4 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐁𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒

4 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐁𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒

Over the years I've been asked by 100+ clients for Toy Fair exhibiting tips. They are often shocked when I share these blindingly obvious and basic suggestions first:

1. 𝐀𝐁𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑 - trade shows are not just meeting grounds for industry folks, they're also meeting grounds for exotic germs. Back in the noughties, after getting sick at a Toy show for the umpteenth time I started using hand sanitiser after every time shaking hands & haven't got ill at trade shows since. If you aren't shaking 50+ hands a day you're doing something wrong. You won't be your best if you get ill from that. Protect yourself, your staff & your customers with a $2 bottle of hand sanitiser.

2. 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖

Do you want to influence Buyers at trade shows? If the answer is yes, would it help if they spent longer on your Booth? Yes...? Well one easy way to get more Buyer time is to have the most comfortable seating at the show. Have a sumptuous couch/sofa on your Booth. Thank me later when the Buyer rests their weary feet and spends ten minutes longer listening to you waffling on just because they are physically comfortable. BUT protect that sanctuary, don't let people you want to get rid of sit on the comfiest seats in the show!

3. 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 & 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 - 𝐇𝐘𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍!

Have lots of water around, drink it & make sure others drink it. UK Toy Fair 2005 I was locked in a small room with hot bright lights for 3 days pitching the same product line over and over, my late night antics the previous night had left me 'dehydrated'...and just as my throat and voicebox completely gave up the ghost, in walked the then mighty TRU European leadership team. If only I'd drunk as much water during the day as beer the night before...

4. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

Let's keep it real here, drinking beer (or whatever) with industry friends and colleagues after the show can be directly linked to $billions in revenues every year. We won't go into the psycho babble about how human beings who know and like each other do more business together...but let's just say that if your show diary stops at 6pm every day you are missing massive opportunities. There are so many examples for this, but my favourite would be one year at Nuremberg when I was on my third party/function of the evening, and frankly speaking, was heavily inebriated. At 2am at the bar, there was a choice to speak to someone in a whacky character costume or the more normally clothed guy to the other side, who turned into a future customer who spent $tens of millions with my clients/partners over time. The opportunities end when you go to sleep, not when official show hours are done!

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