A great time to start your planning for The Hardware Show 2021

In the current COVID-19 environment the focus for businesses has been the health and safety of people. Companies are looking at ways to support workforces as they come to terms with their new ways of working and working from home. Over the coming months the Government and industry leaders will look at how to get businesses back operating in a safe way. Many companies have put together a task force with the objective of putting a strategy together for dealing with this unprecedented crisis. Part of the strategy will be formulating a business plan for moving forward.

Next year’s Hardware Show in February will be one element of many companies’ business plans for 2021. Now would be a good time to encourage your team to focus on how they can showcase your business and achieve the maximum benefit from the show.

Here are some tips for your team:

• Explain your vision for the show and what success will look like. Agree on the main purpose for exhibiting; is it about leads, a new product launch or to showcase an important product. Ensure everyone is engaged and fully understands why this event is important to the business and your customers. Involve people, as early as possible, who will be representing the company at the show and ask them for their ideas and suggestions for ensuring a successful event. They will be your brand ambassadors.
• Think about how you can leverage some positive PR. Enter the Innovation Awards so that you can place a new product in front of some key industry decision-makers. Submit editorial for The Hardware Journal or put an advertisement in the Hardware Show Guide. Start to outline your social media campaign for the lead up to the show.
• Compile a list of people who you would like to invite to the show. Decide what products you want them to see andwhat is the purpose of their visit to your stand. The show is an excellent opportunity to showcase your range of productsto key customers and potential new customers
• Create three checklists for the show. The first list should include all the tasks that must be completed in the planning stage. Then you need a checklist for the event itself and importantly a final checklist for post-show. Involve your team in building these checklists so that every detail is covered
• Organise a preshow meeting to ensure everyone is fully engaged and ready for two days that will have a significant impact on your business. Emphasise the purpose of the show, describe what success will look like and outline everyone’s role and responsibility. Inject real energy into the team. It is a good idea to run through your onsite checklist each morning. Also, ensure your stand is picture perfect and ready to support your brand
• Once the show is over then it is time to start making those phones calls and set up as many meetings as possible. Ensure you have a robust post show plan ready so that everyone can leverage on the positivity that you created during the show. The leads generated are hot so capitalise immediately. Send out a thank you now to your invited guests and use social media to stay connected. Those of you who availed of the lead retrieval device and scanned everyone’s badges that visited your stand can start to connect with these people. This is when all your hard work starts to pay dividends
• Celebrate the success of the Hardware Show with your team. It’s a team effort.

The Hardware Show runs onf 21st and 22nd February 2021, but it is more than these two days. The success of the show for you is based on what you do before, during and after the show. Plan for success.

Sean McLoughney, founder of LearningCurve, is a sought-after talent support specialist, author and speaker. He provides Talent Support for organisations that drives Improved Performance by utilising the latest in learning thinking and technology.

For more you can contact Sean at Sean@learningcurve.ie

This article featured in the May/June 2020 issue of The Hardware Journal.