Impressions - January 2013 - (Page 58)

How to Shop a By Greg Kitson, Contributing Writer Prepping for Appointments After you’ve scheduled your appointments with selected vendors, don’t just show up and expect them to know your business. Be prepared to answer the following questions: Trade hether you’re new to the industry or shopping for equipment, trade shows — such as the Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS) — are the best sources for seeing machines in action, making contacts, establishing relationships and gaining useful information that only happens when you are standing in the right place at the right time. While there’s no question that the Internet also is a valuable tool that continues to grow in usefulness, it will never replace the amount and type of information you can gather over the course of a few days during a single event. This is especially true for apparel decorators just starting their businesses. Though newcomers likely have some understanding of the equipment, products and partnerships they’ll need, they often don’t know how to effectively search for that information online. Every industry has its lingo, which isn’t easy to learn through Internet research. It takes interaction with real people in the industry to sort out all the intricacies, and to learn how to ask the hard questions and get real answers. Also, just because a person or company posts something on the Internet does not mean the information is accurate. There is no Internet police making sure posted content on websites is 100% honest or accurate. When trade show exhibitors seem to be w If you plan ahead, there’s a pot of information gold to be found at industry trade shows. • Who is your target market? • What products are you looking for? • What equipment do you need? In fact, it may be beneﬁcial to both you and the vendors if you prepare a one-page brief so they can address your speciﬁc needs. A brief also reduces the need for you to repeat the same information each time. In addition, have your list of questions handy. One question you should always ask is, “What haven’t we talked about that you think is worth discussing?” You don’t know what you don’t know, so asking this question could open your eyes to a product, machine or service of which you previously were unaware. over-promising on their products, it is much easier to ask for proof face to face than to discern fact from ﬁction on the Internet. While the thought of a show ﬂoor packed with hundreds of exhibitors may make your back and feet ache prematurely, if you develop and adhere to a wellthought-out plan of attack, trade shows are one of your best resources for getting a lot done in a short period of time. BEFORE THE SHOW Once you’ve decided to attend a trade show, all you have to do is register, book a hotel, plan your rental car or ﬂight arrangements, and you’re set, right? This thinking is a common mistake made by trade show attendees. Most decorators arrive at a trade show full of good intentions, but will not accomplish much if they have not planned and scheduled appointments. Once the show ﬂoor opens, they will walk in and wander the ﬂoor aimlessly. This behavior is repeated on each of the subsequent show days, and unfortunately not much is accomplished. The ﬁrst step of trade show planning is to browse the event website to ﬁnd the exhibitor list. Reviewing this information can save precious time on the ﬂoor. While looking through the exhibitor list, sort by category so you can pinpoint the vendors that are applicable to your impressionsmag.com 58 Impressions | January 2013 http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - January 2013

Impressions - January 2013
Table of Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conference
Sharing the Spotlight
Tracking Today's T-Shirt Trends
Tees: Tried and True
How to Shop a Trade Show
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Technique
Digital Decorating
Online Directory
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - January 2013