Hardcore Inventing by Robert Yonover

Author:Robert Yonover
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Walking the Floor

The low-budget “bottom-feeder” method to maximize your time at a trade show is to simply register and “walk the floor,” avoiding the high cost of your own booth. Unfortunately, the challenge in this method is that the pitch targets you need to talk to are also walking the floor and stopping at people’s booths. You have to be more aggressive and intrusive and loiter around other people’s booths and essentially hijack their pitch targets.

Loiter around a booth that has a lot of traffic that could be related to your technology and, once again, be sociable and persistent. Although you may get a sore neck reading name tags, I found it to be the most efficient way to identify and engage with people you have targeted. Wait your turn and then pounce (in a nice way) with your elevator pitch. Don’t be afraid to be rejected—it only takes one good connection to make the whole effort worthwhile. You never know where you will make the connection; it could be in the bathroom or the lunchroom. Keep pitching, and if people shut you down, try to get some useful information from them as they shut you down—ask them their opinion on where to go next or if they know any people or companies that may be interested.

You can also meet your target pitches at social events, meals, and other locations at the venue. Some of my best work over the years was performed at the social events. Your target pitches usually have their guard lowered when they are at a party and are slightly or considerably liquored up. Once again, if you just meet them and have a primarily social conversation, you can leverage that the next day at the “work” part of the trade show.

I am sensitive to talking shop at a party, so I usually talk about non-business topics, but I always remember to interject a few bullet points they will remember when I encounter them again at the formal part of the trade show.

Another useful strategy for walking the floor at a trade show is to essentially have your “mini-booth” show in your pocket or briefcase. If your invention is small enough, carry it on your person. If not, carry photographs of your creation, especially if you have shots of the invention doing its thing.

When meeting a pitch target on the floor or in a booth, I’ve come up with a phrase I would patent if I could. It works best when you are standing at your own booth with pitch targets strolling by (or any retail sales situation). Over the years, I have observed people at booths (or stores) say the two kiss-of-death lines: “Can I help you?” or “Hello!” Both lines appear to be useful or fairly innocuous, but they usually result in a one-or two-word response, with the pitch target moving on to the next booth. They are not engaging questions, and no one likes to admit that they need help.

The line that works

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