Get the most out of trade shows.

• Author: Perry, Phillip M.

Top consultants help contractors solve the top 10 problems everybody faces at a trade show.

When you go to a trade show, you want the best return for the money you spend. Money on travel... money on a hotel room... money on meals. The show has got to pay off.

Here's help. Several well-known consultants have helped us put together a list of the top 10 trade show problems and offered valuable advice for how to overcome them. Use this information to get the most out of your next trade show or business meeting.

1 Too Little Time

"So many trade show attendees complain about a lack of sufficient time to do everything they wanted," says Keith Reznick, president of Creative Training Solutions, Gibbsboro, N.J.

SOLUTION: First, determine your goals for the show. What do you want to accomplish and why? How will you know whether you have been successful? "Write down answers to these questions, being as specific as you can," Reznick said.

Start early to think about your goals for the show. What is costing your business time and money or hindering your ability to perform your job? Use staff input as a tool to focus your work at the show. Who do you want to visit and what questions will you ask to solve the problems you have identified?

Next, choreograph your time prior to going to the show. "Once you have prioritized what you want to do, prearrange appointments with existing and potential suppliers," Reznick said. "Do the same with industry associates you want to see."

When planning your time, avoid being too general. Actually assign a certain number of minutes to each meeting. While you don't have to follow this regimen strictly, the very act of scheduling will clarify your trade show visit and give you a crystal-clear image of what you can accomplish in the time available.

Bonus Tip: Take advantage of the "second show" that is run by many vendors. "What you see happening on the trade show floor is for the general visitors," notes Reznick. "But many important vendors run a 'second show' in hotel suites or conference rooms." Here vendors can meet with six to 10 people in a business-like setting free of distractions.

2 Useless Jumble of Notes

Most trade show goers don't have an organized method for taking notes as they walk the floor. As a result, they fail to take critical actions that would lead to greater business profits when they return home. It's just too difficult to sort through the jumble of business cards, scribbled notes on the margins of vendor literature, and cryptic shorthand messages in the show directory.

SOLUTION: "I recommend a small pocket notebook and a microcasette recorder," says Jefferson A. Davis, president of Competitive Edge Training, San Bruno, Calif. Use a small notebook for taking down any addresses or technical details which might otherwise be too cumbersome to recite into the recorder.

Most of your notes should be spoken ones. "You tend to include important nuances when you speak into a recorder," Davis said. "Such details are lost in written notes."

At the same time, Davis suggests being very selective about whom you take business cards from. "We are all dealing with...