It’s December, and that means time is short before NRF’s Big Show 2017 is upon us. Most of the vendors we’ve talked to in the run-up to the show are busy putting the finishing touches on their demo plans, their pitch plans, and their plans for scheduling appointments. The trade show is a big-budget item for most vendors. If you’re feeling anxious about your company’s plans, we have a handy checklist to help you make sure you have everything you need for a successful show:

• Set appointments. You must set appointments at the Big Show in order to be successful. It’s not too late to grab some time and attention from retailers, but you need to schedule that now, rather than wait for walk-up traffic. Most retailers get booked up by vendors, and only a few determined executives find ways to sneak in “wander” time. If you’re relying on walk-up traffic to drive your pipeline for spring, you may be bitterly disappointed – all the movers and shakers will be in pre-arranged meetings, not wandering the floor.
• Share expertise, rather than a sales pitch. By all means, if retailers ask for the sales pitch, give it to them. But the time-compressed interactions of a trade show as big as the Big Show mean most retailers won’t have time to absorb or retain your pitch. What they will retain, however, is insight, especially when you can relate that insight to their own business challenges. Sales 101 says, it’s not about you – it’s about them. That’s no different in a trade show booth than in a sales meeting.
• Create time-boxed demos. Trade show floors are not good places for impressing people with your user interface. A day full of demos runs together fast. So it’s important to time-box your demos and make sure you hit your differentiators, rather than the nitty gritty of your workflow. Everyone has a log-in screen – do you really need to show yours? And can you hit your differentiators and strengths in a 20 minute demo? Can you do it in 5? It’s critical to time-box your demo for the 5-minute chance, all the way up to the 20-minute chance to impress someone. But pick the right demo for the right the audience.
• Create time-boxed presentations. Everything we just said about demos applies to company pitches and presentations too. Can you highlight your company’s strengths and differentiators in a 5-minute elevator pitch? At the Big Show, that might be all you get.
• Don’t worry about us analysts if prospects come calling. Maybe we’re different than other analysts, but we’re surprised when vendors are falling all over themselves to apologize when an executive gets tied up in a customer or prospect meeting. That’s what you’re there for! We’re along for the ride, and definitely value the opportunity to meet face to face when so many of our interactions are on the phone, but clients come first – so don’t worry about us, if something goes awry on the schedule. It’s not the Big Show if we don’t have at least one scheduling snafu!

If you can tick off these five things with confidence, you’re in good shape for the NRF Big Show 2017. But if you’re starting to think about how you can continue those initial conversations after the show is done, don’t hesitate to talk to us about the kind of content that pulls in retailers, gets them thinking crisply about their challenges and how you can help – it’s what we do!

Have a great holiday, and an even better NRF!

Team RSR