How To Work A Trade Show – The BIO Way

By Ed Miseta, Chief Editor, Clinical Leader

By Ed Miseta, editor, Outsourced Pharma and Clinical Leader

Prior to the 2013 BIO International Convention, I received many emails, sometimes more than a dozen per day. Most were from exhibitors, wanting to schedule time to meet with me at the show. But I also remember receiving several from BIO International, requesting that I take a look at their partnering system. I have to admit, I ignored those. I was scheduling all of my appointments on my iPad, and figured that was good enough. After having breakfast with a couple of contacts at the show, I may rethink that decision before attending future shows.

Consider this article to be a tale of two companies. Both attended BIO. Both had a good booth presence. Both met with clients. But one came away from the show feeling it was a great success, and one did not. How they approached the show may give some insight into why each experienced a different level of satisfaction.  

First, I had the opportunity to have breakfast with the global marketing manager for one CMO. She was absolutely thrilled with the success her team achieved at the show. They used the Bio One-on-One Partnering System to schedule all of their meetings, and she had nothing but positive things to say about it. The system allowed access to delegate profiles from over 3,000 companies and enabled her to request face-to-face meetings at the convention. When meetings are confirmed, the system automatically schedules those meetings based on your availability.

“Taking advantage of this system was the best thing we have ever done,” she said. “It allowed us to schedule our appointments, provided us with adequate time between appointments, and allowed us to schedule multiple meetings at the same time, since our booth was set up to allow for this. If you talk to anyone who is complaining about traffic at their booth, you need to tell them about that system.”

She further noted her company had 25 excellent meetings at Bio, that she received three signed contracts while at the show, and that companies like Gilead, Pfizer, and Hospira all attended meetings at her booth. She could not have been happier. She was also quick to state that the home office gave her team time to properly work the show. “We were completely detached from the office,” she says. “Everyone back home knew we were at the show to generate new business, and they left us alone to do our job. That was a big help to all of us. I think we have over $200,000 invested in this show, including the cost of the show and employee travel expenses. When you’re spending that kind of money, you have to make sure you are getting the most out of it.”

Not every company was as successful. At least one I spoke with complained they were unhappy with show floor traffic. I did not ask if they used the partnering system, but I would be willing to bet they didn’t. They also complained about members of the team being constantly interrupted by calls, emails, and IMs from the home office, which kept them from being able to adequately focus on the business at hand.

Two different firms, two entirely different outcomes. More than 25,500 meetings were held onsite at BIO using the partnering system – an industry record. BIO, and every other show you attend, will pay back what you put into it. This is something to keep in mind when planning for future shows, including Bio International 2014 in San Diego. We’re looking forward to it.