ISA Conference Brochure 2018 - WRAP General - 11

Elite: Connections Pay Off
Encouraged to apply to participate in the ISA
Elite program and as general manager of AllRight Sign, Tabitha was a perfect fit.

Tabitha Bowen married into the sign,
graphics and visual communications
industry. So attending her first ISA
International Sign Expo in 2017 was a bit of
a blank slate. "I had thought it was just a
bunch of vendors," she said. "I don't do a lot
with the manufacturing side of our business,
so I didn't think there would be much value
in attending." Tabitha quickly learned it was
far more than "just a bunch of vendors."

Tabitha had a "game changer" of her own:
being accepted into the ISA Elite program.
"I was so excited to see the roster of my Elite
cohort," she said. "We deal with a lot of
these companies on a day-to-day basis, so it
was great to be able to meet people."
One connection was with a supplier that
"we order from all the time." A few months
after ISA Sign Expo, Tabitha's father-in-law
was looking for a specific type of extrusion
kit for a sign but wasn't sure what to order.
Tabitha reached out to her Elite connection
and within 15 minutes had details on the
part number, cost and how to order. "It
really showed the benefits of networking.
Sometimes when they're not so immediately
tangible, it is hard to justify why you should
network. This showed how it can pay off."

Education: Immediate Payoff
The Game Changer sessions - which bring
top thinkers to share big ideas - were a
favorite for Tabitha. But it was the session
on marketing that she put into practice
immediately. "With our national customers,
we hear, 'Good job.' But I started following
up, asking them to fill out surveys on Google.
I would say, 'Can you take five seconds to do
this survey?' I was literally using words the
presenter used and the template to follow up.
It has helped build our online presence in a
positive way."
Something Bigger
For Tabitha, attending ISA International Sign
Expo paid off in very real, tangible ways.
But it also provided hope. "Sometimes when
you're in a small business in a niche industry,
you get lost. You forget that all across the
country - and even the world - there are
people going through the same things that
we are. Being part of ISA and going to ISA
Sign Expo just reminded me that we are part
of something so much bigger. No matter
what we're going through, we can survive it
and make it through."

signexpo.org/dare

11
http://www.signexpo.org/daredigital
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ISA Conference Brochure 2018 - WRAP General
