Attending SuperZoo? Do you have a plan?
There are over 900 exhibitors at SuperZoo and the show is “open” for 19 hours. “Do the Math!” If you don’t stop to chat with anyone in the aisles or for food, a drink or to go to the bathroom, don’t attend any classes…and allow no time for walking, you can spend about 1 and half minutes with each exhibitor…It looks like you may need a plan…!
Vegas always has its allure…even in July, but your primary purpose for attending SuperZoo or GPE or Total Pet Expo or any industry event should be to improve your business.
[box]With 900+ Exhibitors you have 1½ minutes for each, if you don’t eat, drink, go to a class, go to the restroom or allow time for walking.
You may need a plan!
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Of course, you should take the time to visit the new product area, sign up for helpful classes, network with other industry professionals and walk the whole show. When you walk the show, the enormity of our growing industry will be readily apparent
Every business can improve in terms of products. If you are a retailer, what sections of your store are not doing as well as you hoped and need a “facelift” or conversely, what areas are growing and need products to fill additional space? Category managers are only interested in visiting exhibitors relevant to their “categories”. Representatives also may be looking for new manufacturers…in specific product categories. Manufacturers could be looking to find distributors to handle their products or just looking to “check out” the competition. In regard to products, there is always something!
Every level of our industry has a lot of “players”. This huge base produces a huge variety of needs…and since we’re Americans we want what we want…and we want it quickly! J
I designed a tool in Excel, the Super Search SuperZoo Visit Planner to make “working the show” easier and more productive for ALL attendees – retailers, distributors, reps, groomers, vets…even exhibitors.
- From the simplest…”just give me a list that I can look at on my phone or tablet quickly in either Booth # order or alphabetically”
- To the most complex…”can do a simultaneous search for multiple specific product categories, allowing me to personally narrow down the initial results and see the “final” alphabetically or in booth number order”.
The Super Search does both…and more…and does it quickly!
There is a download link below for the Super Search tool as well as one for the instructions. Yes, there are specific instructions for Super Search. I recommend that you read them and print them out for reference during your initial search. They are 4 pages long. Before you “have a cow” about the length of the instructions, take a look at some of the instructions you have around the house. My vacuum cleaner – 11 pages; coffee maker – 21 pages; garage door opener – a novel. Instructions are by necessity long, even when the actions are pretty simple
I’ve been in consumer products for over 35 years. Some of the things that I learned the very first week still stick with me. I remember one of the Chapter Names from my very first company Sales Manual (J&J). “Plan your work. Work your plan!” – Clichés become clichés because they are inherently true!
If you are going to Superzoo – Plan your Work! Work your Plan! It will pay big dividends to your business!
Download the files and get “planning” right now!
[button link=”https://pmud8a.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SuperSearchSUPERZOOEXHIBITOR-VISIT-PLANNER-InstructionsFINAL.pdf” type=”icon” newwindow=”yes”] Download Instructions (PDF)[/button]
(To save the PDF to your computer Right Click the download link and select “Save Link As…”)
[button link=”https://pmud8a.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/FinalSuperZooSuperSearch-USE.xlsm” type=”icon” newwindow=”yes”] Download SuperSearch (Excel)[/button]
[box type=”shadow”] In my next post, we’ll take a look at the product categories in terms of number and % of Superzoo exhibitors…compared to GPE. Are there any differences?[/box]
