What We Learned at The ABC Kids Expo
- Pay extra for the carpet padding. It is worth every penny. Without it, you will be stuck standing on a thin layer of carpet on top of concrete floors. Note: your feet will still hurt no matter what.
- No matter how careful or confident you are, don't drink red wine if you are wearing all white—you WILL eventually spill on yourself.
- Location, location, location. Booth location really does matter. Now that we know the layout and flow of the show, we will pick a booth space with higher traffic next year to make sure we have as many booth visitors as possible.
- We learned what a "line sheet" is and that buyers like paper order forms. But our high-tech iPad set up sure looked cool. :)
- Get creative to get buyers' attention. Just saying, "Hi," doesn't work. One trick we discovered was to read the names on buyers' badges from a distance. As they approached we would address them by name. Every single person would do a double-take and you could see the "Do I know her?" look on their faces. Even if they didn't buy our product, it made them laugh and remember us.
- Wear comfortable shoes. A no brainer, but even if you think a pair of shoes are comfortable for everyday occasions, they may not be for 4 straight days on your feet.
- If you provide candy in your booth, be prepared to eat it all yourself. Let's just say the four of us never want to eat another green, white or teal M&M again.
- Bring extra hands. We were so lucky to have Kerry from eepples join us and he was such a huge help. Between having to construct our entire booth to trips back to the hotel for forgotten items and runs to Kinko's, Kerry was a lifesaver.
- Assembling a mountain of IKEA furniture in one day will lead to serious carpel tunnel.
- The staff at the Courtyard Marriott at the Convention Center are amazing. They were so sweet, helpful and accommodating to our crazy group that included 4 adults, an infant, and a sick toddler.
- Industrial trash cans make great dollies in a pinch.
- Do not try to sell your booth furniture on Craigslist after the show. Otherwise you will have to do this:
- And will look like this after it's all said and done:
- Leave town Friday night right after the show. Apparently no one leaves Vegas on Friday nights:
- Our team is AWESOME!
Until next year, ABC!
2 Responses
Shelley
Having attended a couple of trade shows myself, I can definitely sympathize with the extra carpet padding and the comfortable shoes. Love the booth and the white outfits!
So now I’m curious, what IS a line sheet?
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Kerry
October 31, 2013
Thanks for letting me tag along with you guys to see how the pros work a show! It was a blast working with you. You ladies and the Little Green Pouch rock! Looking forward to next year…
Kerry
Eepples.com