives people a surge in feeling happier.

Now it is your turn-think about your next conference or corporate event.  How could doing something for others at the beginning to help attendees feel empowered and energized at the meeting?  Share your ideas below!

Have a question about CSR or want to know how you can do this at your next event reach out to me, I love hearing from you.

Credits: Big thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcast for her amazing editing!

For more tips and advice visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com

Have  you have ever hesitated or waited for something to happen, like recognition for your efforts or when a job offer comes through you accepted the terms because it was what you wanted and you didn't ask for a bigger salary you may want to reconsider your actions next time.  Here is why being able to ask for what you want is so important.

Think about this startling statistic:  8 Years.

That is the amount of time it will take you to make up for the difference in salary you didn't negotiate.  Depending on your salary level, and where you are in your career, it can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars and more importantly time lost to gain that salary back.

The book "Ask for it: How women can use the power of negotiation to ask for what they really want" by Linda Babcock and Sara Leschever, has a great road map to creating your negotiation blueprint.  And while this book focuses on women, everyone at some point has hesitated in a negotiation and it isn't always gender specific.  Here are some actions from the book to help you negotiate.

9 Tips to Help You Ask For It and Get What You Want

1. Decide what you want
   1. Lay the ground work: If it is a raise in salary or a promotion find out what the going rate is for your position, and look to others who have gone before you to achieve a similar raise. Places like Glassdoor and other resources provide salary ranges.
   2. One issue vs. several-Distributive negotiations vs. integrative. Example car vs. a house with many features.
   3. What factors will contribute to a decision-find out the other person's perspective. For example a promotion-how will it affect other people?
2. Have a Plan B: BATNA Best Alternative to a Negotiation
   1. Know your options, have a plan B and be prepared to offer an alternative if the first and best option is not something the opposite side is willing to do.
3. What is your "Reservation Value"? This is the lowest you are willing to go, or the final thing you are willing to give up depending on what you are negotiating for.
4. Salary Range: Find out what the range is for the contract so you can anticipate the hiring managers BATNA.
5. Target Zone: What is your salary number? This should be better than your BATNA-as it is your aspiration of what you hope to achieve if anything is possible.
6. Know Your Worth: Don't sell yourself short. Do research and make sure your numbers are market value for the position.
7. Use Your Network: For ideas on how to build your network check out episode 17.
8. Pre-negotiate before negotiating: Go direct to the source. In salary negotiations, talk with your boss before you enter into an annual review for example and find out what is possible.  If you are negotiating a hotel room block, find out what is possible with your purchasing team or if you are doing the negotiating look to the hotel sales manager for insights on what they have done for companies similar to yours.
9. Do your homework: Know how decisions are made regardless of what it is you are asking for-salary, vacation time, flex schedule, or even a room block as mentioned earlier.

Real Life Example: What is the risk of not asking?

There is an example in the book about a female surgeon who had worked at a hospital for 8 years without realizing the male surgeons played tennis for 5 months during the year every weekend.  She was a tennis player and it never occurred to her male colleagues or to herself to ask to play.  Once she asked to be part of the games, she discovered a lot was being discussed at those games that she had missed out. 

Take away:  Ask to be included in a discussion to gain insights you will need later when it comes time for your review or to present new ideas at your organization.

If this information is helpful but you want to know a little more, join our LinkedIn group and share best tips and advice with people just like you.  Have a question or idea for a show?  Reach out to me, I would be honored to connect with you!

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

Visit Rock Your Trade Show for more insider tips and advice!

If you have been thinking of Improv as something you only see on shows like Saturday Night Live or a theater, think again.  Karen Hough, CEO of the ImprovEdge  has been helping individuals and companies use Improv to be industry leaders.   In a recent interview, Karen shares real life examples of how organizations and their leaders effectively manage change, competition and failure by using Improv techniques like "Thinking Upside down".

7 Ways You Can Use Improv To Gain A Competitive Advantage

1. Look outside your industry for inspiration. So often when companies evaluate innovation the tendency is to first look first inside their industry.  Karen shares how King Hawaiian Bread company looked to Amazon and Medical device companies to find ways to retain high quality and increase productivity and in the end through technology lowered the cost to produce their bread.
2. Be inquisitive. In another example of how to look for creative ideas, Karen suggests we should ask questions about a product like "What could be different way to surprise and delight our customer"? This type of thought process opens windows to unexpected solutions.
3. Talk with non-experts. Some of the best ideas come from people who don't know the business or goals and they offer totally fresh concepts. 
4. Use observation. Really look around and take it all in before making a decision.  What are people saying, doing and looking for to solve their problem.  Whether you are trying to sell a product or service, being in tune, present and really listen first are keys to developing innovative ideas.
5. Ask open ended questions. This is especially powerful on the trade show floor with face-to-face marketing.  Instead of saying "How are you" or "Hello" when an attendee approaches, try an open ended question like "Tell me more".  When you ask, listen and observe the outcome will be much better.
6. Change how you view failure. Athletes and Improv actors share one thing in common: resilience. The key is not to build up and create a great big failure, rather respond to the little failures along the way and move on.  We need to not be so risk adverse that we don't try something because we fear the outcome.

 "Failing is part of the landscape of innovation"- Karen Hough, CEO ImprovEdge

1. Be prepared for anything. Preparation is one of the most important steps you can take to be ready to improvise.  Write out your goals, what outcome do you want from a meeting, a trade show conversation or a one-on-one meeting with your boss?  Determine first the one thing you want to get out of the meeting and then practice what you are going to say out loud before your meeting.

In her upcoming book "Go With It: Embrace the Unexpected to Drive Change", Karen shares examples of how using the principles of process of listening, agreeing, and discussing an idea so that you can apply the Improv technique to your personal and professional life.

Resources: Karen's recommended book "Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiations—and Positive Strategies for change" by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever.

To learn more about Karen Hough and find valuable resources like the "Yes Deck" check out ImroveEdge.com

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

Looking for help with your marketing program?  Reach out to me, I love hearing from you!

Visit Rock Your Trade Show for industry tips and advice and join the LinkedIn group to find people just like you.

Planning to exhibit at an international trade show?  There are a lot of details for global exhibiting and it can be hard to know where to start.  Don Schmid, Lead Global Trade Shows at Pfizer and President of HCEA (Healthcare Convention & Exhibitor Association) shares his wealth of knowledge about exhibiting both in the U.S. and globally. After working 21 years at Chrysler he moved into a new industry working first at GE Healthcare and now after a recent merger is with Pfizer.  Don shares his experiences in this interview and offers key strategies every exhibitor can use for their trade show program. 

4 Global Conference Power Tips

1. Act Global-Live Local. When looking to exhibit outside of the U.S., it is really important to know local rules and regulations.  Don shared an example of how the Italian Ministry of health requires a 60 day notice before allowing a symposia and it is not flexible. Missing deadlines in a country can be very expensive and in some cases require the event to be re-scheduled.
2. Understand Privacy Rules: In 2018 a new privacy law GDPR is going into effect in Europe that will change how companies can collect leads at trade shows.
3. Stay Up to Date: Laws change in different countries and it is important to keep up to date on things like VAT tax, if you are in healthcare restrictions for HCP's and other industry specific rules.
4. US Based ROI Goals May Not Apply: Some countries don't allow lead capture at all, so the traditional thinking of lead capture as an ROI indicator should be adjusted for the culture and country of the global conference. Once you know the local rules it is easier to establish the goals for the conference.  It may be more about conversations and access in a face-to-face environment and less about quantity of badge scans. 

In addition to discussing global trade shows, Don shared the power of joining, volunteering and engaging with an industry association like HCEA (Healthcare Convention and Exhibitor Association)

5 Reasons to Join an Industry Association:

1. Build Your Personal Network: Mergers are all around us. Making connections when  you don't need them is critical to being fluid in times of change
2. Experiential Learning: Volunteering is one of the best ways to quickly build transferrable skills to your career.
3. Gain Recognition: Getting involved with a committee and moving into a board role allows your employer to see the value you add to an organization.
4. Education and Trends: Think about getting a CTSM or CME certification so that you can stay on top of industry trends.
5. Increase Career Options: Once you have built a network, gained skills and are viewed as an industry expert through education the options for career transitions become broader.

If you are in Healthcare-the HCEA Connect conference is coming up in Chicago August 13-16 is a great place to start.

Favorite Resources:

International Trade Shows by Larry Kulchawik

Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull

Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley and David Kelley

You can find Don Schmid on LinkedIn and contact him if you have a question.

Have a question about how to exhibit globally?  Reach out to me, I love hearing from.  Be sure to visit Rock Your Trade Show for the latest episodes, trends and insider tips!

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