Rock Your Trade Show

This is the 100th episode of this podcast.  I am incredibly grateful to each of you for listening!  Three years ago, I didn’t know where this blue ocean strategy would lead to but I did know one thing: Women Marketers needed a voice and way to feel valued.  That still holds true perhaps even more today than 3 years ago.  I am passionate about helping you find the best resources, hear advice from experts so that you can Rock your careers and find balance.  This episode is going to be a little unique because when this debuts the world has changed- Covid-19 also known as the Coronavirus has shaken up the 2.5 trillion-dollar global meetings and event industry and I suspect each of us has been impacted by travel bans and postponed events. In this episode we are going to explore tactics to help our anxiety and fears and plan forward.  With that let’s start the show!   How many of us have felt anxious recently by unknown factors?  If you are nodding your head you are not alone.  While we may not be able to control external forces, we can control how we respond to them.  In fact, this is our super power.  No one can change your thoughts that is fully in your control.  So, let’s look at what we can do to find joy and reduce our anxiety.   Here are 11 actions you can take to help close the door to fear: Learn Something New! I try to challenge myself every day to learn something new. There are so many resources and places you can go to find information like YouTube for example. Let me know what you commit to learning, I would love to hear from you! Meditate. In episode 97, you will find an interview with Katie Krimitsos from the Women’s Meditation Network.  Before that episode she has 50,000 downloads per episode and I suspect it might be much higher now! This week is an episode specifically about the Coronavirus. Exercise. regardless of your physical condition there are always actions you can take to help your mindset.  I have found that working out is one of the best ways to increase our endorphins and helps us to feel our best. Stay Hydrated. Yes, this is a thing! Especially today.  Every day you should drink half your body weight in ounces.  I try to set bottles of water on my desk so I can go through them during the day.  Every morning I start by drinking 16 ounces of a combo health and pre-work our drink mixed with water. Get enough sleep.  If you are like me this is a tough one.  I have I Insomnia and do a variety of things to try to get enough sleep from meditation to natural sleep aids.  When we are well rested we naturally feel better. Stay Connected.It is easy to not want to talk to friends and family when we feel anxious.  This is one of the most important times to reach out and check in.   Invite a Friend to Coffee.  We are social beings even if some of us are introverts.  It may surprise you that I am an introvert and extravert.  But I realize that seeing people lifts me up- and this will be the same for you. Stay Informed.This is the thing causing the most fear right now is all the different sources of information.  Check multiple sources-and beware of anything that seems to not be like the rest of the information.  Listen to a Play List.In episode 98 with Ria Story, she suggested having music as a go to when we feel overwhelmed.   One of my favorites is the Pitch Perfect sound track- all three are awesome although the track I go to in times of change is Flashlight with Jessie J-check it out at the end of this episode! Express Gratitude Daily. I have talked about this a lot on this show.  Living our lives with a grateful heart is one of the best ways to make us feel better and a random act of kindness has the same impact on your brain as exercise. Believe in the Possibilities.Even when all doors are closing a window will open when you least expect it.  Perhaps it is a soft voice in your head urging you to try something new and you didn’t have time to do it before.  Take advantage of that moment and step out of your comfort zone. As always if I can help you with anything I talk about here reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show.  Always remember you are not alone- together we can do anything - You Got This! If this episode was helpful, I would be so honored if you would share it with a friend or colleague now! Credits: Thanks as always to the amazing Christy Haussler from Team Podcast who edited this episode during Podfest! 

The exhibit industry has evolved to have more women in it however there is still gender pay gaps, and many of us feel alone which is why we need the Women in Exhibitions group.  Katina Rigall Zipay and Jen LaBruzza share how they first got involved with Women in Exhibitions and how the organization has evolved to offer mentoring and an in-person networking breakfast March 31st during the ExhibitorLive2020 show.  Find out the benefits of being involved with an organization that helps support women of all sides of the industry, supplier and client alike. Here is what you will learn in this episode: 1. Women who support women in their career.  The WIE group offers the opportunity to share best practices and more importantly take action. 2. In-Person Networking.  If you are going to be at ExhibitorLive be sure to come to the event-there will be a panel, networking and the opportunity to be on this podcast! 3. Get involved in an organization making a difference. This is your time to take action, make change and learn about the real wage gap that still exists, increasing your network and improving your management savvy. I hope you will join us at this event and discover how when we come together we can make a real difference together. If you would like to learn more about how to empower women in our industry, reach out to me, I would love to help you! Register for this breakfast event and have a chance to be featured on this podcast! Join the Women in Exhibitions LinkedIn Group! Thanks to Katina and Jen for sharing their stories and encouraging women in our industry to believe in ourselves and know we are a community together! Credits: Special thanks to Christy Haussler and team podcast for editing this podcast!

Ria Story shares her journey from an incredibly abusive home to becoming a motivational speaker, author and expert on Women’s Leadership in this podcast interview. She shares how “it’s not what happens to you that matters most. It’s who you become because of it.” Ria has the mindset of “I am going to figure it out one step at a time”. When she became a motivational speaker, Les Brown encouraged her to realize: “you have a story to tell and someone needs to tell that story.” In this episode you will get ways to be resilient, how to be prepared for change and why "nothing fails like success".  Try one of Ria's 4 actions today! In her TEDx talk, Ria shares the acronym RISE and what it represents.  “Every single one of goes through adversity.  We are going to experience problems and pain. How to respond to adversity is what is important. R- Respond   Be proactive and respond positively. We don’t have to let emotions dictate our response.  Choose our thoughts, actions and behaviors help us grow. We can choose our thoughts and attitudes.   I-Identify  Think about the next steps to go forward. Break down what it is you need to do into small actionable steps.  We need to be able to take action. S-Step Forward Consistently The journey of 1000 miles isn’t just a single step.  It takes many steps to get there and you have to keep going. E-Experience Joy Joy-it is a choice we can make.  It can be a tough choice but it absolutely is a choice.  Joy can create emotional freedom.  How to Be Resilient: Be consistent with your actions. When you are going through a difficult situation-I know I should get up but I don’t feel like it. There are going to be days when you don’t feel like being positive. Commit to telling yourself ‘I am going to do the things that are going to change my mindset.’ Make a list. Figure out 3-5 things that helps you feel better.  It can be exercise, listening to music, taking a hot bath for example. Create Pre-Traumatic growth. Think about what would happen if we can grow ourselves and be prepared in advance for times we will experience adversity.  What we can grow before we get to hardship. What to Do In Times of Change: We all love change if it is our idea-but we don’t like it if it is someone else’s idea. It has to do with fear. We have fear of the unknown, loss of control or we won’t like a new situation.” “Nothing fails like success”. It is human nature to keep doing what works and keep doing that and get complacent. Actions to do Today: Be disciplined about our behaviors. Even when we don’t feel like doing something. Learn something new every day. Commit to 5 minutes.  Set small goals they are easier to keep.  Keep commitments we make to ourselves.  It builds personal integrity with ourselves Be of service to someone else.  Take small actions to lift up someone else it will make you feel better. As always, if I can be of any help in your journey, reach out to me, I love to provide support in your journey! Resource Recommendations: Book: Achieve-Maximize Your Potential with 7 Keys to Unlock Success and Significance Website: www.Riastory.com Podcast: Fearfully and Wonderfully Me LinkedIn Ria Story TEDx Talk Editing Credits: As always thanks to the amazing Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!    

Have you ever thought about how meditation can create transformational change in your work and personal life? In this interview with Katie Krimitsos, podcast host of The Women’s Meditation Network, we talk about the decision Katie made to pivot from a successful business and how that decision created an even greater opportunity to impact women’s lives.  We all face decisions and meditation is “a tool to pause…and listen to our inner voice…that sometimes gets pretty quiet because of all the noise we create in our lives”.  The practice of meditation allows us to connect with our inner voice. This episode will help you find work-life balance and harmony.  Whether you meditate regularly or are new to the experience, Katie’s meditations are designed to encourage women to find strength, courage and confidence.  Katie’s podcast has over 50,000 downloads a month and there is a reason it is so popular- she helps us find peace. Be sure listen all the way to the end to get all the tips to transform your life and take-action! 5 Things to Know about Meditation: Mediation is the practice of pausing, so you can listen to what you really want. Meditation helps you navigate your way through life and to listen to the voice and trust what she says. When we pause, it helps us to take the steps of courage so we know what we want to do. There is a deeper why: “everyone wants to lead a life that is a purpose driven life”-Katie Krimitsos.  The only way to do that is to tune into to ourselves. Meditation is a tool to practice so we can create a life that we love. When we meditate, we are able to transform emotions and focus on the experience of what we want.  Katie’s unique meditation podcast helps us to embrace who we are through meditation.  This episode connects us to a universal experience and allows each of us to feel like Katie really sees us.  Always remember-you are beautiful from the inside out! Let’s Connect! If you have any questions about the topics we discussed on today’s podcast, reach out to me, it is my honor to help you on your journey.  And if you want a community to support you, join our LinkedIn Group! Gratitude:  Katie was my business coach and was instrumental in the launch of this podcast and I am so grateful to her for being an inspiration and supporter of this show! Katie’s Recommendations:  5 Simple Meditation Practice and 7 Day Meditation Challenge and Sleep Bundle.  Check out the Podcast Women’s Meditation Network.  And if you are a podcaster-be sure to check out Podfest! Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler with Team Podcast for editing the podcast.

When you think of great leaders having a lasting impact, Anna Maria Chávez, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for the National Council on the Aging, has created transformational change for millions of girls and women around the world.  She was the CEO of the Girl Scouts and also one of the co-founding women, along with Sheryl Sandberg, and Condoleezza Rice to create the Ban Bossy Campaign.  Anna’s servant leadership mindset started while growing up in Eloy Arizona, and she shares in this interview, how at the age of 12 years old, she decided to become a civil rights attorney.  Joining the Girl Scouts at a young age, helped Anna to learn leadership skills, and gave her the chance to give back to the community.  Listen to this discussion and learn about the influence our actions have on girls growing up, why having a mentor is so important, what it is like to be a “first of” leader and the challenges and benefits it can have on a community.   At the end of our discussion, Anna encourages each of us to take action and create a lasting impact on our future. 10 Transformational Leadership Insights: What You Do Creates an Impression: “We can’t think about future leaders without thinking about the influence over girls and boys today. They are watching us…how leadership appears at the dais and the podium”- Anna Maria Chávez.  Everything you do is making an impression on young people around you.  We Need Diverse Leadership: “We need leaders from different perspectives”- Anna Maria Chávez. It is important to have different voices who collectively can come together and represent diversity. Share Resiliency with Others: Anna helped raise 2,000,000 girls as CEO of the Girl Scouts and also gave her son, a front row seat to witness resiliency in action. Anna’s son had the chance to witness what leaders go through on a daily basis. Ban the Word Bossy: Anna shared an insider look at creating the Ban Bossy campaign that featured Beyoncé.  After receiving a call from Sheryl Sandberg, together with Condoleezza Rice, the three leaders established why it is so important to change the narrative for girls and how they are labeled.  Anna shares how something happens around 3rdor 4th grade when negative messages dampen girls’ spirit.  They stop raising their hand to fit in. By banning the word bossy, it helped change how girls are perceived and how they in turn, perceive themselves. Everyone needs a Mentor who sees raw potential. Anna shares how mentors have helped her throughout her career. Great bosses give their time and are patient. Anna shares how she is still in contact with her first boss who has had a lasting impact on her career. Mentors teach important lessons. Anna shares how “leadership is never done. It is a muscle that you continue to build and every day”.  Young girls need a path to live their true potential. Anna viewed the Girl Scouts as the largest prevention program to help girls know their dreams are worth of it.  While CEO, Anna gave girls hope, and told them “…you can do anything, become President or Secretary State…” and so much more. If we don’t invest in girls and also in boys early, it has an impact when they reach retirement. Now we are seeing a continuum of issues, because we didn’t invest in girls early on, it has an impact on women over 60. A women’s economic security is impacted over her lifetime. Older adults want to be independent. Anna learned early on in her career, how people born with certain attributes, wanted to be able to do things for themselves and needed access to programs that could help them.  At the end of the interview, we discuss how 60% of women over the age of 60 years old, feel financial insecurity.  Here are steps you can do today to make sure you are prepared for retirement. 7 Actions You Can Take Today Start your financial planning now. Put something into retirement now, at any age, we should be planning for the future. Anna shares how a friend of hers says “Don’t buy shoes, Buy Buildings.”  Make sure your nest egg is large enough for your future needs. You are paying into an infrastructure. You need to pay attention to economic policies in the world.  Huge decisions are being made and everyone should make sure whoever you elect, represents your interests. Close the financial Pay-Gap. Men and Women are still not receiving equal pay– if you are the caregiver you have to cover expenses not only for yourself, but also for others you care for, and on average women make $300 less per month in retirement compared to men. Educate yourself. Raise the issues that are most important to elected officials. Don’t be afraid to talk to other women. Ask for advice, and make a plan to create financial security. Get involved. Read as much you can, volunteer, get on the board of a non-profit, or support someone who is running for office. Be happy about your choices. Get passionate about things you care about. “We have a great future ahead of us”- Anna Maria Chávez It is with sincere gratitude I thank Anna for this incredible interview.  If you have any questions about these topics, and if I can help you on your journey, reach out to me and join our LinkedIn Group! Anna’s Recommended Resource: NCOA.ORG is the oldest nonprofit advocating for adults aging. Credits:  As always, thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this podcast. Biography Anna Maria Chávez is the Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for the National Council on Aging, whose mission is to improve the lives of millions of older adults, especially those who are struggling. In this role, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the nation’s oldest service and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and economic security of older Americans. She ensures that NCOA’s fiscal, operations, fundraising, marketing, consumer experience, advocacy, human capital, technology, programmatic and organizational culture strategies are effectively implemented across all segments of the organization. Anna led the NCOA operations team in achieving NCOA’s 2020 social impact goal one year early in 2019. Anna was promoted into this role after serving as NCOA’s Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President for External Affairs where she led the teams responsible for marketing and communications, fund development, strategic partnerships, public policy and advocacy and the National Institute for Senior Centers. Chávez developed the leadership skills growing up in Eloy, Arizona, that would propel her into a career of public service. Her desire to transform the world through servant leadership led her to Yale University, before pursuing a juris doctorate at the University of Arizona. She held numerous posts in President Bill Clinton’s administration and later returned to Arizona to serve then-governor Janet Napolitano. Her success led to her appointment as CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, where she served from 2011-2016 as the first woman of color to lead the 104-year group with 2.7 million members in over 90 countries and 59 million alumnae in America. In 2016, Anna was named as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine, cited for her vision and creativity in working to revitalize the Girl Scout brand for a new century and was named number 22 by Fast Company in its annual list of the most creative people in business. Anna is one of the world’s top experts on women’s leadership, youth development, and aging issues and draws from her 25 years of public service and nonprofit leadership. She brings a wealth of experience from previous legal, public policy, nonprofit management, and brand management positions in Arizona, Texas, Washington, DC, and New York City. Her keen insights and dynamic presentations have inspired thousands of individuals around the globe to lead authentically and has helped organizations work together more collaboratively and create dynamic impact. Anna has appeared on CBS News, NBC’s The Today Show, FOX News Channel, CNBC’s Squawk Box, CNN, Bloomberg Radio, NPR, and she’s a contributing writer on Huffington Post.  

Are you looking for unique ways to engage your attendees at your next association event? In this interview with Michael Rosenberg, Managing Director MCI and Managing Director HCEA (Healthcare Exhibitor Association) he describes how his association helps attendees get the most out their conference experience.  Find out why it is so important to offer different strategies to encourage interaction at a conference beyond education.  We talked live about how successful HCEA was in creating many touch points for social interaction. Listen to this episode to get five power tips that will help you with your next event.   Top 5 Tips for Maximizing Attendee Engagement: Location: Choose a venue that is easy to access both from a transportation perspective but also every aspect at a hotel if you have a smaller conference. The Miami Convention and Visitor bureau worked for many years with HCEA to create a fantastic experience start to finish in the hotel. Get Social: Find ways that attendees can communicate at different touch points.  If you offer an app, make sure attendees are able to connect with each other inside the app. Trade Show Floor Integration: Michael shares how they had a “ted” talk meet the expert session in the center of the hall as well as meals served inside the hall to help encourage attendee-exhibitor interaction. Clear Communication: Engage the audience early in the excitement and make sure there are guides at the venue to help people find their way easily. Follow-up. One thing HCEA does really well is stay connected with the attendee more than most conferences. Looking to get involved?  Check out HCEAInnovate coming up at the end of March at the Exhibitor Show.  Don’t miss the opportunity to network and maximize your results at an event you are planning. As always, if you have any questions about things we discussed on this show, or if I can help you in any way, reach out to me, I love hearing from you. A big thanks to Michael for being on the show today! Be sure to stay tuned next week, for a very exciting guest Anna Maria Chavez. Credits: Thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Have you ever attended an event that was flawless and made you feel special?  Kristen Farley and Stephanie Schwartz share a behind the scenes look at the details for Rock Your Trade Show's EmpowHer networking event.  They provide important insights including why you always need have a Plan B for every scenario in meetings and events.  Listen to how they complement each other in their roles from hotel arrangements to employee events and discover resources you can use for your next event. Have you ever attended an event that was flawless and made you feel special?  Kirsten Farley and Stephanie Schwartz share a behind the scenes look at the details for Rock Your Trade Show's EmpowHer networking event.  They provide important insights including why you always need have a Plan B for every scenario in meetings and events.  Listen to how they complement each other in their roles from hotel arrangements to employee events and get resources you can use for your next event. Stephanie Schwartz shares how she got started in the sports industry playing golf and working first in golf tournaments and has a background not only in events she also worked at an App company for meetings.  She shares how helpful her experiences have been to prepare her in her current role. Kristen Farley not only worked at conference centers previously she also worked at Disney and that experience helped her with the invaluable ability to always remain calm under pressure.  She has a knack for always knowing how to exceed attendee expectations and know their preferences.   Both Stephanie and Kristen share how they helped with the logistics in preparing for the first Rock Your Trade EmpowHer networking event along with the help from Trina Palm.  They discuss insider resources and even have a funny story about what not to do when you are speaking at a large event. For more tips about how to host an incredible event, reach out to me. I love hearing from you! A big thanks to the team for helping with our event and to our wonderful attendees who made EmpowHer a memorable networking experience. Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

There are many traits that can lead to success and Hope Mueller, Vice President Program and Project Management at Horizon,shares how persistence helped to open doors throughout her life.  In this interview, Hope talks about her new book- “Hopey, From Commune to Corner Office” and her journey from poverty and violence to having a successful career and being a mother of 4 girls.  Hope’s tenacity, grit and ability to stay positive amidst incredible adversity is incredibly inspiring. If you live in Chicago, you can meet Hope at our first Rock Your Trade Show power networking event happening this week! Register at using this link: tinyurl.com/RYTS2020 on January 6th when this episode debuts.  Registration closes today-don’t miss the chance to network and get advice. Hope achieved success by having a positive approach and mindset.  She shares these insights you can use today.   Core Principles: Be comfortable with change.In her book, Hope faced constant change and she learned quickly how to adapt to any situation. Be solutions focused.There is always a solution. Persistence will Open Doors. “Just keep going, because someone will come and open the gate.”-Hope Mueller.  Life Lessons: Overnight success takes 10 years.If you are clear on what you want to achieve and keep driving towards it you will arrive.  Be present in what you are doing.Hope uses this technique: “Be here now; Now be here” that she picked up from her time in the Commune.   By being fully present in the moment, you will find greater enjoyment in your life. Do what you are good at doing and lean into your strengths. Honor your time.  Set aside time and be fully present in those moments. Make time for what is important and stay focused.Hope is a successful leader, author, launched a charity, sits on a few boards, is a mother of four and just started her MBA.  She attributes her ability to balance so many demands by honoring the time she allocates to an activity. Finding a Mentor: Ask for whatever it is you want. People want to help. Most people will agree to meet with you because they want to share and make a difference. Decide on what is the value of meeting. Determine what you can learn from them. Have 3 questions prepared. Focus on listening first before speaking. Try Something New: Don’t be afraid to try new things. The good stuff happens when you are outside of the comfort zone.Lean into your strengths.  Just go for it. Use your core transferable skill set and then when you have the opportunity-Go for it. Advice: “Find ways to honor your time.  You can be amazing.   Just go do that.” Check out Hope’s new book at www.Hopey.net. Her second book is coming out in May “COUNTING HOPE: CREATING THE PATH TO CONFIDENCE”. As always, if you have any questions about today’s episode, reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show.  Join Hope and four other senior women leaders at our face-to-face event on January 9th.  Register today at www.tinyurl.com/RYTS2020. About Hope Mueller: Hope Mueller is an author, inspirational speaker, executive, and active non-profit volunteer who is passionate about career development and community service. Marked by the experiences on a hippie commune in her early years, Hope’s unique childhood conceived her gift of creating order out of chaos. She lives with her husband in northern Illinois and actively parents her four daughters through the phases of their lives. Credits: Thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Have you been thinking about advancing your career in 2020?  Listen to this episode from 5 industry experts, Melanie Neal, Dawn Will, Ann Carter, Anne Trompeter and Marcia Deem who provide insights about staying relevant, how to get promoted, collaborating with procurement, networking and getting results for leadership.  If you want to accelerate your career in 2020, this is the episode for you. If you live in Chicago, join us January 9th for our first ever face-to-face speed networking event.  Melanie Neal will be one of the table leaders, along with Kathryn Becker, Hope Mueller, Kathy Relias and Lesly Marban.  You will discover how decisions are made behind the scenes from these leaders who share best practices for getting promoted.  Don't miss this opportunity to meet with these leaders and advance your career. Listen to the full episodes from this podcast: 64 How to Lead, Embrace Change and Stay Relevant with Melanie Neal  82 How to Lead and Create Career Growth for Your Team with Dawn Will  66 How to Embrace Opportunities and Lead a Global Purchasing Organization with Ann Carter  86 How to Make a Bold Move with Anne Trompeter 64 How to Take Risks and be an Industry All-Star with Marcia Deem If you want to accelerate your career, this is the episode to help you with actionable tips you can use today.  If you have an idea for a future interview, or would like more information about a topic we discuss, reach out to me, I love hearing from you! Gratitude: Thanks to Melanie Neal, Dawn Will, Ann Carter, Anne Trompeter, and Marcia Deem for sharing their insights. Credits: A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast.

Do you have a challenge in your life and think it is too big to solve?  Maybe you want to change jobs but don’t think the timing is right, or have a budget challenge for your program and think you have to eliminate shows that you know your company should attend.  Whatever your situation, using this phrase by Marie Forleo “Everything Is Figureoutable” will help you make it all work out. I have a saying when asked…can we do this?  “The Answer is always yes in trade shows” I usually follow that up by saying-budget and timing may impact the final result but we will make it happen.  This has been my mantra way before I was a student in Marie Forleo’s B School and before reading her new book Everything is Figureoutable.  In her book, she walks the reader through an incredible journey of her life, and stories of people who have faced incredible odds only to come out the other side.  It is the end of the year if you are listening to this podcast when it is released and you may be looking forward afraid to make the change you dreamt of at the beginning of this year.  This is your time, we can do this together and I will walk you through some powerful advice from Marie’s book that you can apply right now.    And – if you live in Chicago and want to really figure out your career-join us January 9th, at our first ever face to face event.  I have five incredible women leaders, Melanie Neal, Kathryn Becker, Hope Mueller, Lesly Marban and Kathy Relias.  These women are Vice Presidents, CMO’s and have held leadership roles with HBA-Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.   You can register at Eventbrite and type in Rock Your Trade Show EmpowHer.  The ticket price will be donated to Dress for Success a wonderful empowering organization that helps women with business clothing for interviews.  Don’t delay registration closes December 20th.   “The world needs that special gift that only you have”- Marie Forleo Have you been feeling frustrated or worried lately?  If you live anywhere other than a sunny location, December when this episode is airing, can feel like a mixture of hope, joy and even sadness.  Now more than ever, is the time to banish those thoughts, look at what is important and figure things out in a way that gives you joy.  I am going to start with something Marie shares at the end of her book and it is wisdom a palliative nurse shared about the 5 things people say at the end of their lives.  It won’t come as a surprise.  It is four words: “I Wish I Had”. Listening to those words-what comes to mind?  Do you start to feel doubt, or wonderment?  Either way-the words take on a strong meaning and carry with them weight of a life well lived or a life with regrets for not taking action. Here are four things to ask yourself: “What holds you back from going for your big dream or aspiration?” “Imagine death is imminent. Finish the following sentence at least twenty (more if needed).  I wish I had, I wish I had, I wish I had” If you believed to your core that everything really is figureoutable, what would you now do? Please complete the last challenge by hand-grab a journal turn off electronics. Your future self is going to write a letter to yourself:  I’d love you to let go of, I’d love you to start, I’d love you to remember. Pretty heavy stuff, right?  Okay now we can reverse engineer those things and get you to a place where all of the answers come to you easy breezy. In her book, Marie walks us through a process of realizing that once we remove the barriers that we have been allowing to sabotage our thinking, things become straight forward.  She shares personal stories and here are two that stood out to me: The first is from a mother who learns that her daughter, who was a competitive dancer and had scoliosis and could no longer dance.  I can relate to this because my own daughter has debilitating health issues that have altered the way she can play sports and even do activities with friends.  This mom came to realize that once she accepted the situation she could figure out the path her daughter could take for happiness which was above all else what mattered most * page 48 in the book Do you have a challenge with a loved one and think – there is no way I will make it through?  Check out page 48 in Marie’s book, to find inspiration and see that in the valley is where we gain our greatest strength-you just have to open the window and let the message flow in to your heart. The second story Marie shares about her relationship with her husband and a trip they were trying to take.  They nearly miss their flight-and I could relate to this story on so many levels-from working to the last minute and getting caught in traffic, to missing the cut off to check a bag so she buys a carry on and stuffs as much as she could fit, to taking a bus at JFK and having only minutes to make it through security and get on the plane.  In the end-they made their trip to Spain through many hurdles and at each step of the way, decisions were made, persistence was there and a desire to find a way to make it happen.  If you travel-you won’t want to miss her story in Chapter 9: Refuse to be Refused. Do you have a story about refusing to be refused-not allowing anything to stop you?  How did that feel?  In the moment, it was shear stress, but on the other side, you probably looked back and realized a little invincible right? I can remember years ago, there was an issue with getting a client’s instrument to a show.  The night before-their featured product wasn’t going to arrive and we were on the west coast, the instrument was in the mid-west.  I started to think-there has to be a way because…everything in trade shows is a yes-it can be done.  I asked the client if they had any instruments closer-the answer was yet-Colorado.  Great, next step-find a truck to drive it out to Anaheim. Check.  What I didn’t know is there weather conditions that added to the mix.  The instrument arrived 15 minutes before the show opened.  I was told we would have to wait until after the show that night to bring it out because forklifts couldn’t come on the floor.  At that moment, I could see the panic on the client’s face because they had demos scheduled with VIP customers all day.  Instead of waiting until the end of the day, I got 6 men to lift the instrument and walk it on the floor-sort of like pallbearers- if you can imagine! Everything was figureoutable.  It started with refusing to be refused. Now if you are thinking to yourself, yes but-fill in the blank and therefore can’t possibly do…this.  The answer is you can. 4 Tips to Help You Figure anything out from Marie’s book: Define Your Dream-You know how much I love writing things down. And according to Marie-you are “42% more likely to succeed” by writing down your dream.  Here are two resources for you – Rachel Hollis Start today Journal and Chalene Johnson Push Journal.  Both will help you stay on track daily and achieve your dreams. Define what you want-make a list! Get Real about your Dream- Choose the one dream you want to achieve most Make a specific, measurable and actionable plan Start Before you Are Ready- So many of us self-sabotage and find reasons not to start-don’t let this be you!! Remember the exercise we started with? Looking back on your life?  This is probably the most important advice above all else.  Chris Krimitsos just published a book-you can find it on Amazon-called Start Ugly.  It is a small little book that if you are stuck you should pick up and make it a plan to read it before the end of the year! Progress not Perfection-this is probably the thing I am most guilty about. Does this happen to you-procrastinate because it just isn’t quite good enough-ask yourself is it 90% good?  Then it is good enough!  Here are some tips Marie advises to eliminate the temptation to wait for perfect: Take small steps – and ignore big drama Plan ahead for problems Expect and embrace self-doubt Ask What’s the next right move Use the power of positive quitting Cultivate patience The Secret to Lasting Success-don’t go it alone! Invest in figureoutable friends Be a figureoutable force for good work I hope these tips have helped to realize anything can be worked out-it takes a belief in yourself.  Always remember you are worth it. I love helping others which is why I am hosting our first face-to-face event.  Be sure to check it out at Eventbrite and as always if I can help you on your journey-reach out to me at rockyourtradeshow.com/let’s talk. Credits: Thanks to Marie Forleo for writing this incredible book! Editing: Thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

"If we don't give a voice to this, who will?" Randy Acker asked on this panel at HCEAConnect about Exhibitions Day.  Have you ever considered how you can impact the $97 Billion Exhibitions Industry?  Trade Shows in the U.S. represent more business than the meat industry, the gaming industry and so many more industries and yet until 6 years ago, congress didn't know how vital it is to our national economy.  Legislation that impacts how many attendees come to shows, and who is able to attend from abroad would have been made without understanding trade shows.  Thanks to IAEE and the 120 people who attended Exhibitions Day, important legislation was passed that will help the trade show industry. Find out in this panel discussion with Cathy Breden, COO, IAEE and CEIR, Randy Acker, President, Exhibitor Media Group and Diane Benson, Strategic Event Marketing Manager and Diamond Level CTSM share the key initiatives that were presented this year at Exhibitions Day and why it is so vital to our trade show industry for companies and marketers to be heard on capitol hill.  Natalie Benamou moderated the panel of industry experts on the importance of making an impact for the trade show industry. If you have been looking to increase visibility within your organization and be an industry influencer, Exhibitions Day is a great experience.  This is your time to take action.  As always, if you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode or would like to learn more about how you can get involved, reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show. Special thanks to HCEAConnect for the opportunity to have this panel and to Cathy Breden, Randy Acker and Diane Benson for sharing their insights. Credits: As always, thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Do you feel Mom Guilt? The other evening, I attended an HBA (Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association) event about the Imposter Syndrome- and one of the women in the audience asked about what to do about Mom guilt.  She felt she couldn’t do anything well and was overwhelmed.  We have all felt that feeling of “not being enough”.  Whether you are a parent or have personal responsibilities caring for a family member, friend or someone you care about, we all have experienced overwhelm and feel like we aren’t doing enough.  Let’s change the conversation and hopefully you will feel more balanced- and confident. I have shared tips for confidence, networking and empowerment but this sense of shame and guilt is something that each of us need to be reminded that in the sentence of “all” we can have it all we need to change our definition of all.  In this episode, I share with you 5 strategies to manage your guilt and feel like every day- you are enough. Ask yourself-when was the last time you looked back on your day and said “I feel great- the day was in balance with my work and personal life”? If your answer is – ‘I rarely if ever feel that’-you are not alone.  The more driven your personality the harder you most likely are on yourself and the internal narrative is telling you things like- ‘You should be able to do this-Janet does it.’ Or ‘Why does my heart sink when I have to walk out the door for a trip?’ ‘My work hours have increased and I feel I am spread too thin and am missing out on my child’s milestones.’ All of these external guilt feelings can create a sense of shame. “Shame is how we feel about ourselves and guilt is how others make us feel.” – Eloiza Domingo-Snyder.  Both feelings can sabotage your full potential and make you feel out of balance. 5 Ways You Can  Change The Shame Narrative  1. Choose a Season.  A lot of coaches talk about this idea of                  season- it means you decide your focus for a period of time. Going back to what I said earlier- all is your definition once established will help free your internal sabotaging shame voice.   2. Seek and Accept Help.If you travel- like many marketers I know- it is very hard to get the house cleaned, manage appointments and also work demands while on the road. Superwomen deny the idea they need help- instead when asked they respond- oh no I got this! And then you crumble inside possibly cry in your car or in the bathroom because of personal regrets and wanting to not appear weak. When someone offers - accept.  And if you are saying- ‘I have no one who can help me’- that isn’t true.  Even if you feel there is no budget to have services like house cleaning- you may be able to find a trade.  Facebook is full of mom groups and there will be one where women help each other with no money exchanged. 3. Focus On Quality Not Quantity.When my girls were little- I traveled a lot.  At first, I brought my oldest with me- but once I had two daughters, it became too difficult.  And when they were little, there wasn’t FaceTime and Skype.  So instead of those visuals, it was phone conversations that often left me feeling terrible like so many of us- if only I could do more. The reality is there are only 168 hours in a week, 24 hours in a day and so instead of feeling like you need to be there every second - even if you are distracted and taking calls- you and your family may feel better when you are totally focused with them. Many successful women do this- and from the outside. you think they are doing it “all” but their definition of all means only at designated times. 4. Find Support From People In Your Situation.One of the easiest ways to feel like we are not enough, can’t meet personal expectations or fill in the blank ... So now I am going to challenge you with an idea counter to what you may think you need to do.   Join an organization and prioritize time for you to find others that lift you up.  10 years in January I joined HBA- my girls were in grade school.  I traveled.  And it seemed like - how can I do anything outside of work it takes me away from my family?  What I discovered is being my best-self wasn’t one dimensional - and taking 2-3 hours a month with people who inspired me filled the cup up so I could be focused.  Below are links of groups you can join. 5. Positive Affirmations Matter.Words and the way we interpret them shape our feelings.  Instead of allowing what others might be saying to you and have that add to how you’re feeling.  Start every day with a positive phrase- It can be- I am a great mother and I am in a season of focusing on - fill in the blank. Express gratitude - you are in a position to have a full life that is full.   This episode is dedicated to all the parents out there who do their version of all- and celebrate the moments every day.   Sometimes feeling more balanced includes having the right service provider, who takes care of the details so you can open up more time for things that matter.   This is how I approach relationships with my clients and if you have any questions please reach out to me at rock your trade show. And if you aren’t a marketer, but need a little help, as a connector, I am happy to help you find the resources you need. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Rock Your Trade Show. Feeling like you need a community to help support you?  We have a LinkedIn group and will be doing our first face to face event in January. If this episode was helpful please share it with someone who might need a lift today. You are enough, be kind to yourself and always remember You Got This.   Women’s Group Resources: 9 Powerful women’s groups Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) HCEA Credits: As always thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.      

What does a great event experience feel like for an attendee?  That is the first question that should be asked before budgets, logistics, venue, what do you want the experience to be for the audience?  Now, close your eyes and imagine the best event you have ever attended.  How did it make you feel?  Recently I was brainstorming with our Meetings and Events team about the ingredients for a successful event-what is needed-and what to avoid and how to make it memorable and there are 11 key steps,  that when they are done right, will turn your attendees into super fans.  In this episode, you find exactly what you need to create the best experiences for your internal and external stakeholders.  Has this happened to you, when you feel totally excited about an event, only to realize once you are there that it isn’t living up to your expectation?  In the face-to-face industry there are not only trade show experiences, which we talk about a lot here on the show-there are events with the show-it can be your company’s event like a Pre-Con Meeting, Sales Meeting, Executive Level Meetings or if you work for an association, you may plan networking events.  All of these experiences combined create the experience for the attendee.  "Whether you are focused on internal customers or external-the outcome is always the same-and based on one question we all ask-Was it worth my time?" Here are four examples of events that either exceeded exceptions or were a surprise when they didn't: Recently I went to a big name event locally here in Chicago.  I like to continue my education and expand horizons and this one stood out for two reasons-two big CNBC names (one of them is an inventor on Shark Tank) and one inspirational leader who I love.  It was an all-day event and the female speaker who was the keynote-was to come on at the end of the day-like 5 PM-which seemed crazy to me.  Fire up your audience at least in the middle! Sadly I was unable to stay until the end- and missed seeing the top person I wanted to see. In contrast to this event, three events that truly stand out in my past were put on by Social Media Examiner-and Social Media Marketing world and events with Chalene Johnson and Amy Porterfield.  The common result in all three is that my expectations were exceeded.  And in the case of the Amy Porterfield event, thanks to encouragement from my friend Susan Crawford who attended with me, I launched this podcast after attending Amy's event. You may be asking- "how do I create an event that will delight our attendees? 11 Tips to Achieving the Best Event Ever Know what your audience really wants. Internal customers-and this can be for any event-a luncheon, town hall, national sales meeting or external for clients.  What does success look like for them?  I bet if asked the attendees you might get some differing opinions and some that are all the same.  At the heart-was it worth my time will sound out above everything else. Offer value beyond what is expected. Some of you may host events where you sell tickets or an association that holds networking events.  Regardless of the event, if you deliver one thing that is unexpected, your attendee will feel that they got value.  It could be as simple as giving out the slide presentation.  Or it can be bigger like having an app where attendees can connect together.  Whatever it is, the element of surprise will create mass appreciation for your effort. Speakers Matter. If you are creating an event where people will hear someone speaker, having a key opinion leader or multiple really makes a difference. Communicate The WIFM. Internal and external audiences share one thing-they are all consumers.  When we think about whether something is worth our time, we evaluate it based on our understanding of the value proposition.  If you are hosting a town hall-make sure you share the exciting things that the attendee will learn by attending.  Symposia, what will the attendee find that they didn’t know before coming to the session.  Evening event with speakers-who are they and why would your attendee care to hear them.    Include networking. You may be saying-I do only internal meetings, why should I include networking everyone already knows each other—because they don’t really know each other.  Our meetings and events team plans employee dinners for one of our clients and the feedback is always incredible.  The sales reps truly appreciate the chance to talk to leaders in the organization and eachother.  And Bonus alert-if you do an employee event tied to a trade show-it can count as Cost Avoidance – and help increase your payback ratio and ultimately ROI for the event. Provide Radical Hospitality. How are you greeting the attendee at your event? If you have a presentation where customers are attending (this also applies to internal customers as well!) how are they greeted, what is the experience like when they enter the room? Do you welcome them and make them feel at ease or simply check a name off the list. Now think about what you want to feel and flip the switch-the attendee wants the same thing! Offer Speaker Planning. It goes without saying that things like AV need to function, and the speakers should all be prepared on what they are talking about.  There is a planning process to execution and not only logistics need to be mapped out but what the speakers will be doing and saying.  Speakers like to know in advance the topic, and what it is you need from them.  Host calls with everyone who will be speaking to ensure they are fully prepared. Include Exceptional Outreach and Promotion. Before the event-how are you communicating this event?  Find ambassadors who will evangelize the event for you to help create buzz before the event. Train the Onsite Team. Before the event-meet with the team, set up how you will welcome attendees-is there a buddy system you might use to introduce people at a networking event?  Make sure all customer facing people whether volunteer or employee can answer basic questions and know where to go for answers when they don’t know. Evaluate Venues and Budgets. Not all locations are equal.  If you are at a meeting and restricted to the conference room the association offers-evaluate the layout of the room and what is needed to create the best experience for people in that room.  Budgets play a factor in location-and there are things you can do to negotiate rates that will make it more affordable-stay tuned we will have that information in an upcoming episode with our events team! Follow Up Post – Event. So many of us are running, busy beyond 24 hours in a day and we rush to the next event without a follow up to the one you just had.  Conduct an internal survey and external survey. For help with this, our results division has all the tools you need to get data you can use to help formulate planning and evaluate success of an event.   We have only scratched the surface here.  If I can leave you with one thing it is this: People need to feel like their time is valued.   When you create your next amazing event, if you treat every attendee like they are the most important person in the room-they will remember!  Our meetings and events team is very talented and can help provide guidance, if you feel stuck you can get advice from the experts. And one final exciting note.  Rock Your Trade Show is planning our first ever face-to-face event in January 2020! We will have senior leaders from the show, and even some surprise speakers for an incredible event.  If you are interested in attending reach out to me!.  I will also share details in a coming episode. Special thanks to our incredible Meetings & Events Team for helping plan our upcoming event! Resources from this Episode The Chalene Show   with Chalene Johnson                                                                                  Build Your Tribe  with Chalene Johnson Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner                                                                                                                                                    Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield                                                     Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn                                    Entrepreneurs On Fire with John Lee Dumas                                 Shark Tank Books Superfans by Pat Flynn Credits: Thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode    

Are you looking for ways to expand your industry knowledge and leadership experience? Jeannie Wert, Director of Exhibit Management, shares how she has gained industry expertise and is able to provide valuable insights to her team and company from her involvement in HCEA and now she serves as President of the association.  In this interview, Jeannie shares how valuable it is to be well versed in both PhRMA and Medical Technology in order to provide industry knowledge to internal stakeholders.  Listen and find out how valuable joining a board and taking on a leadership role can be for your career. 5 Ways Associations Will Boost your Career: Greater visibility within your organization. Joining an association can give you early access to information that can be shared with your team and organization and senior management will take notice. Gain experiential leadership. Often in our careers we don’t always get the on-the-job training that we would like and volunteering for a role with responsibilities will benefit not only your career but also your organization. Improved internal communication. Team members will appreciate the information you share with them and in turn be able to deliver results in a positive way. Personal Advisory Board. When you are part of an outside organization, your network opens up and you have access to people in the industry who can help you with advice, or even show floor support when you need to “phone a friend”. Find a Mentor. When you are part of a community, you can connect with experienced experts who can provide career advice. If you are in healthcare, joining an organization like HCEA or Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) will help you to find “your people” who understand the challenges you face in your day -to-day role.  For more information on how you can take on a leadership role, reach out to me, I would be happy to help. Favorite Tip: Read trade publication information on LinkedIn and Twitter once a day and once a week.  Everything that happens in healthcare is evolving so quickly. Thanks to Jeannie for taking time to be on the show.  Here are places you can find her: LinkedIn and Twitter Siemens Healthineers  Credits: Thanks to Christy Haussler with Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

What does Joy look like for you?  Heading into the holidays this time of year can be especially hard for some people and as part of a work-life balance episode, I thought I would share some things that might help you not only discover how to find positivity every day but also what you can do to harness this feeling and apply tips to your everyday life. Recently, this topic came up in a conversation about how joy is power.  Think about that for a moment.  When we feel joy, it is hard for negativity to take hold and bring us down.  Applying this to our working life first, when we smile and feel good the effect seeps into every aspect of our day.  Conversely if we are feeling frustrated, small things can make us self-doubt and feel less than about ourselves.  I started this podcast to help empower marketers-specifically women in our industry who are looking for more-opportunities, expanding your network, gaining visibility with leaders in your organization, getting promoted and finding confidence.  Here is a real-world situation: Imagine you are in a meeting, and there is an opportunity to voice your idea but a colleague seizes the moment and you miss out.  Our body language and demeanor can quickly give away how we are feeling inside-and naturally it is more the opposite of joy-anxiety, sadness, self-doubt can start whispering in you ear.  The next time the opportunity comes your way-it may be easier to just say nothing instead of subjecting yourself to those feelings. Now-take that same scenario and close your eyes.  As you enter the room-you have a smile on your face.  It actually makes you stand a little taller and you feel confident.  While others are speaking, you smile in appreciation of their comments.  And when it is your turn to express that idea, you feel confident and without hesitation.  If the colleague mentioned earlier tries to cut you off, you maintain that smile and ask that you are afforded the chance to finish your idea. Same situation-but the outcome will be vastly different.  In the second one- you find that you are in control-because you have chosen your own joy.  No matter how awesome your workplace is, there will always be at some point a situation that can pop the happiness bubble and move you from feeling on top of the world to not so great. Now you may start to say-yes but I have reasons for not feeling happy at this moment.  I am sure this can be true.  But if any of us want to advance our careers, change perceptions or improve our health-we need to tap into joy, hold on to it, and the next part is super important-send it back out into the world. For busy marketers, it is easy to get lost in the tasks of it all and miss the chance to hone the joy effect in your daily practice.  Don’t get me wrong-I don’t always feel joyful.  But I have observed that this idea of happiness has a direct correlation to success and to achieve it, we need tools to stay on track.  And once we express this joy at work, it will spill over into our personal lives.  There are traps that can cause us to not find our joy. And many physical and physiological things that can also impact how we are able to process positivity.  So, what can we do to stay on track and gear up for the last two months of the year if you are listening to this episode when it releases it is the beginning of November.  Depending on where you live, the weather has turned colder, there is less sun and it can also impact how we feel. 10 Ways to Add Joy and Build Your Personal Power Get enough sleep. One of the first physical ways we can lose our happiness is when we are simply over-tired.  Roll back the bedtime commitment and get 7 hours minimally of sleep.  Think about when you are exhausted how easy it is to feel short and frustrated-and when you feel rested.  You may say-everyone knows now that sleep is one of the number ways to maintain health-but are you getting enough?  Most of us get less than 7 hours, or it is intermittent.  I have a sleep hack to share-the app AAPTIV actually has sleep meditations. I use it almost every night either going to sleep or when I can’t sleep. Express gratitude. Every day, I write 5 things I am grateful for in my Start today Journal.  Rachel Hollis has these journals-link in the show notes and I can honestly say it is not only a dream maker but the gratitude fills up the cup.  Rachel suggests the things we write should be small-it can be someone opening the door for you when your arms are full to giving up a seat on public transit when you were tired. Be thoughtful. My favorite quote is by Maya Angelou-People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.  I personally get way more joy out of giving than receiving.  It is something I try to incorporate always to help lift others up.  Especially if I am having a difficult day-I try to do something for someone-either a stranger or it can be someone I know. Start the morning fresh. Resist starting your day on your phone. I know.  This is one I have to work at-and am not always good at.  But in a previous episode 15, I talked about productivity.  When we feel less productive, it has a direct impact on how we feel-and less joyful. Just say no. It is so tempting to say yes when someone asks for help.  I am very guilty of over extending and wanting to do things beyond time constraints.  I now say “Does this give me joy?” Make your self-care a priority. Rachel Hollis has a 5 to Thrive strategy that is very effective.  I encourage anyone listening to try it and see how it goes: Drink at least half of your body weight in water Work out at least 30 minutes every day Get up 30 minutes early Give up one food for 30 days-sugar for example or something you know isn’t serving you. Express gratitude every day Check out The Hollisco.com for these and many more tips like #last90days Make sure you are balanced. This is just for our women listeners-but if you are feeling out of sorts it could be hormones, low vitamin D, Thyroid or other things that happen to us and if untreated can lead to more serious illness.  When we don’t feel our best it definitely impacts how we express ourselves at home and work. Do one thing every day that makes you smile. It can be looking at YouTube and laughing at a funny video.  I will share with you here a video about what it is like to be on a conference call-link in the show notes.  Makes me laugh every time. Take time out in the day to breath fully. We hold our breath and it can have adverse effects on how we feel. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. Walking into a tense meeting, your inclination may be to shrink down, sit with your legs crossed and shoulders down.  Smile, visualize joy, imagine you are in a place that makes you feel happy and express yourself to others in this light. As with every episode, if you found this information helpful, reach out to me.  I love hearing from you and am honored to help you in your journey. Favorite Resources for this episode:  Start Today Journal, Strive for Five, Girl Stop Apologizing, #Last90days are all Rachel Hollis products and books that can be found at The Hollis Co and look at her Rise conferences she has one coming up this week called Rise Business. Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.    

Have you been thinking about expanding your career and make a bold move to become an entrepreneur?  Anne Trompeter shares how she transitioned from working as a Creative Director to Principal and the steps that she took to own a company.  Think about how you can make an impact by taking your passion, make a plan and bring your vision to life.  Anne shares how she is a mentor, helps connect people and so much more.  Listen to this super charged interview and discover how you can make your next bold move, accelerate your career and take things in your marketing plan to a new level. How to amplify your career with these power tips: Mentorship: Look for people who can contribute to your career. Pay it Forward-Mentors are important because they believe in you and give you feedback and honest feedback-you have this-go do it. We all need confidence and it is a big part of mentorship which offers you perspective. Business mentors help you find the right people in areas where you feel unsure and they can help to make you more knowledgeable. Mentors can help you backfill the gaps that you have. Mentors have connections that can help you in your career. Find people who have qualities that you aspire to and ask them to mentor you-remember to be very specific on what it is you need from them. We are the five people that we surround ourselves with-find the right people who can help lift you up. Networking: Join professional organizations and be an active participant. Participate in committees that help you make connections and aid you in ways you don’t even know were possible. Be engaged while at an event and be the person in the front row. Spend as little time as possible speaking, listen to the other person more than you talk. After meeting people at an event, step into the hallway and make notes about your conversation. Meaningful connections happen when you are an active listener - it helps bridge differences. “A trick I use sometimes-walking around with a colleague when I meet people for the first time…it can feel more conversational and comfortable for the person we are talking with”-Anne Trompeter New Trend Mindset DIY ideas from marketers who have great suggestions and want to bring several together to execute as one cohesive message.  Conglomerates- Big companies buying other companies creates a lot of disruption and opportunities. The challenge is to make huge stories or brand concepts into one simplified message and integrate it all together.   If you have any questions about the topics we covered in this episode-reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show, I love hearing from you! Favorite Resource ExhibitorLive is a tried and true resource-Awesome and unique way to bring things together in a unique world-find your species. Thanks to Anne Trompeter for sharing her insights and inspiring Rock Your Trade Show listeners!  Visit Live Marketingto find Anne Trompeter. Credits: As always thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode.      

Are you committed to finding ways to add value and implement new ideas for your trade show program?  In this interview with Christine Gahler, Convention Manager at Medtronic, we discuss the value of the convention channel.  The face-to-face opportunity makes it a unique way to reach the highest number of people in a short period of time.  Sometimes it can be easy to have the mentality “if we build a city they will come” and it is time to do more proactively to drive meaningful attendee traffic to your exhibit.  Christine shares how important it is to make sure your staff is meeting with the right people and come up with new ways to integrate meetings for each exhibit experience. Find out how you can apply proven strategies to enhance the value of your trade show program in this episode. In addition to adding value, you will discover ways to expand results if you are a destination booth on the show floor and how to stand out from the competition.  “Numbers can be an elusive thing-not everything you measure has value”- Christine Gahler.  Christine asks the question-while we can track how many people walked through the exhibit, is that the most important measurement or does it really matter the 10 people you had meaningful conversation?  Companies should focus on increasing the number of key interactions by having scheduled meetings to measure and be able to watch the customer journey.  5 Ways to implement what you learn and Take Action! Create hands on experiences. Christine works with Cardiac and Vascular groups, where there are a lot of hands on demos which is critical to the purchasing decision.  There has been an increased interest by attendees to learn in an Innovation Lab setting, where future technologies can be shared.  Creating an innovation lab can be private for VIP attendees only. Focus on showing attendees what they care about most: What’s new What’s coming Innovation application Implement multiple ways to show endorsements. When you plan testimonials, it is important to know the attendee landscape and understand the customer. Live interviews may not be for every type of attendee. People don’t always want to be videoed. Know how people make buying decisions. Think about you as a consumer and how Yelp is used.  People look for reviews and want to know what other people think.  We are all human after-all-and people look for information to evaluate buying decisions. Integrate data to underscore your product or company’s value.  For some attendees, what matters most is data- sometimes even more than testimonials.  Your convention strategy should be tailored to specific audiences. Overall trade shows have a huge impact on our economy.  People crave now more than ever when making a big decision, to see a product and have a conversation.  More important than ever before is the need to make genuine connections.  Attendees want to really feel they are being heard and have someone interact with them.  Surgeons for example, like to make comparisons and having a hands-on opportunity which is different than watching a video.  Only at trade shows is there an opportunity to interact with a specialist and product engineers and be able to get answers to complicated question. Looking to find ways to create value for your program or have a question about our topic today?  Reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show Gratitude: A big thanks to Christine Gahler for meeting live at HCEAConnect and sharing her insights live in person! Credits: As always, thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.      

Have you ever wondered what it is like to work as a Marketer for a global company?  Jennifer Conway describes her role in Marketing for Oculus and how she manages over 100 trade shows in addition to being responsible for all aspects of Marketing.  Oculus is over a German company over 100-year-old company and has been in the US for 20 years.  Find out what it is like to be part of an organization where not only is there leadership buy-in, the CEO helps the marketing team on show-site. Jennifer shares how she plans meetings with her German counterparts using What’s App and GoToMeeting and it helps to keep connected with a 9-hour time difference.  Scheduling meetings in advance is key to being able to communicate effectively with global colleagues. This episode includes everything you need to know to take a on a marketing role for a global company.  In addition, Jennifer shares key insights about work life balance working for a German company including PTO for days worked at trade show events.  Listen to the end and discover insights about what it is like to have leadership support for a trade show marketing program. As always, if you have any questions or would like information about the content we discussed on today’s episode, reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show.  I love hearing from you and helping you achieve your personal and professional goals. Special thanks to Jennifer Conway for meeting early in the morning to record this episode while onsite at HCEAConnect. Credits: Thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Recently, I had the chance to observe the true meaning of grit first hand and it got me thinking: ‘What do we all need to do so we can apply grit and amplify our career results?’  Angela Duckworth author of the book, Grit, has inspired thousands of people to discover how success is more than talent and IQ. Duckworth describes in her book, how people who are successful in their careers have two characteristics: passion and perseverance.  Whether you are looking to get promoted, or if you are a parent wanting to inspire a child, this episode is all about how to find your Grit and what to do for yourself or your family to become “grittier” and influence true potential. Here is a first-hand observation of grit in action.  It was a warm fall evening this past week and my daughter’s field hockey team-who is JV - was playing a varsity team.  For a little context-this is her team’s third year as a sport in her high school and many of the players are new athletes and have never played the game before.  The coach assured our team that while they were varsity – in reality the players were closer to a JV team.  It was the team’s senior night-the most celebrated evening for a team where the players can shine for their parents and families.  For any of the listeners out there with kids who play sports-or if you yourself played sports-the next portion of the story will resonate I am sure.  Our team was down a goalie, we had a lot of sick and injured players and we “borrowed” a former goalie to help us out and not forfeit the game. After the senior announcements, the girls took to the field.  Our team was in position and then it started-two seniors competing for the most goals against our team.  You can envision this-score after score-they totally crushed us.  At the end of the second half with only 37 seconds left to play-and a score of 14-0 on the score board-one of the seniors took her final shot for a 15th goal.  The announcer was so embarrassed he didn’t even say her name. During this entire hour of play, I watched my daughter’s team smile at each other.  They encouraged and cheered one another on.  In short, they simply never gave up.  Despite the odds, and when it was clear that not only would scoring be a long shot (I know sorry about the pun!)  but defending these skilled players was like climbing mount Everest.  And yet- and yet, they pushed on-and even were hugging at the end of the game.  I usually don’t share personal stories on this podcast, but thought we can all be inspired and learn how to tap into GRIT and make things happen we might have otherwise thought impossible by this team’s unwavering commitment.  Now-let’s apply this idea to your work and life-using Angela Duckworth’s model for grit and the grit scale.  10 Things to Know about Grit: Grit predicts success and it goes beyond IQ and Talent. People with grit are able to move past setbacks to achieve your goals and find success. Effort is a multiplier that indicates success rates. Duckworth identifies the following two equations: talent x effort = skill and skill x effort = achievement. Test your grit and measure how gritty you are on the grit scale. How did you score?  Did it surprise you? Grit is something you can change. Don’t focus on the score-look at what you can do to improve so you can accomplish your dreams. Four characteristics to having grit: Interest, practice, purpose and hope. Goal setting should exceed your comfort zone. Tapping into your purpose will help you achieve success beyond personal gain. Optimism is key to feeling hopeful and it helps us realize we can push past adversity. Environment and Extracurricular activities contribute to our having grit. Culture and the people with whom we associate influence our application of grit in our careers. For more information on how you can have more grit in your career, reach out to me, I am here to help!  Looking for more episodes like this one-check out this episode with Laine Mann-How to Tap Into Your Brave, and visit Rock Your Trade Show where you will find tips and  empowering strategies for trade show event marketing and careers. Credits: As always, a special thanks to Christy Haussler and team podcast for editing this episode. Angela Duckworth's book Grit

Are you looking for ways to lead your team or find a way to get promoted? Dawn Will shares leadership tips she uses for her team of 10 people and how she helps develop personal and professional careers within her organization in this third interview of our 3-part series.  Dawn started her career in the military and her ability to forge long-term relationships is highlighted by her amazing approach to interacting with direct reports and leadership alike.  Find out how you can have meaningful one-on-one meetings, create a capabilities road show for your internal stakeholders and how to communicate effectively with leadership and win their buy-in.  If you are looking to have a big impact with your team, this interview is for you!  Starting with one-on-one meetings Dawn gave an overview of how she conducts positive interactions with her team.  She suggests to first start with an agenda for each person meeting with and identity topics that are important to them. At the end of the year, having documented meetings will help with personnel reviews.  Dawn tried to connect weekly with her team and recommends continuing to have conversations throughout the year.  Effective Planning List for One-on-One Meetings: What are you working on now? What do you have coming up? Opportunities for improvements. How else can I help you? Professional and Personal Development. Vacation days coming up. These tips will help both the manager and direct reports better prepare for the meeting and enable positive personal and professional growth. Dawn also shared how to hold effective internal meetings to help everyone involved in an event stay on track and accomplish goals: Internal Meeting Agenda Outline: Start each meeting with follow up with action items from the previous meeting Ask stakeholders what works, what doesn’t work what are the best process for planning meetings Keep everyone focused on the topics most urgent for approvals. Provide target items at every meeting Continue it until the implementation of the convention “We partner all across the organization because we manage all of the Regeneron meetings”- Dawn Will In an effort to help other departments learn about what meetings and conventions provides-Dawn and her team implemented a Capabilities Road Show across Regeneron.  In the capabilities presentation, an organizational chart with names and main contacts were shared to help inform different areas about what is offered at meetings and ways to effectively work together.  It was very well received and is something I encourage each listener to consider! Personal Approach to Leadership: You are either a manger or you lead people. In the military, Dawn always wanted to better the people she around her. Four foundational principles she learned in the military: Team work, Collaboration, Comradery and Integrity. Dawn integrates these every day. Everyone has unique qualities and that is what makes a good team Dawn moved into leadership while in the military and to this day some of the females she mentored still keep in touch with her.  In addition, as mentioned in episode 81 with Jennifer Harrison, Dawn was her business reference from Pfizer and it turned out the two are working together again.  The power of personal connections and passing forward these principals will help your team grow and become leaders. A big thanks to Dawn Will whom you can reach on LinkedIn for taking the time to share her amazing approach to leadership.  Be sure to check out episodes 79 with Kristen Leikwold and 80 with Jennifer Harrison if you haven’t heard what is like to be on Dawn’s team.   If you have any questions about this episode or any of the topics we review on this podcast, reach out to me.  Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you ever paused to think about how face-to-face marketing, when done right, is like a well-orchestrated Broadway show? Julie Harrison shares how she started her career in the performing arts in musical theater and even worked for The Disney Company before transitioning into healthcare as a Meetings and Convention Planner.  Find out in this live interview how she uses her creative skills to deliver experiences today at HCP events, Symposia and on the trade show floor.  Julie and I met up at the HCEAConnect conference and like her colleague Kristen Leikwold, she also works with Dawn Will.  This is the second of a three - part series about being part of an incredible team and the last interview is with Dawn Will who shares her secrets to leadership.  It turned out for Julie, who worked with Dawn in a previous role at Pfizer, that maintaining connections opened doors to her current role. Listen and learn how being a newcomer to a meeting like HCEAConnect can benefit you if you are in healthcare marketing.  4 Ways HCEAConnect Creates Opportunities Making Connections-at HCEAConnect, meeting with every industry type, corporate, association and suppliers is very beneficial. Learning New Ideas-and having a way to apply what you learn can impact your trade show program. Building Teams- Regeneron sent a group of 8 people from a team of 10 to experience the conference together. Julie shared how it was great to be able to experience the information with colleagues. Meeting Face-to-Face- Instead of relying on emails and other ways to connect, seeing people in person really helps create shared experiences that establish bonds beyond the event. Julie’s advice: There is always a plan B.  When the scanners didn’t work at a recent trade show, the sales reps collected business cards so that they could follow up.  If you are wondering how to get involved with an organization and aren’t sure where to start-reach out to me I am here to help and I love hearing from you!   Credits-Thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcastfor editing this episode.  

Have you been thinking about making a career move but aren’t sure where to start?  Kristen Leikwold not only changed jobs from working at association management company for HCEA, to becoming a meetings and convention planner for a corporation, she also moved to a new city.  In this interview, Kristen shares how networking and making great connections gave her the opportunity to find a position at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.  Whether you are in a corporate role, work at an association or are on the agency side of trade shows, the insights and advice in this episode will definitely help you on your career journey.  This is the first of three interviews about a team at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and their Director, Dawn Will who has created an incredible culture and positive culture for personal growth. 4 Steps to Making a Successful Career Move Get involved and make connections. Kristen shares how HCEA helps people network and the power of the connections you make by belonging to an organization like this one can lead to career opportunities. Find the right fit. If you are planning to make a change, review the role and more importantly the people you will work with to ensure you will be able to succeed. Ask about the onboarding process. Kristen explains why having a mentor is so important if you are trying something completely new.  In this case, her boss helps her to understand the role and discover everything she needs to do her job. Step outside of your comfort zone. We talk a lot about this idea on the show, and in this case, Kristen took on a role she hadn’t known before and found she feels rewarded and very happy. In her past, Kristen worked at Disney and it helped her learn customer service and how to put a smile on-for the entire day and offer a personal touch.   When someone feels you are listening to them and knows that you understand and are listening, it makes a big difference.  Kristen shares how talking with thousands of people in a day at Disney, she always found a way to connect, even if there was a language barrier, by offering a smile, it made it work out. If you are on the fence about attending an event, Kristen describes how HCEAConnect is an association that has so much to give.  Even if it is getting that one business card or making a connection with the one person who will help you when you need it, there is nothing else like it.  If you have plans to attend an industry event like ExhibitorLive, there is a special track for healthcare exhibitors called HCEAInnovate.  It is a half day workshop where you will learn something specifically tailored to you.   Kristen’s Advice: Get involved with an association there is so much to learn, it is the perfect place to make connections, network and you may even find your next career opportunity. If you have questions and want to reach Kristen directly, you can email her.  What is your biggest problem with your career or trade show program?  Reach out to me, at Rock Your Trade Show  I  am here to help provide insights, advice and connections so you can rock your next show.  Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Hausslerat Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Do you want to get promoted or lead a global organization? Cathy Breden, Executive Vice President and COO at IAEE and CEIR shares the core principles of what it is like to go outside of her comfort zone every day, travel the world and create incredible impact for the trade show industry.   Many listeners ask about next steps in your career and Cathy shares key insights not only about her career, but also the state of the trade show industry, future trends, resources you can use from CEIR and so much more. 5 Career and Trade Show Industry Insights: Find the right place to work. Cathy shares how IAEE offered a great family friendly workplace that gave her work-life balance and the ability to get promoted. See the World from global perspective. Looking forward regardless of the situation with China and trade wars, business is moving east - by the year 2050 economic power will be between India and China. Use research to make decisions.  CEIR looks at economic performance back to the 2000 and creates a forecast three years out. Using this resource, associations and marketers can understand where our industry is going in the future. Advocate for important protections for event planners and associations.  IAEE helps to advocate on key issues like the online booking scam and is helping to promote key legislation to help end hackers from falsely creating hotel registration sites with two pieces of legislation in congress. Discover industry trends and take action.  CEIR is a resource that includes surveys in all industries and finds out what corporate heads of marketing are thinking, what channels they will be using in the future and budget plans. These insights are valuable to marketers, suppliers and associations alike. For more information about IAEE and CEIR visit the website and check out the IAEE event calendar and CEM program.  Certification program has 11 modules and you need 9 to be certified. A special thanks to Cathy Breden for being on the show and also for being on a panel about Exhibitions day which will be featured in a future episode. Editing Credits: Special thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

Trade show exhibitors, associations and industry suppliers all need to know the data about material handling and other costs to effectively influence change in our industry. Listen to this interview with  Sue Huff, Director, Global Conventions at Medtronic, who shares insights from her panel at HCEAConnect titled "Challenge the Status Quo: 19 Years of Data".  In this interview you will discover: The Impact of rising material handling costs on marketing budgets. Who is affected when exhibitors reduce their exhibit space size. What matters to the millennial attendee experience.  How one show organizer, NAB, changed what they charge for material handling and so much more. The Attendee Shift Demographics are changing for who attends trade shows.  The largest group of attendees today are millennials and their expectations are to have interaction, networking, hands on demos and immersive experiences in the trade show hall.  The positive experience for attendees is diminishing due to some of the costs of bringing the equipment and exhibit to the show.  As these costs are rising, exhibitors are decreasing the booth size or decide to bring less product to the show. The Impact of Downsizing Sue shared how at one show, an exhibitor went from an exhibit space of approx. 100’ x 50’ down to a 20x20. In the past they had a full OR suite in the exhibit and at this particular show, the OR set up was a miniature model displayed under glass.  The question posed Sue asked the show organizer was “how is that experience different for the attendee, when they no longer can touch the product -what is it doing to the overall value of the attendee”.  Attendees want the experience of touching and feeling the instruments and products.  A Look at the Consumer Price Index In a 10-year analysis of the consumer price index on costs for conventions, the CPI increased by 20% and union labor wages went up 36% -37% compared to material handling which went up by 150%.  Material handling is increasing at a much higher rate than other costs in face-to-face marketing.  Material Handling at Trade Shows Here is a snapshot of how material handling is determined for ta show.  Often an association needs signage, aisle carpet etc. and they may ask if they can receive those items at a lower rate.  The general services contractor needs to cover those costs and it can be applied to material handling which is paid for by an exhibitor. Exhibitors often are unaware of surcharges on material handling until they receive an invoice after the show is over.  The challenge with this model is that exhibitors don’t have predictable pricing for budgets.  Case study: What is the true cost of moving one crate Sue described an analysis of how many days it would take a fork lift driver to move one single crate based on the drayage rate.  If the material handling rate is $135 per hundred weight, the cost for a single crate was $1,500. Applying the union workers’ wage of $47 per hour against the crate cost, it worked out to be 32 hours to move one crate or 4 days.  While it is understood that the crate may be handled multiple times and placed into storage, it is unlikely the time it takes to handle the crate would equal 4 days. Impact on Show Organizers Some associations are not aware they can negotiate rates charged to the exhibitor.  Organizers have the opportunity to negotiate the rates in the service kit.  In the discussion, Sue shared how at one show material handling went up, and to compensate for the increased cost, the booth size decreased to offset that increase.  The costs to the exhibitor stayed the same, however the show organizer lost $36,000 with the decrease in exhibit size.  NAB Implements a New Material Handling Model This year, NAB tried something new and changed how they charged for drayage.  Instead of charging per hundred weight they charged by the square foot at a rate $3.85 per square foot.  Another show that did this model is Pack Expo several years ago.  For insights into how this works, check out the NAB Cares and watch the video about why they took this initiative for their exhibitors. The result was that exhibitors saved about 40% over the previous year in material handling.  Other organizations are looking at to help companies bring in product.  Especially for larger equipment shows.   Non-Exclusive and Exclusive Rates When looking at costs there are two types of rates.  The labor rate is an example of a non-exclusive rate-you can choose what company you use for Installation and Dismantle.  Exclusive rates apply to things like material handling, electrical, rigging, etc. How Associations Can Help Gregg Lapin, CMP Director of Meeting Services at American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) shared on the panel with Sue Huff how he learned about the attendee’s decisions and how things like what day to hold the show impacted exhibitors.  AADE changed the timing of move in and move out to be on straight time which also coincided with when attendees wanted to attend the show - over the weekend.  How to Impact Change Exhibitors need to have a dialog with the associations and shareinsights about budgets and the impact on booth size relative to fixed costs on the show floor.  Take the opportunity to request the association negotiate material handling rates on your behalf.  In turn, associations should talk with convention centers and the general services providers about all exclusive rates including internet to help exhibitors offer attendees the best experience.  For more information about this topic, reach out to me, I love hearing from you!  And Check out Episode 36  for insights from Sue Huff about mergers and managing large teams. A big thanks to Sue Huff for sharing this information on the show! Check out HCEA for more educational information. Credits: As always thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcastfor creating editing magic on this and every episode of the show!  

Thinking about how to take your career to the next level?  Whether you are new to face-to-face marketing, or an industry insider, you won't want to miss this interview with Taylor Urban, HMCC, US Conventions and Events Specialist at Abbott.  Taylor has a unique perspective having worked on the agency side of trade show events, and in technology and now healthcare.  She shares insights on what is like to embrace new career opportunities across different industries.  This interview was conducted live at HCEAConnect, a healthcare trade show industry event for suppliers, associations and corporate marketers and planners.  Find out how you can gain experience, how to manage really large trade shows and work effectively with internal stakeholders. Make sure you listen all the way to the end, Taylor shares how building experience can further the chance to plan for the future. A big thanks to Taylor for this live interview and for inspiring our listeners to imagine what is possible. If you have questions about this topic or any of the topics we talk about on the show, reach out to me at Rock Your Trade Show. For more interviews like this one be sure to tune in each week for the HCEAConnect series.  You can also visit Rock Your Trade Show/HCEA Editing credits: A big thanks to Christy Haussler and team podcast for editing this episode.

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What does happiness at work feel like for you?  I ask that because if you are a marketer in face-to-face marketing, our hours can be demanding, sometimes even grueling.  Whether you are new or experienced-doing trade shows gives joy to many people. And for the lucky ones-you not only like doing it-you love it. I had an experience filled with joy that made me think of happiness and why culture combined with passion makes a great place to work and yes-even happiness.  We are working on a project requiring us to gather pet photos. In a brainstorming the creative around what we wanted to share-our designer Phoebe had the bold idea of emailing our entire company and asking for photos.  Imagine receiving an email that said “send us your pet photos-in the next 30 minutes”! There had to be a time limit, both to encourage people to take action and also so the project could be completed.  Within only a few minutes sending that message, photos started flooding our inboxes. Phoebe and I were screen sharing and looking at each photo, laughing and commenting on how many pets our wonderful Exhibitus family has.  In just 30 minutes we had well over 90 photos…and counting.  There were cats, dogs, a bunny and even a hedgehog. How does this relate to happiness?  In that moment of joy looking at the lives of people I work with, some of whom I hadn’t met personally, I was awe struck.  Without hesitation, the entire company mobilized and sent their photos.  Even people who were out of the office in transit, stopped, and sent in photos. And…in a small way, seeing a glimpse of people’s lives, the passion shared for pets, our company people and ultimately the client we were doing this for, it was pure joy. Now back to the question-what does happiness look like for you?  Do you feel joy in your work?  If the answer is yes-that is awesome!!  But if you wonder-would my company and employees drop everything and respond en-masse or mobilize the way I described here for a worthy cause-and you are unsure, it is time to open the door and create your own blissful experience at work. Five Ways To Create Joy in Your Career Find a cause you care about. Many of your companies already do social responsibility projects-or have days of service.  Exhibitus is super active in that regard, and it builds teams, and allows employees to meet each other when they otherwise would not.  Check out this live interview at a CSR project for HCEA.   If your company doesn’t offer CSR-no problem you can create something new and start a trend! Be grateful and share it forward. Gratitude starts not only by being thankful but also it is about paying attention.  Do one simple thing that brings joy to another person-take bagels in to work-invite someone you don’t know to lunch.  Share your grateful sentiment with someone at work and watch how it blossoms. Discover what you love best-and do more of that.Sounds simple enough but the reality is, we often focus on what we don’t like and try to get better at it instead of doing more of what fills up our cup.  Close your eyes, imagine if you could do anything in your role right now what would it be?  Share that information with your team, your boss and others.  Collaborate with people that have similar values.In our industry, agency partners like Exhibitus, we are proud of the experiences that we create and the journey it takes to achieve results for clients who are able to show that value to their leadership.  Our goal is to offer an experience for clients who appreciate being able to show results and having fun in the process. Finding joy happens inside your organization and also with the people you have the opportunity to work with on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Look back, look forward and be present. Thinking about goals-a lot of advice, and even interview questions, focus on “Where do you want to be in 5 years or 10 years”. In our fast-paced world, instead of focusing on the years-take a look at the reality of the past, future and present. What in the past really fired you up and gave you enjoyment?  Can you see that same excitement when you look into the future?  And how about today…do you feel it?  If not, it is time to make an assessment and a plan. As you listened today, was there an aha moment?  Here is your chance to take action.  I recently read a suggestion of keeping a note pad for a week and writing down what you love and what you don’t on paper.  At the end of the week-take stock and move towards the things that you found inspiring, that will move your needle forward to that future you imagine. It is my sincere hope that you really love what you do.  This podcast is dedicated to lifting you up and empower you to be bold and dream big. If you have a great story to share like the one I did here-reach out to me at Rock Your trade Show.  I am always grateful to hear from you and offer tips and advice. Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcastfor editing this episode!

Are you looking to take your experience on the show floor to a new level?  Whether you are an association or trade show manager, IAEE-International for Exhibitions and Events-has the resources to boost your industry knowledge and enhance results for exhibitors, associations and attendees.  In this second interview with Randy Bauler,CEM and Corporate Relations & Exhibits Director at American Association of Critical-Care Nurses(AACN),we discuss how beneficial IAEE is and ways you can get involved. IAEE has been around since 1928 when it was the National Association of Exposition Managers when it represented “the interests of trade show and exposition managers, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events® is the leading association for the global exhibition industry. Today IAEE represents over 12,000 individuals in 50 countries who conduct and support exhibitions around the world.” Whether you are an association or exhibitor, Randy shares key insights in this interview. 5 Ways to Get Involved with IAEE: Join a local chapter. Members have the opportunity to network, socialize and learn about the industry. Get Your CEM. If you’re an association, exhibitor or industry partner, IAEE offers great courses that will help you.  There are twelve modules and candidates need to complete 9 to receive the CEM. Take a backstage tour. Local chapters offer an insider view behind the scenes at conference centers around the country.  Whether you are a veteran or new to the industry this is a unique opportunity to learn more about how events happen. Take a Course.If getting your CEM isn’t for you, take one or two courses.  Randy describes his course Exhibition and Event Sales where you will learn: Attendance marketing, contractor/supplier relationship programs. Specialty exhibit sales Tactics-to get people sign up for a show Help advance space selection General selling techniques Overcome objections Put together sales plan Basics of selling Specifics-how do you put together an exhibitor prospectus, whatever selling opportunities do you sell Attend Expo ExpoDecember 3-5, 2019 in Las Vegas.It is an opportunity to network, take CEM and more at the national level. Favorite Resource:  Randy shares in addition to HCEA (Healthcare Convention and Exhibitor’s Association) and IAEE, he recommendsCEIR-Center for Exhibition Industry Research, which is part of IAEE and is a tremendous resource for data. For more insights, check out Episode 57 CEIR Industry Trends with Nancy Drapeau. You can reach Randy Bauler Randy.bauler@aacn.organd at AACN-check out the exhibits page. If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved with IAEE or have questions about any of the information here, reach out to me, I love hearing from you! Credits:As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcastfor editing this episode.

Have you been wanting to maximize your results with a trade show association or if you are an association do you want to help your exhibitors get better ROI by exhibiting at your show?  In this interview, Randy Bauler,CEM and Corporate Relations & Exhibits Director at American Association of Critical-Care Nurses(AACN) shares advice about how to take your events to the next level in exposition education, booth space selection, sponsorship and how you can join an exhibitor advisory council (EAC). Exposition Education:Opportunity to provide CE credit to attendees in a theater setting. AACN offers 51 theaters, 200 topics that are presented 650 times over the course of the show. Exhibitors that include KOL’s (Key Opinion Leaders) to present content generate the best Conferences that offer CE credits on the show floor like AACN provide the opportunity for attendees to stay current (in the case of AACN, nurses can put CE credits towards renewing their licenses. Attendees want to learn and get education along with hands-on applications. Associations that offer CE credits on the show floor provide exhibitors a way to draw attendees to their exhibit and interact with them in a “non” sales format. Healthcare conferences for nurses enable attendees to become educated on the show floor and take the knowledge back to their hospitals and share it with other nurses. Selecting an Exhibit Space:You can often select next year’s space while at the show. Evaluate opportunities and consider a position near learning centers or special sponsored areas like the Rest and Relaxation area at AACN. How you bring traffic to your exhibit is more important than focusing on selecting a strategic location. Associations get attendees to the show-what do you do to drive traffic to your booth? Priority Point System is based on an accumulation of key criteria. Exhibitors earn points based on the size of the booth (1 point for every 100 feet of space at AACN).  In addition, history/loyalty points matter.  Points for advertising/sponsorship, year-round support also play a part.  AACN also offers points if you stay in their housing block.   Sponsorship opportunities:You have the ability to explore options outside of what is offered. Customize a sponsorship to achieve greater exposure to the attendee. Most exhibitors say “let me see your list of opportunities- what can we do to customize” and work with the association to develop the best offering. Engagement with attendee is more important than exposure. An example Randy shared is that while nurses are waiting for their seated message at the Rest and Relaxation lounge, the sponsoring company has greeters to interact with attendees, getting to know them and work the line before the nurse gets their message. Receptions offer an additional opportunity to interact and engage with attendees and the host company is encouraged to mingle and make connections. At AACN, a sponsoring company is able to have senior management speak for a few moments.  Products can be on display at a sponsored reception giving companies a second opportunity to engage with attendees.    Ways to Get Involved with Associations: Join an Advisory Council. Most shows have an exhibitor advisory council or committee-they invite representatives to talk about the event. Being on the EAC (Exhibitor Advisory Council) gives companies the chance to increase visibility in the industry and gain recognition. At AACN the only purpose is to make the experience better for exhibitors and attendees.  Favorite Resource:HCEA-Healthcare Convention and Exhibitor’s Association. In healthcare it is a unique organization that includes exhibitors, show management and suppliers together.  The HCEA events enable attendees to meet with peers, customers, potential customers and suppliers to the industry. If you have any questions about this episode, reach out to me, I love hearing from you! A big thank you to Randy Bauler for doing a two-part interview! Editing Credits:  As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler with Team Podcastfor editing this episode.

Are you a trade show event marketer?  If you have achieved something unique for your company in face-to-face marketing, now is the time to nominate yourself to be an EXHIBITOR Magazine All-Star!  Travis Stanton, EXHIBITOR Editor, shares insights in this interview about EXHIBITOR including the All-Star Awards, how to get nominated and how it can impact your career. All-Star Awards Overview The annual All-Star Awards celebrates corporate event planners who have contributed to their company’s trade show program by doing something that made a big impact.  Award winners have all not only overcome a challenge, they have the data to demonstrate measurable results. This is an incredible opportunity to shine a light on your own achievements or something a friend or colleague has done.  If you have never won an Exhibitor award and are a trade show exhibit manager or corporate event manager, this is the perfect award for you!   Not only will you be featured in EXHIBITOR Magazine, you also receive a free one-day pass to EXHIBITORLIVE 2020!   7 Insider Facts About the EXHIBITOR All-Star Awards: Criteria to Win:The committee is looking for industry leaders who have achieved measurable results. Any challenge you faced-including the idea that “we can do better” and implemented a solution. How to Evaluate Your Accomplishments:Take a look at what you have accomplished. Past Winners Include:Trade Show Exhibitors who worked to create a measurement procedure, innovative event apps, overcome corporate mergers to create more efficiencies with their program. How To Get Nominated:You can self-nominate or an agency can nominate a client, or have a colleague nominate you. Who Wins:Your program doesn’t have to be big to win.“Small companies to big budgets and everything in between have been past winners.  "Clever, DIY solutions that not only save money or increase leads can win”-Travis Stanton Being in the CTSM Program can help:You don’t have to be in the CTSM program but it might help you to think of your best practices that you have done to apply. How much does it cost:It is free to submit your awards entry. Favorite Resource:  Travis shared the best way to find inspiration-go check out trade shows outside of your industry.  You can look at local fairs, festivals, museums and other places if you aren’t able to travel to a show. You will be surprised how much you see can be applied to your program. You can find Travis on LinkedIn and at ExhibitorOnline and EXHIBITOR LinkedIn group.  Subscribe to the e-newsletter and the magazine for news in the industry. This is your time, if you have accomplished a measurable success for your trade show program.  Complete the online entry form and see where this will take you!  And if you have any questions about this episode, reach out to me, I love hearing from you! Editing Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler with Team Podcast for editing this episode.

If you love the trade show event industry and want to have an impact-then Exhibitions Day is an event you should consider attending to have your voice heard.   Diane Benson, Diamond CTSM, shares her first-time experience at Exhibitions Day representing HCEA through IAEE in Washington D.C. on June 4thand 5th.  Find out in this interview what it was like to go to Capitol Hill, meet with representatives and have the chance to share important information about our 97-billion-dollar industry. 4 Key Pillars to Help the Trade Show Industry at Exhibitions Day Exhibitions Day has four primary topics that they bring to Capitol Hill to help grow our industry: Investing in America’s Transportation Infrastructure: “According to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. ranks ninth in the world in infrastructure quality. Inadequate supply of infrastructure is one of our top 10 most problematic factors for doing business.”- Exhibitions Day. The goal is to make it easier to travel within the United States for all using our roads, trains, and air travel. Secure Travel Partnership Act of 2019 (H.R. 1996): “In 2017, 23 million travelers arrived in the U.S. from Visa Wavier Program countries and generated $190 billion in economic activity. Visitors from the 38 countries that participate help generates a $77 billion trade surplus for the U.S.” - Exhibitions Day. Change the name of the current Visa Waiver Act to make it easier for 38 countries to visit the United States for business. JOLT Act of 2019 (H.R. 2187): “Overview: Over 1.2 million jobs across America are directly supported by international inbound travel. For the U.S. to grow that number as well as regain and increase our share of the global travel market, it is important to improve and expand the programs we currently have in place.”-Exhibitions Day. The hope is to increase the opportunity for more countries to visit the United States for our trade shows. Protecting Brand USA: Reinstate the budget for marketing outside of the United States to help drive businesses to attend and participate in the trade show industry.“The marketing ROI previously was 28:1-every $1 Brand USA spent on marketing generated $28 in spend by international visitors.”-Exhibitions Day.  2 Reasons You Should Sign Up: Sign up-it is free! Each first timer is paired up with someone who has been before. Get Involved and Have Your Voice Heard: It matters to get more attendees to our exhibitions and grow our industry. Want to learn more? Check out HCEAConnectAugust 17th-20thin Miami, FL, where I will be interviewing Diane Benson live about #ExhibitionsDay! Diane’s Favorite Resources: HCEA, Exhibitor Magazine, CTSM Where to find Diane Benson:Twitterand LinkedIn A big thanks to Diane Benson for being on the show and sharing her insights and information to help empower our listeners. Editing Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast. Exhibitus participates in Exhibitions Day and feels it is an important responsibility to share our support.

How consistent is your brand messaging in your trade show program? Whether you work for a large fortune 500 company or a startup organization, take a look at all of your trade show assets and ask yourself-are they consistent and what is the attendee experience?   If you are like most companies, you may be hitting it out of the park with the large exhibit experience but when it comes to the banner stand or portables the messaging changes and the experience varies from sales rep to sales rep.  If you want to really stand out-and help your company differentiate itself from the competition-doing an audit of all assets and attendee experiences will catapult you to the next level in ROI. Recently we helped a client take a siloed approach for their trade show program and create a unilateral brand experience from modular displays to large islands.  Why was this important?  At the end of the day-even if you have the biggest budget in the world (which I suspect you are chuckling right now) you need to show value and maybe yes maybe reduce costs.  And if you are nodding your head saying-yes! I need to reduce cost. Then instead of looking at the individual line item costs and asking-how can I fill in the blank-reduce drayage, shipping, labor, onsite expenses etc.-take a step back.  Better yet-go to the 30,000 feet level and ask-will being consistent across all areas of my program help reduce cost?  The answer may surprise you-yes- it will in big ways! This is your time to really make big strides, win friends in procurement, sales and even stakeholders.  Let’s reverse engineer how you can reduce costs, increase efficiencies-and better yet-and perhaps most importantly improve the attendee experience.  Ready?  Let’s get started. 10 Steps to Reducing Costs with a Consistent Brand Experience Audit your current assets-is there clear identification, consistent messaging (use of tag-lines, graphic imagery, corporate hierarchy)? Identify areas that are misaligned- include all levels of exhibit properties-do you have something that scales from banner stand to large island exhibit? Leverage existing assets-fill in the gaps with rental assets. A hybrid rental will allow you to continue a depreciation  schedule- if needed on assets purchased - while adding in key elements that will enhance the brand experience. Review budgets and look for hidden costs.  If you are a healthcare company or are in a regulated industry that requires multiple submissions for approval before a trade show-you understand the cost of those submissions.  From agency teams to internal reviews the total budget adds up quickly.  What if you had a template that everyone used and it reduced costs by 20-30% would that help your bottom line?  Of course, it would, but too often the focus is on drayage and things like agency content creation with new graphic templates and sizes, digital content that doesn’t follow a system or template all adds up.  Look at the largest areas of spend-it may surprise you that regulatory reviews that require changes before every show could be the biggest hidden cost. Conduct internal and external research. Find out from your internal stakeholders what they think of the brand experience and see if it is aligned with attendee impressions.  One key way to test theories on brand consistency is to conduct exit surveys of attendees.  This gives you candid information from the target audience and will help to validate the need to create a consistent brand. Establish architectural brand templates. Cost reductions can be found in standardizing the overall hierarchy and messaging across every size exhibit from portables to large islands. Create Efficiency and Cost Savings Analysis. Many companies have two budgets-a marketing budget that is applied to agencies and content creation and a trade show budget largely focused on logistics and execution.  Analyze the benefits and cost reductions/break even spend based on streamlining the brand messaging. Establish guidelines for every sized exhibit.  Starting with the smallest table tops to the largest displays. This process takes time, however the payoff is simplification and eficiencies in usage and reduced attendee confusion on brand experience. Include pre-show and post show data. Compare cost reductions, attendee experience and stakeholder feedback. Evaluate, report and adjust. Establishing a consistent message is a fluid process that requires flexibility, and adjustments.  For example, it may be discovered that part of the inconsistency in attendee experience pertains to sales rep engagement.  A targeted training program for modular displays and each incremental size of your program may help the create a consistent experience at every level of your trade show. These 10 tips will help you on your way to reducing costs and are the first steps to thinking outside of the box and generating value for your face-to-face marketing program.  Too often the first-place marketers go is slashing budgets with the intent that ultimately it will help the bottom line.  In truth, a reduced budget may or may not help the bottom line-although it does immediately lower the cost of execution it may not achieve the strategic goals for an organization. Instead of focusing on a number or a percentage reduction, using this methodology of finding hidden costs, you will be surprised at the overall cost savings available while retaining the integrity of the marketing and sales plan and establish a consistent corporate image. For more insights or if you have questions about the process of creating a consistent brand, reach out to me.  I love hearing from you and sharing tips on how this strategy can help you get promoted. As always thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Have you been wondering how to demonstrate value past the obvious metrics of your program so leadership, and more importantly your boss sees your contribution to the organization?  So often marketers are truly the unsung shero or hero of their trade show program.  When a trade show, event or program goes flawlessly, it is taken for granted that it is as we like to say at Exhibitus-Easy as Pie.  But you know how many moving parts there are-and want to share that without feeling like you are bragging right?  First-it isn’t showing off if you are successful at your job-it is giving your organization something they need a way to boost the bottom line. And yet-why is it that you might feel stuck, not able to get traction and recognition?  Here are some possible reasons and then 5 ways you can remove obstacles and break free to move up in your organization.  3 Common Pitfalls of Perception: Busy doesn’t mean efficient. In an interview with Jodi Devlin, who is now a CEO, she perceives constant work as evidence of not being able to get work done efficiently.  While it may be perceived that leaders appreciates hard work-are looking for streamlined processes.  Look for ways to reduce those late-night hours. Meeting job requirements isn’t reason enough for recognition. I once had a boss say that he was raised with the belief if you are doing your job that is meeting the baseline of your job-and doesn’t earn a promotion.  It is doing the exceptional over and above that gets recognition and not before you high vault above that bar. I don’t need help. If you are resistant relying on team members, or your partners for support because you believe it somehow shows your organization that you are mindful of budgets-guess again.  Going back to the first item on this list-using resources make sure you are using available resources to increase your efficiency so you can focus on ways to demonstrate the value you add to your organization. Not all of you fall into these traps of wanting to show value-and that is great!!  If you said this is not me-high five!  Now for the part that you we all need-how can we can we increase value and elevate our contribution within the organization. 5 Tips to Boost your Visibility and Get Promoted Link all goals and objectives for every program to the corporate goals. For example, in an interview with Marcia Deem, the Exhibitor Allstar winner-she had specific sales goals for the company and devised an innovative solution to reach those goals. Level up the conversation. Meet with finance, procurement and other areas and find out what they need to shine-helping others within the organization show results will not only boost impressions it also makes you more marketable for cross functional opportunities. Identify and Solve challenges. Every marketing program has challenges-whether it is budget reductions, lead management follow up, attendee targeting, there are always one or two areas that come up on post event internal surveys.  Look at trends and devise a solution.  Unsure how to do this?  Tap into your network and ask for advice.  If you aren’t yet a member of the Exhibitor Online community-join the LinkedIn group-or you can join our Rock Your Trade Show LinkedIn group and ask the experts in our private group for advice. Track successes and demonstrate to your boss. Many of you have one on one’s with your boss.  In those discussions make sure you always take examples of how you solved a challenge and stakeholder feedback.  Remind them of your initiatives and how they help improve key goals-efficiencies, value, increased sales whatever they are show that your program is aligning to the overarching goals and solving key challenges faced by stakeholders. Find your blue ocean and own it. Recently there was an article about the exhibit industry that stated there really aren’t any new trends to share.  It was an interesting observation but it also raised the need more than ever to look for a new innovation and set the trend.  If you aren’t familiar with “Blue Ocean Strategy” there is an excellent book that highlights how to stand out and create a market innovation in an unexpected way.  A favorite story from the book is about Cirque du Soleil.  That company changed the conversation and elevated the circus experience, moving away from animals and focusing on people.  The result-a hugely successful entertainment enterprise that commands high priced ticket sales in multiple cities.  That example has stuck with me and was a contributing influence for this podcast.  Before Rock Your Trade Show, there wasn’t a podcast that focused on empowering women marketers in the trade show industry.  Market research, interviews with onsite exhibit managers, directors and product managers showed that there was a need to help you specifically in your career.  What do you think would be your blue ocean-it doesn’t have to be a huge life altering change?  It can be something simple that relates to market share and how you are increasing the piece of the pie for your organization.  If you are a destination booth-meaning your brand is iconic and attendees will automatically come to you to see what’s new-think about how you could change the experience unexpectedly for your staff and attendees that fosters collaboration for example.  Even if you are a known brand-going into a new vertical may present you with being the unknown entity.  Perhaps you are trying out the waters in an inline whereas in the primary market you have a large island how can you create your blue ocean-that makes people talk about their experience and encourages them to talk about you?  For insights about how to do this-check out episode 59 with Glenda Brungardt. And if you are looking for help on any of the tips mentioned today, reach out to me, I love hearing from you and helping you achieve success with your trade show program and career.

Sometimes it can be hard to know how to go past cost per lead to demonstrate value you’re your face-to-face marketing program.  If you struggle with showing leadership value for your program-this episode will help you focus on key metrics and help you become a trade show shero or hero! In a recent interview with Melanie Neal, she said something that has stuck with me.  When Melanie receives a request for a new initiative she will ask the requester “What does the data tell us?”.  Melanie, who is a Vice President at a large healthcare is on to something, and so often we shy away from data and rely on other factors like competitive advantages or FOMO (fear of missing out) which in face-to-face marketing is more like fear of what competitors and clients will think. So how can we embrace data and start using it to our advantage? Here is a story to show why data is so important.  Our results division provides analysis and ROI modeling for trade shows.  In a recent project, Lynn Reves, our Marketing and Results Division Director shared that we are able to justify the spend for large trade show exhibit using ROI modeling that proves out the spend is paid for before leads are generated.  Sound good? Imagine, if you could go to leadership and say “we need to be at this show-here is the data to show why, and by the way we have metrics that demonstrate how this show pays for itself”!  It is easy to overlook, or under-value key metrics that help deliver this message.  Here are five things to consider for your program and how data evaluation will help you move the ROI justification needle.  5 Ways to Demonstrate Value with Data Define show goals and objectives to go beyond cost per lead. What does your company need to do to achieve sales results?  If you have a long sales cycle-it easy to rely on that timeline as a reason why it is hard to show ROI.  But don’t fall into that trap!  There are ways to move your sales and marketing initiatives forward even if it is a 6-18 month selling cycle. Establish milestones that demonstrate your face-to-face program helped sway the customer to “Yes”. Close the loop on post show follow up. Even if your company has the best CRM system in the world, if leads aren’t followed up on-and no action is taken, the value of the long-term solution for that customer is diminished to a faded memory.  This is one of the biggest challenges for trade show marketers and also one of the keys to success.  Align Sales and Marketing so that there is a common objective. Our free program assessment shows time and again that when sales and marketing making adjustments can be the key difference in achieving targeted goals.  When marketing and sales take the survey they can see visually on the results what they can do to improve together instead of in a silo. Focus on four key areas of measurement at your next show: new business, customer retention, value of promotion and communications, and cost avoidance. Each area has strategies that require actions to be made onsite exhibit staff. The first one-new business is obvious and the reason most companies attend a trade show.  Customer retention is often overlooked and it can lead to missed opportunities to grow the business you already have.  Add a value to your promotion (this can be sponsorship and advertising outreach for a show) and it will help bolster the data to show the exposure you are winning by attending.  Lastly-the cost avoidance is the one area that when truly implemented can in some cases pay for the entire conference.  If for example, you have a global company and senior leaders will be at the show-creating internal meetings instead of traveling separately to meet at a different time can really add up and the efficiency adds to the overall bottom line for the company. Go Beyond Cost Per lead. Measure these areas to really show results: Executive Participation Thought Leadership Press and PR impact Business development and competitive surveillance Return on Objectives Tech/Product Showcase Cost-cost index to measure cost savings Return on Investment-payback ratio   The last one on this list is the most valuable as it gives you the data you need to really measure the overall effectiveness of your program.    Now that you have gathered the data you need a strategy to share this information you are ready to share it with your boss and leadership.  Hopefully as you embarked on the data journey you discovered what is the most important measurement for your company.  For some organizations, it could be as simple of staying ahead of the competition.   Other companies have deeper strategic goals like increasing market share or increasing the sales prospect by expanding cross selling between products.  Whatever they are-they should be the cornerstone of your messaging. In preparation for your presentation to leadership, keep it simple.  Don’t rely a huge slide deck-but rather have one page that summarizes your findings.  Often your time with leadership is very short and the more concise you are, the increased chances of achieving your results.  Remember these three tips-prepare, share and end with a call to action.  Just like your sales reps on the show floor, ask for what it is you need to help you continue to be successful.  One of my guests, Christine DiDomenico shared that when she met with leadership she had three columns, must do, nice to do and out of the box initiatives.  If you prepare your call to action with this in mind it will help shape the conversation and you will achieve your results. How valued do you feel your trade show program is within your organization?  Do you feel like there is a disconnect between sales, marketing and leadership?  Check out our free online assessment and discover gaps and how you can align all stakeholders together. I hope you have found this information helpful, if I can be of any help to you as you demonstrate and validate your program, reach out to me at rockyourtradeshow.com/lets talk I love hearing from you! Credits: A special thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Asking your connections for help can make some of us hesitate or worse not act on our instincts at all out of fear they might say no to our request.  It comes down to being prepared so that we feel confident when we engage both our network as well as new connections we are at ease and comfortable in what we want to say.  Senior leaders on this show have shared how their network served them well when faced with a difficult choice or job transition.  And let’s face it.  Your circle of influence is there for you when you need them and ready for when you aren’t expecting it. If you want tips on how to be prepared for what to say-check out episode 08 with Robyn Sayles and episode 13 with Tara Lynn Foster.  This episode is going to go beyond the obvious statement that you need a personal network.  And it even past building your personal advisory board as described in episode 41 building your circle of influence.  This is what to do once you have people in your corner-one of the things people forget doing is asking their circle of influence to help them in powerful ways. Now I have a question for you-what would you do if…you will fill in the blank: You are standing in line at Starbucks and strike up a friendly conversation with someone-but it’s like the experience on a plane when you meet someone and then never see them again and walk away without sharing information, or you take the conversation further and offer to potentially help that person, become LinkedIn and start a new connection with that person. Maybe you are thinking-I don’t see anyone at Starbucks I would want to know-hey I get it.  Sometimes you want your quiet time without interruptions.  But, chance doesn’t happen.  Opportunities present themselves to you and when you see them-you need to seize that moment. This experience happened to me just this week.  I was in Florida and all week, I noticed this Empowering women conference around the hotel.  I saw women who looked like business owners, entrepreneurs and one thing they all shared was a confidence about them when they walked by or like this situation-standing at Starbucks. Standing next to a woman in line, we struck up a conversation and I asked: “Are you here for the women’s conference?”.  It turned out she was and after a few short moments, we realized that we shared a common passion for empowering women and I offered to make an introduction to one of my guests from this podcast whom I thought shared a common interest and would be helpful to her. Now-you may be thinking- “that never happens to me.”  But, I want to challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone and try to meet one person you didn’t know and offer to be of service to them. If you are feeling stuck-don’t work here are five tips to empower you to take action. 5 Ways Tips to Engage Your Connections Decide where you need help. Look at the details of your career and program-there areas of your job that you feel confident and know how to execute.  Then there are situations you aren’t sure how to handle-for example how to get executives to be more involved at your biggest show.  It may be in your organization that there are several layers between you and the President/CEO.  Navigating to that person can be a challenge.  Having a senior advocate in your arsenal will not only help give you access, but they can also help you create a plan and deliver a compelling story as to why the President’s participation will help close business.  Know what you need before you ask. Request introductions. If you need to engage a leader within your organization but don’t know them-ask someone you know to help-preferably a sponsor or senior advisor. Be of Service to Others. If you are looking to ask a leader for their help-know what is important to them before you ask.  For example, if increasing revenues at your face-to-face marketing is important-show how it will be mutually beneficial to collaborate together to have the President attend your next conference and interact with VIP attendees. Follow up on your ask. If you received help, and introduction or other advice, thank the person who provided the assistance.  Share the steps you took following your conversation. Share your success. Everyone feels good knowing they helped achieve results.  Be sure to not be shy, share how the steps you followed at their recommendation led to exceeding goals and objectives for your program.  The most important thing you can do right now is decide where you need help and who can provide you with the assistance you need.  Take action today and you will make steps to being noticed and promoted.  Please reach out to me with any questions at Rock Your Trade Show I love hearing from you!   Credits: Thank you to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Are you ready to make a move if an opportunity comes your way? For Ann Carter, Vice President of Purchasing and Supplier Management, being prepared is the key to advancing in your career.  Ann provides insights about why soliciting feedback is so important and offers actionable advice on best practices for collaborating with purchasing and how to solve complex challenges.  This interview provides so many insights you will want to listen to the very end! 8 Best Practices to Implement in Your Career and Business Use emotional intelligence - ask for feedback.If you feel there are obstacles in your way, it is important to ask for feedback and learn from it.  Listen to the feedback, coarse correct where you can be successful and remember to stay authentic to who you are.  Ann recommends to “go for it, don’t look back and don’t let ethnicity be a hindrance.” Be honest when you find you are stuck.It is important to remember you are the first person who can implement a change.  Talk to other groups across your organization, share your interests and be sure to let your boss know what you want to do. Considering a pivot - your skills are transferrable.Ann made several career moves and she shares how leadership, analytical skills are all applicable in different roles. Include face-to-face contact for global teams.  Ann shares at the heart people are the same no matter where they are located. In addition to using video technology, there is no replacement for in-person connections.  Collaborating with purchasing should include these 3 things: Get purchasing involved as early as possible in a project. Remember that purchasing are stewards in selecting 3rdparty vendors and there to help. Make sure there is a clear definition of what it is you want. What is the product and service you need.  Ambiguity makes the selection process difficult. Understand supplier selection is a process. It starts with selection and interview suppliers that have the right services and then choose the right partner. Purchasing is an integral partner of an organization especially when natural disasters strike. Ann tells a great story about how her company formed a SWAT team to fly supplies to Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria. Be prepared for opportunities to come your way. Plan where you want to go and be ready for the chance to make a move.  If you take too much time to decide the role may go to someone else. Leadership means having faith and being eager to learn. As long as you are learning, the experience will follow. Favorite resource-“Leading at the Edge”by Dennis Perkins, Margaret Holtman and Jillian Murphy.  There are 10 leadership principles and the one she likes the best: “Never give up-there is always another way.” Ann Carter. If you would like help with leading teams or any of the content covered in this interview, reach out to me, I love to hear from you! Thanks as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcastfor editing this episode.  

Have you ever had a conversation that had so many insights you wanted to take notes? Then you will want to list to this interview with Melanie Neal, a Vice President who is a creative problem solver, inclusive leader, organizational innovator and customer advocate.  Melanie shares incredible wisdom that is not only uplifting but actionable and will immediately impact your career. 11 Innovative Leadership Tips To Move Your Career Forward Look for variety in the roles you take on at work. Melanie shares how a willingness to learn and being open to what an opportunity might present is the best way to be seen as a versatile leader and gain transferable skills. Seize an opportunity and choose not to have all the boxes checked. “Why would you want to go for a job where you didn’t have the opportunity to learn something new or for professional growth?”     – Melanie Neal Timing doesn’t always work the way you think it should. Be ready to adapt to external and internal conditions and “push towards something that is better and bring people along with you”. To be a good leader you must be willing to pause, listen and understand a situation. Followed by being open, transparent and proactive with communication to your team.  The worst thing that happens with change is no change at all and people questioning-why do we still have this issue. When faced with a challenging situation be open minded and prepared and ask “What does the data show us”. If you are presenting to leadership or stakeholders have the data to back up your recommendation. If a problem comes up, remember not to take it personally. This takes practice and the more you can look at a situation without “natural bias” the more prepared you will be to see the full picture. The only constant is change. Ask yourself if you are in a progressive company “Are there things I need to do to adapt” and find a way to be a leader during times of change. Choose a word for 2019 and live it. For Melanie, she chose relevance because of the importance to be resilient and flexible ahead of time. Change how people see you by understanding your company’s goals. Determine if you are aligned with those goals and how can you contribute to achieving them. Be proactive to increase your visibility. Set up weekly updates with your boss to demonstrate your contribution and strategic thinking as it relates to the overall goals of your organization. Embrace advice through mentorship. Both the mentor and mentee have a lot to gain by working together.  A mentor can provide value to be there and support, push you out on that limb and provide safety harness, I believe in you, I know you can do it. “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.” Mark Twain Consider being a Mentor-it is an opportunity to share, give back and have a significant impact on someone’s career. If you are looking to gain visibility with your marketing program and want to get promoted reach out to me, I love hearing from you! Melanie’s Two Favorite Resources: Women’s Leadership: The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Daily Leadership News: HBR Daily As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Want to really differentiate your marketing program this year? Check out how Marcia Deem, CTSM recently won two big awards, MeetingsNet 2018 Changemakers award for Leaders, Innovators and Disruptors as well as the Exhibitor All Star Award and how it differentiated her marketing program.  Each award included doing something truly disruptive in the trade show industry and Marcia demonstrated innovation, taking risks and more importantly finding ways to think way outside the box.  Marcia taped into her creativity to win stakeholder buy-in, achieve measurable financial results and establish new customer evangelists at a new industry vertical show.  Discover how you can rock your trade show program and become an all-star like Marcia by implementing her strategies. 6 Power Tips To Stand Out and Win Buy-In Involve Leadership: Invite key executives within your organization to be speakers and stay involved in the event. Show Value: Marcia shares how she showed ROI for each event using a dashboard that was shared with decision makers within her organization. Leadership were so impressed with the results that they increased their participation from 2 to 70 shows. Create an Online Meeting Hub: Realizing that having information centrally located, Marcia created a single location where employees could gain access. Find a Cheerleader Who Will Encourage You. Marcia shared how Robyn Davis recommended she submit her name for the Exhibitor Magazine All Star award.  Having Robyn’s support made the difference and Marcia to reach out to her boss and write up their success story. Enter a New Market and Attract New Customers. Marcia shares her 3-part strategy to convert potential new prospects to become evangelists for her company in a new vertical by implementing an advisory panel of new customers, create buzz before, during and after the show. Become a Speaker at an Industry Conference. If you really want to differentiate yourself, try speaking at a conference-and it can be a panel like Marcia is going to do at ExhibitorLive in her Peer2Peer Improvement Panel. If you want to achieve results like Marcia mentions in this episode, check out our free Results Assessment or reach out to me, I love helping you achieve your goals! Favorite Resource: “You are a Badass How to stop doubting Your Greatness and start living your Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero. Marcia shared two favorite quotes from this book: “Because so often we say we are unqualified for something, what we are really saying is that we are too scared to try it, not that we can’t do it”-Jen Sincero Final words of inspiration “You need to go from wanting to change your life, to deciding to change your life”-Jen Sincero Special thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Are you planning out your 2019 year?  If you are in the throes of planning goals and the path to achieve those goals think about this…You can 10x your success if you do this one thing.  Make a personal intention of creating your personal brand.  Don’t worry-if you are thinking “I have no idea how to do that-you are not alone!”  Today we are going on a personal journey together, using Roz Usheroff book “The Future of You: Creating Your Enduring Brand” as the blueprint. Before we embark on this project-remember we are striving for progress-so that when we look back we can think-yes!  I did that!  Don’t worry you got this. Conduct Your Own Personal Market Research. For marketers familiar with focus groups-understanding habits, experiences and perceptions directly impacts the way brands plan strategies.  It is no different for our personal branding-we need to first know where we are to go forward.  This is the hardest part of the process-don’t let it stop you.  Survey what you think is your perceived personal brand and then compare it against what the truth is.  Roz says something so true “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!”  Remember – knowledge is power.  Harness what others think and if you don’t feel the feedback is aligned with your own perception the good news is that we all have the chance to course correct any time we choose to do so.  Create Your Personal Mission Statement Just like a company who has a mission statement-yours will help remind yourself and express to colleagues, leaders, and your boss-this is what I aspire to be.  Roz identifies that “The mission statement helps you identify and articulate your beliefs and core values”.  Here are her tips to develop your mission statement: “Who? Describe yourself…talents, gifts, and attributes” “What? Outline your goals for the use of those talents” “How?  Describe the outcome, including the impact that you want to make and the impression you want to leave behind”. Find Ways to be Memorable For introverts-and I feel you-as an extroverted introvert-the thought of putting yourself “out there” can feel overwhelming.  But remember whether you intentionally or unintentionally want to express your personal brand-you are and will be expressing it…so why not create your personal brand the way You Want to Be Remembered?  Roz shares a quote from Seth Godin “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable”.  If you don’t know that book, I will have a link in the show notes-everyone needs to stand out like a purple cow!   Roz reminds us that “your personal brand is ‘the sum of every experience others have of you’”.  Think about how others experience you-if you are a marketer-do you pitch your idea for product promotion?  How was that experience for you-and more importantly how was it for your team, the target audience, your boss?  Did you make an impression and rock the meeting?  If people came up to you afterwards asking you for advice-you know that you made an impact. Ready to take your memorability to the next level?  It is so important to be visible.  Recently, I had someone suggest it is important to network across divisions.  If you work in a large corporation and the headquarters are not in your location or if the company you work in is very large-what steps do you do daily weekly to gain visibility. Roz shares many examples of people getting passed over for promotions even though they surpassed financial goals and expectations.  This is at the core of why having a strong personal brand is so important.  Don’t shy away from raising your hand to be seen-volunteer for opportunities that stretch your comfort zone and may not directly relate to your job. Ask yourself throughout the process-do people seek out my advice?  If yes then your visibility is memorable-double bonus points! One of my favorite questions Roz suggests you ask others to help establish your personal brand is “If you were going to open up your own company, what position would you offer me and why?” and then follow up with “What qualities do I possess that make you see me in that position?” You may be wondering, even after you receive their feedback-whether it is the right stuff to make you stand out, be both visible and memorable.  Here Roz offers an important lesson about finding your unique ability.  Often, we overlook our unique ability because it comes “easy to us”.  Do you think if something is too easy-it cannot be enough to make you stand out and be memorable?  Quite the opposite is true.  Consider finding what makes you unique by examining talents you have right now that which people ask you about the most.  Think about colleagues and co-workers who seek you out for help on projects.  Do you have a pattern of something that comes up over and over again?  Create that as your enduring differentiator and expand on it.  For example-personally I am passionate about helping empower women.  When I attend a conference or an event and see familiar faces, I am often approached and asked to grab coffee and help provide career insights.  In fact, this is the reason I started Rock Your Trade show and yet—I often overlook this unique ability because it is something in my DNA-I enjoy serving others and helping comes naturally.  I could overlook this or leverage it to create something that stands out.  Now think about a similar scenario for yourself…anything come to mind?  Use the first thing that pops up as the starting point to truly create something that will help you stand out. And if you really want to take being memorable-and increase your visibility even more-try adding in servant leadership. Why?  Because when we offer others our help with no expectation in return it will draw people unexpectedly towards your unique ability.  Roz highlights the key qualities of a servant leader “listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth, and building community”.  We don’t have to use every single one of these to be a servant leader, but you should try to use at least 3 of these qualities on a regular basis and discover the rewards of helping others. We have up to now focused on learning about ourselves, what makes us unique and how we can be memorable and visible.  Now what?  It is time to become our own PR agency.  This doesn’t mean to brag about our accomplishments-which is often why many of us do the opposite and hide behind them.  In fact-many of us grew up with the notion that it is somehow “bad" to talk about a goal we achieved and so we should not acknowledge it.  How many of us have said when asked about reaching a milestone as “it was nothing”?  This doesn’t serve you in your career.  So how do we achieve recognition without seeming to brag about it?  Roz points to changing our definition of PR to be “the means by which you can share how your unique ability can assist those you seek to serve in terms of getting them to where they want to go.” This is where servant leadership can really help you to highlight your success.  How have you helped a colleague, leader, volunteer, client, mentor or even sponsor shine?  When you take an interest in helping someone else, there is gratitude expressed by the recipient and they are happy to share appreciate for your help.  Several years ago, I took a course called Courageous Confidence by Chalene Johnson.  One of the key things I learned was to keep a confidence file-whereby others who had shared their positive thoughts about something I did could be used to help me whenever I had doubts about an ability.  Your unique ability is something others really value-and sharing how it has helped others will help you to have the courage to keep using it. Still unsure where to go for inspiration-think about LinkedIn.  It is the perfect platform to recommend a colleague-not just click on the recommend a skill but really write a recommendation.  In turn, by helping others you will find that there is a reciprocal effect whereby colleagues and professional acquaintances are happy to take the light you shined on them and shine it back.  As Roz calls this “…true PR and personal branding is one of drawing attention to what others can achieve with your help and expertise.”  By helping others achieve success you will “become indispensable” and your personal brand will reflect who you truly are. Now that we have taken these 4 keys steps-it is time to take action.  After all, a plan without execution remains only a dream.  The last step-for you to truly make your brand known is to network.  For some of us, networking comes easier than to others.  Remember-it wasn’t always easy, like any skill it takes practice! You have your mission statement, and all the tools in your personal branding kit, it is time to create your elevator pitch.  I highly encourage you to listen to two episodes focused on elevator pitches-Episode 08 with Robyn Sayles-how to share your personal brand in 9 seconds and Episode 13 with Tara Lynn Foster-How Marketers Can Discover What Makes You Great.  Both will help you create your elevator pitch. Identify where you can share your story-at networking events, industry events, as a speaker and even guest commentator on a blog or industry publication. Visibility to who you are will help perpetuate your brand. As a final note about this book and Roz Usheroff, she is truly someone who exemplifies her personal brand.  I have had the honor of knowing her, speaking with her on a panel and she was a guest on this show.  One of the things she says in the closing of her emails is “Always Be Amazing”.  Her uplifting spirit and incredible dedication to serving others is an inspiration for all of us! At the beginning of this episode I said there would be a challenge at the end.  So here it is-create your personal brand-your mission statement and elevator pitch and share it with me.  I will be honored to feature them here and in the Rock Your Trade Show LinkedIn group.  And for your courage- you will be entered to win in our Exhibitus drawing for a full registration pass to ExhibitorLive 2019.  So don’t delay, include your personal brand as part of your goals for 2019.  As always, if I can help you in anyway as you start this journey, reach out to me at rockyourtradeshow.com/let’stalk I love hearing from you! Special thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode

When is the right time to develop a new pitch?  For Jay Bonansinga, author of “The Walking Dead” books, film director and HCEAInnovate Session Speaker, it starts immediately with the idea.  In his 90 minute session, Jay immersed attendees in the creative process that started with picking an idea and then developing the plan to sell it to the audience.  So much goes on when developing ideas that will win over the audience and Jay shares secrets in this episode that will help you with your next pitch. In this episode you will learn key elements to include in your next presentation.  Whether you need to win over stakeholders, gain leadership support or win an RFP the ingredients for creating a pitch are the same. 6 Steps to Creating a Pitch Know your audience. Before you even come up with an idea-decide why your audience needs the solution you are going to pitch. Collaborate with others.  The best pitch happens when there is a creative brainstorming process where you share ideas and develop a strategy. Develop a clear marketing plan. When delivering your idea, it is important that you include all of the elements and keep it simple so the audience Tell a compelling story. In the pitch “competition” between the two groups at HCEAInnovate, one of the elements that helped the teams was communicating the solution via a story. Anticipate questions during and after the pitch. When developing the overall strategy, include possible objections, or barriers to the solution and be ready to offer alternative ideas. Ask for the Order. During a pitch, it is easy to get caught up in the details and omit the most important last step-asking the audience to choose your solution. This happened to both teams at HCEAInnovate in part because of the time limit and it was a helpful lesson to learn for all in the audience. In addition to discussing the pitch, Jay shares so many great insights on how he got started as a writer, the creative process, and more.  Be sure to listen to the end for insider information on where you can meet Jay at upcoming events.  If you missed Part 1 of this series, listen to Episode 60 for what it was like to participate in the pitch experience. Would you like help winning leadership buy-in for your trade show program?  Reach out to me, I would love to help! A Big Thank You to Jay Bonansinga for hosting the interview in his office!   Resources:  Jay Bonansinga    Series about how to do The Pitch on AMC Credits: Thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

Do you ever feel stuck trying to come up with a pitch?  This live interview with GE Healthcare’s Eva Streich and Faye Jermyn Faye offers firsthand insights into what it was like to be a participating attendee at HCEAInnovate. They describe why they joined a team in the session “The Art of the Healthcare Pitch” with Jay Bonansinga, author of the Walking Dead book series. Eva and Faye take us on the journey of coming up with all of the components to create a live pitch in only 10 minutes and so much more! Experience firsthand in this live interview what it was like to attend HCEAInnovate, finding their people and why they are both considering embarking on their CTSM certification through ExhibitorLive.  6 Key Elements to Doing a Group Pitch Establish roles quickly. When you have only 10 minutes to develop a pitch it is important to figure out who will be delivering each element. Determine personas for the product. Establish who will want to buy it and why. Identify the product benefits: Review how will the target personas benefit from using the product. Create a marketing strategy. Figure out the right marketing channels from print, t.v. to face-to-face marketing at trade shows. Invent a story to tell for the pitch. Imagine each persona and describe how their lives will be impacted by the product. Ask for the business. Even though you are in an imaginary scenario, remember to win you need to ask the group to choose your team. If you need help pitching your ideas for your trade show program, reach out to me, I would love to help. Be sure to catch Part 2 of the “Art of the Pitch” with author, director, Jay Bonansinga. Resources: HCEA ExhibitorLive  Credits: A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.    

Wishing you could attend all of the sessions at #ExhibitorLive?  This interview is with session speaker Glenda Brungardt, CTSM, Global Event Manager at HP.  Glenda shares amazing tips that span budgets, measurement to working with unions.  Glenda describes “...it’s no longer about a demo on the show floor, it’s about figuring out what is the customer experience like when they visit HP.”  She describes what it's like being a destination exhibit, hosting user conferences and being new to a market.  The key is to find time saving strategies that will help you focus on what really matters for your trade show program. 5 Tips to Advance Your Event Marketing Strategy Be true to your brand. Think about what is your brand solution, and what it is that you want the attendee to interact with so that you can have a conversation with that person. One size doesn’t fit all. The biggest thing you need to do is listen to stakeholders so you can come back with a solution that fits their unique need. Decisions need to be more than cost per lead. Look at other areas that show return it isn’t only about sales sometimes it is about exposure and how attendees experience your brand. Develop a system based on the history of your program. Streamline 80% of the tactical side of the event so the focus is on the 20% that creates an individual experience. Understand the union jurisdiction in the venue city.  Glenda teaches people what an “exhibitor bill of rights” can do and the benefit to organizations when they know the potential of what is in their power to do. Final thoughts: “You have love what you do, knowing you are o.k. with the travel schedule…and this is an industry that is all about relationships.”   Ready to take your program to the next level?  Reach out to me I would love to help.  For more interviews on #ExhibitorLive visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com Resources: HP uses this Smart Sheet Glenda can be contacted on LinkedIn. Credits: Thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

Have you been thinking about how you can take your trade show event program to the next level?  Kimberly Kee, Event Marketer at Jeppesen, a Boeing company, shares insights from her CTSM sessions at #ExhibitorLive.  Find out how you can re-think your approach to budgeting, find ways to leverage your negotiated contracts to offer incentives for sales reps and more.  Kimberly provides stories about her personal experiences from being an exhibit manager, becoming a consultant and going back to corporate event management. If you missed going to ExhibitorLive, Kimberly describes the tips and tricks from her 5 sessions this year.  Listen to this interview and walk away with actions you can take today in your trade show event program. 4 Tips In This Episode: Leverage Contracts: Look at what you have negotiated for hotels and use the perks for your sales team. Evaluate Your Budget: Review how effective your participation is and if you are reaching the right target audience. Enhance Corporate Events: There are no set rules, re-imagine what your corporate experience can look like. Become A Speaker: Leading a session at #ExhibitorLive offers the unique opportunity of getting training and gain recognition in the industry and within your organization. Find more interviews like this on at www.rockyourtradehso.com and if you have a question or would like help with your trade show program, reach out to me at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/letstalk. Credits: A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Are you looking to learn about the latest trends in the trade show event industry?  In this special ExhibitorLive episode, Nancy Drapeau, Senior Research Director at Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) shares how her organization conducts objective research to provide trade show state of the industry and trends.  CEIR is a not for profit organization and offers over 100 reports including the CEIR index which includes 14 business sectors.  Listen and hear how they provide key insights on the value of face-to-face marketing for industry stakeholders including exhibitors, attendees, associations, organizers, and suppliers.  If you want know where the industry is going this interview is just for you! 8 Trade Show Industry Trends and Insights CEIR Industry Index: There is a correlation with how well the trade show industry is doing with the GDP and currently the industry is growing at a more moderate. Trade Shows Continue to Deliver: Companies still see the value for the chance to have face-to-face interactions. Marketing Spend Decisions: In 2017 among companies that exhibit, over 40% of marketing budgets are allocated to trade shows. Digital Channels: 68% of Exhibiting companies use 1 or more digital channels for their trade show strategy. Marketing Budgets Aren’t Growing: The budget spend on the trade show channel has remained constant even when exhibitors have been asked to do more with less marketing budgets. Top 2 Reasons Why Companies Exhibit: Sales Lead Generation and Branding remain the top activities why companies exhibit. New CEIR Engagement Study: Over 900 exhibitor responded to the study which looked at what organizers are offering and what exhibitors offering for engagement.  For example: At a large equipment show, one company created a 3D Excavator and did live demonstrations at the show. Engagement Gaps between Exhibitors vs. Organizers: Exhibitors see the value in new product showcases because decision makers go to see what is new.  Show organizers don’t always offer a new product showcase as an opportunity exhibitors. Face-to-Face Marketing: “People do business with People” Nancy Drapeau  CEIR ExhibitorLive Session R604: Nancy will be speaking session on Thursday, March 1st about how engagement starts before the event: pre-event, onsite and post show and what companies are doing that works. She will be discussion why attendees go and why companies going to trade shows. Session attendees will find out what to stop doing if there activities that aren’t delivering success at exhibiting.  During ExhibitorLive visit CEIR’s exhibit at 404 to find more information and trends. Resources: www.ceir.org and if anyone has a question for Nancy, reach out to her ndrapeau@ceir.org. If you would like to take your trade show program to the next level find more tips and advice at www.rockyourtradeshow.com and reach out to me, I would love to help you! Credits: A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you ever been so captivated by a great story that you lost track of time, and even your surroundings?  Park Howell, is the founder of The Business of Story, a Keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and shares his wisdom after interviewing over 133 people on his podcast The Business of Story and helping brands tell their story through his company.   "When you can tell a very honest, true, personal story that reflects who you are as a business leader, a brand ambassador...it connects better than any "advertising" campaign you could possibly imagine.” Park Howell Park Howell’s Story Cycle Process-10 Steps to Creating a Story The Back Story-What problem have you fallen in love with that your brand solves? The Hero-Who are you solving the problem for? Stakes-What is it that the Hero wants? What do they stand to gain or lose? Disruption-Something has to Change. Why do they want this solution? Obstacles- Why doesn’t the hero already have this solution? The Mentor-How do you help the hero solve their problem? The Journey- Describe what the process is like when you help solve your hero’s problem. Victory-What is the first success milestone. How can you demonstrate success to your customer? Moral- How have you helped your hero? What do they experience with your solution? How do you connect the belief and values and connect them with what your customers want? Ritual-How do you make their story your story and build a brand ritual-how will they share your story with their world? All of the steps are important and Park recommends that step 9 is the most important.  Figure out what is the theme that will help your hero.  Focus on what success feels like as a customer, attendee interacting with your sales reps or in a presentation to an audience, what do they want to experience?  It is different for each hero-having this clear before you start will help you make it to the conclusion of the story. Resources: Get Park’s new e-book starting today! www.businessofstory.com.  There are free tools, a weekly podcast and other resources to help you create a brand story. Credits: Thanks so much to Christy Haussler with Team Podcast for editing this episode. Visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com for more insights, tips and advice from industry leaders.  If you would like to elevate your trade show program through story, reach out to me at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/letstalk

Where does Intel’s Events Program Manager find inspiration? For Victor Torregroza, the world is full of experiential marketing-but not where you might expect it.  Victor shares how he finds creative innovative ideas in nature, in open markets, at museums, and even in restaurants.  If you have ever wondered how a company like Intel plans, delivers, and measures and delights at their exhibits, this episode has the inside story and more!  Avoid FOMO (fear of missing out) and make sure to listen all the way to the end  for a first-hand account of what one of the biggest exhibitors at CES 2018 did to meet the challenge of total darkness during the black out at the show.  Discover how you can take attendee experience to a new level from an 8 x 10 to large exhibits.  “One of the first things, I learned in the exhibit industry…is volume and scale.  You are buying that entire volume of space for your brand, for your strategy, to delight people and to really own that space.” Victor Torregroza, Intel 5 Ways to Increase Attendee Interactions at Your Next Show Stay human with conversations. One of the things people can forget is to maintain eye contact.  Attendees traveled far and wide to be at the show, stay present when speaking with them. Ask leading questions that will start a conversation. “What are you hoping to get out of the show?” or “What is your manager hoping you will bring back from the show?” or “What solution will help you the most to win against your competition?” Listen first before telling your story. Before sharing any marketing messages, find out matters most to the attendee. Pause before expressing a solution. One of the most important aspects of listening and asking questions is pausing before offering a solution to the attendee’s pain point. Demonstrate empathy to the attendee during the conversation. Almost all attendees traveled to arrive at the event and left their personal lives behind.  Showing that you appreciate the effort made to learn information and a desire to connect on a personal level will go a long way to fostering positive attendee responses. Victor shares not only a unique way of experiencing the world, he also gives a detailed account of what it was like to experience total darkness at the brightest trade show-CES 2018.  Be sure to listen and find out what Intel did to help attendees and their staff during one of the most memorable experiences on the trade show floor.  Victor’s Favorite Resources: Epicurious - Since 1995, Epicurious has been the ultimate food resource for the home cook, with daily kitchen tips, fun cooking videos, and, oh yeah, over 33000 recipes. Nature Go outside and see what is around you. Find more inspirational tips, expert advice and ExhibitorLive interviews at www.rockyourtradeshow.com If you are listening before ExhibitorLive 2018 and want a free VIP pass, reach out to me.  See the photos discussed this episode.  Credits: A big thanks as always to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode!

Have you been asked to demonstrate ROI for your exhibit program and need data that is more than cost per lead to validate your program’s results? If you aren’t sure how to show leadership the value of your trade show program, you are not alone. In this episode, Lynn Reves, Director of the Results Division at Exhibitus shares measurement strategies you can start using today.  Four Ways You Can Achieve Measurable Results 1. Explore New Business Opportunities. Set your call to action strategy to be focused on the next step not the last step to converting a potential customer into a client. 2.  Focus on Client Retention. A hidden opportunity with face-to-face marketing is client retention.  Identify current customers and any that are at risk and include retaining clients as part of the value your trade program delivers. 3. Demonstrate the Value of Marketing Communications. Take advantage of speaking opportunities at a trade show and position the company as a thought leader.  Consider including elevating leadership's involvement with key customers and prospects. 4. Take Advantage of Cost Avoidance.  Look at ways to consolidate sales meetings at a national conference in lieu of a separate meeting.  Gathering global teams at a trade show reduces the cost of having a separate meeting in addition to the conference. There are many additional ways you can expand the value of your program and  win leadership support.  Get started with this free trade show program assessment survey at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/assessment.  Encourage stakeholders in marketing and sales to take the assessment.  Information gathered in the assessment is much richer if sales and marketing take the assessment.  Exhibitus offers a complimentary evaluation of the survey results. Want to learn more about ROI?  Visit Exhibitus in booth 1243, at the ExhibitorLive conference in Las Vegas February 25-March 1st.  You will be able to hear Lynn speak about an integrated measurement approach and so much more!  Receive a complimentary VIP pass by reaching out to me at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/letstalk Credits:  Thanks as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode.  

If you were given an unexpected 21% raise, would you ask for more?  The answer for most of us is we would be so surprised that the thought of asking for more wouldn’t cross our minds.  The reality is there is a high cost when we don't ask. This episode explores three examples of opportunities where women could have asked, and didn’t and the cost that resulted by not asking.  You may see a little of yourself in the real-life examples and that is o.k.!  It has happened to all of us… where we look back and think: “if I only I had asked!”  Here is a blueprint to creating a habit of asking and the rewards that will happen when you do it on a regular basis. 6 Steps to Creating an Asking Mindset Take A Look Back In Time. Think about the past five days.  Was there a situation where it didn’t even occur to you to ask for something?  Perhaps you knew there was something you wanted but didn’t ask?  Write down the details of the experience. Take Note of How You Felt. Regret is something that we all have but it is what we do to move forward that counts.  If you are feeling wistful that you should have asked-don’t worry you can change it next time! Create an Alternative Storyline. Now think about what could have happened if you did ask…and how it makes you feel.  Look Forward in Time. Think about the next 5 days.  Is there a meeting or opportunity in the where you may have the chance to step outside of your comfort zone and ask for something important to you? Anticipate Questions In Advance. Create a play book of things you might ask for in different scenarios.  Perhaps you want to have a one-on-one with a leader in your company.  Are you looking to get stakeholder buy-in and need support?  Imagine situations where the opportunity to ask will occur and practice what you would say to achieve a positive outcome. Make an Ask Success List. Each time you ask someone for something-keep a log on the outcomes.  Even if the answer to a question didn’t quite turn out the way you hoped, write it down.  Sometimes the hardest thing in making progress is taking the first step.  Taking action is so important.  Keep this list on your smartphone or someplace that is easily accessible.  Refer to the list when you have doubts and it will reinforce the positive habit of asking for what you want. This is your time. Don’t leave anything on the table-ask for it.  You are worth it! If you would like more insights about building courage, and asking for what you want, reach out to me at www.rockyourtradeshow.com/letstalk.  I would be honored to help you. Resource: Check out episode 30 on Negotiations and the steps you can take to get to yes.  For more advice, and insider marketing tips visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com  Credits: As always-a big thanks to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode!   

Have you ever wondered what inspires designers to develop face-to-face exhibit environments?  In this episode, Matt Beck, Design Director at Exhibitus shares a behind the scenes look at how he finds inspiration (it might surprise you!) and how to bring the unexpected and delight your target attendees.  Find out how to use Design Thinking to connect with your customers at your next trade show event. 4 Ways to Use Design Thinking In Your Trade Show Program Create the unexpected. Matt shares how creating the right design is like giving a gift to a loved one and seeing their excitement when they find exactly what they were looking for-and in the case of face-to-face marketing the gift is the experience they have when the solution to their problem is revealed to them in a trade show exhibit. Design Thinking is Simple. It all starts with empathy and starting with your target attendee to create a framework from the end goal to be beginning process that yields the optimal results. Early Collaboration is Key. Engage designers early-sometimes way early- in your process to really get the most out of the end result.  Designers are a resource and extension of your marketing team and can help turn potential customers into life-long fans if they have the opportunity to be integrated into the planning process. Find inspiration in small places. You don’t have to have a big exhibit space to yield wow results.  In fact, Matt shares how in smaller inline exhibits, there is optimal focus and it gives designers an opportunity to solve challenges in a restricted space  In addition to having a design thinking focus for his team, Matt is embarking on a second year of speaking at ExhibitorLive.   He shares how everyone has fear at some point of speaking publicaly. For many people having public speaking on your career resume is something that will help in ways beyond honing presentation skills.  It leads to great connections and inspiration and creative ideas. Design is only one component of the integrated marketing approach and to help you find the right solution, visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com/assement to take your free program assessment.  You will receive a report and a one on one review with Lynn Reeves, Director of the Results Division at Exhibitus.  The answers may surprise you and you can use the information right away in your program. If you would like to attract, connect and engage with your target attendee, reach out to me, I love to hear from you. Resources: The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand and Abstract on Netflix Credits: A big thanks to Christy Haussler from Team Podcast for editing this episode!    

Are you looking to take your healthcare trade show program to a new level this year?  Listen to 10 industry insiders in this Best-In-Show episode.  Whether you need to find your “why” for being in healthcare marketing, or want your sales reps to boost their engagement with attendees, this episode includes inspirational advice from trade show exhibit leaders and associations.   10 Experts Share Trade Show Marketing Ideas 1.Carol Fields, Senior Manager, Congress Management Edwards Lifesciences 'Why' Healthcare Exhibiting “It is one of those industries, where even though people are with companies that are bought and sold often times you find people on the other and maybe you were on the exhibit company side, and now you are on the vendor side.  People try to stay in this industry any way they can.” 2. Stacy McManus, Director, Corporate Alliances & Exhibition        Operations at American Thoracic Society How Associations Use Technology to Help Exhibitors “We added Beacon technology in attendee badges with heat            mapping and are able to provide more precise demographic            information of who is in the hall and where are they going.” 3. Christine DiDomenico, Event Marketing Strategist, Contractor, Freelancer Proven Strategy to Win Leadership Approval  “I took one piece of paper, after collecting the issues and put them in 3 buckets, Must Do, Nice to Have and Out of the Box…having it simply on one page made a big difference…over a period of time we ended up executing almost all ideas you can see how they all beautifully integrated together.” NeKeta Argrow, Senior Manager Event Operations & Strategy at American Express Global Business Travel What You Need to Do to Become a Speaker “If you want to be involved in a speaking opportunities it is really about networking and not being afraid to ask the question.  If you go to a conference and you feel there is a topic that is compelling when you get the notification for papers, submit a topic.” Sue Huff, Director Global Conventions at Medtronic, Inc. Managing Teams during a Merger “The most important thing, the legacy company take off previous hats, take the best of the best and look at all the processes we have.  When we brought the team together we had a meeting within 2 weeks, let’s share your current process, learn from it, what cool things are you doing and use as an organization.”  Cindy McCormick, Associate Director, Convention Marketing at Novo Nordisk Creating a Pop-Up Sales Territory: "This is a new field, it is only active for 3 days, it is like a new territory, here are your sales goals…you make it fun for them and they want to win.” Gregg Lapin, Director of Meeting Services at American Association of Diabetes Educators, President-elect HCEA Attendee Collaboration: “Attendees want to learn, touch and feel.  We are seeing more and more hands on demos for devices, apps, and technology.” Don Schmid, Lead Global Congresses at Pfizer International Exhibiting: “The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is Europe’s new data protection privacy law for Europe is not just for healthcare there are 27 countries participating.  There are major penalties for violating the law…with fines up to 4% of your gross revenues.” Janet Aguhob, Senior Conventions Planner at Allergan What Governs Healthcare Marketing:  “A good place to start are the big 3, the OPDP (Office of Prescription Drug Program), the second is the PhRMA code and the last is Physician Payment Sunshine Act. All three of these govern all of healthcare marketing and we need to deal with them on a daily basis.” Laine Mann, Director Global Congresses at Pfizer and HCEA President-elect Tapping Into Your Brave: “It was a very difficult decision, but it happened very quickly…within a 3 week period, I got a Visa, packed up my life and moved alone to go to Australia for a year”. Find out what happened next in this interview. Stay up to date with the latest marketing, trade show and leadership trends at www.rockyourtradeshow.com Gratitude:  A big thanks to Carol Fields, Stacy McManus, Christine DiDomenico, NeKeta Argrow, Sue Huff, Don Schmid, Gregg Lapin, Janet Aguhob and Laine Mann for sharing their advice, insights and inspiration! Credits:  Thank you to the amazing Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this

Are you looking at your career goals to achieve the best year ever? In this interview, Roz Usheroff talks about 7 deadly traps that really limit us from achieving our true potential. We don’t always realize how we limit ourselves, opportunities and future with actions and thoughts that get in our way of achieving success. Roz shares her expertise of working with Fortune 500 companies worldwide applies how she helps her clients to the advice and insights in this interview. This is your time, feel inspired, stop falling into these traps and unleash your true potential! How to Recognize and Banish 7 Deadly Traps The Superwoman Trap. Women in this trap own the belief that they must be all things to everyone.  They continually set new goals and standards, raising the bar daily for themselves.  There is no such word as “no” because they believe that they can do the impossible.  Burnout is high for women in this trap. The Good Girl/Likability Trap. Women have a strong desire to be liked by others and often seek the support of others, inserting into their conversation approval-seeking phrases such as; “Okay? Ya know? Right? Do you agree?”  Women will also use apologetic words to be liked.  “I’m sorry” seems to be a common language with this trap. The Opinion Trap. A carry-over of the Likability Trap is the Opinion trap.  Many women soften their message by expressing it as their ‘Opinion’ and not as fact or a firmly held belief.  Fearing what will happen if they say how they truly feel about a subject or share fully their thoughts or opinions, for fear they will be rejected.  The Bossy Trap. Women often worry that if they are too assertive, they would be described as bossy - or worse, aggressive. Women are often reluctant to be seen as too assertive, fearing that we will be perceived negatively.  Because women also worry about being too pushy, they wait for it to be their turn to speak, which often limits an opportunity to promote their idea, service or product.  The Dr. Jekyll and Ms. /Mr. Hyde Trap. Women have the tendency to take things too personally, emotionally react (internally or externally) resulting in loss of credibility.   For example, at the beginning of a meeting, a woman will demonstrate calm, poise, enthusiasm, etc. – all positive traits.  However, if the same woman is made to feel devalued, her mood and demeanor changes dramatically.  This may result in her withdrawing, appearing aloof, or annoyed, confrontational and defensive.  This behavior will cause her to be viewed as “emotional” rather than professional.  The Perfectionist Trap. Women who fall into this trap set standards that can never be met. They are never satisfied unless they do everything with perfection.  They judge others in a similar fashion. Because perfection is not always clearly defined, these women live with the expectation that perfection is the way to live life. The Imposter Trap. Notwithstanding expertise, experience and wisdom, women live with the fear that they are imposters and their inadequacies will be exposed one day. This causes them to worry about being humiliated, demoted or terminated. As a result, a woman may not take a stand for what she believes in, speak up with confidence or take greater initiative in meetings.  Worse yet, women don't apply for new career opportunities unless they feel they have 100% of all the qualifications. Recognize yourself in any of these traps?  Don’t worry!  Listen to the full interview and hear how you can overcome them and move forward this year and become empowered. Take Action!  New Year, New You-Art of Wow with Roz Usheroff.  There is limited space, and if you act now you may be one of the lucky ones to walk away with an incredible new outlook for 2018. If you would like to find more interviews like this one, please visit www.rockyourtradeshow.com where you will find tips, advice and downloads to help empower your personal and professional lives. Credits: Roz Usheroff has appeared on national television - NBC, CBC, BTV and has authored three books, the most recent, “THE FUTURE OF YOU: Creating your Enduring Brand”.  Her greatest joy is in coaching women on how to toot their own horn with presence and confidence and position themselves for success. I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to Roz for providing the content for this episode and blog post! Thank you as always to Christy Haussler and Team Podcast for editing this episode.