SEAHO Report - Fall 2024 - 40

Is a Hotdog a Sandwich?:
How to Talk to Corporate Partners
By Kara Alspaugh, Louisiana State University
Many of us, or rather, the majority of us, who attend any kind of professional conference that includes
corporate sponsors and exhibit halls don't have the power to actually purchase any of the products or services
the sponsors are selling (fun fact: only 23% of SEAHO 2024 delegates were upper-level professionals or
SHOs). They know that. We know that. So why is it so awkward to talk to them? Why do so many of us zip
through the aisles to the cookies and drinks in the back with our heads down, not making eye contact? This
author thinks it is because we just don't know what to talk about, and I'm here to help.
Sometimes the vendor helps with the awkwardness (which is where part of this headline comes from). One of
the furniture vendors at the 2024 SEAHO meeting had a whiteboard, on which was written the question, " Is a
hotdog a sandwich? " , split down the middle via blue dry-erase marker so folks could vote " yes " or " no " via a
tally mark. Shockingly, in my opinion, " no " was far and away the collective answer.
Perhaps being a person of strong conviction helped me express myself, but I immediately struck up a
conversation with the humans in that vendor area about how " sandwich " is defined. I maintain that a hotdog
is a sandwich because the only two features of a sandwich are that 1) it has non-bread contents 2) inside of
bread that isn't completely sealed. One of the eRezlife (based in Canada) vendors was nearby, and we began
a heated discussion of various foods and whether they were also sandwiches by this definition (ravioli, foods
eaten out of a pita pocket, hot pockets, etc.). This is where the second part of the headline comes in. At that
point, it came up that one of my favorite foods that can be found nearly world-over is the dumpling: bao, gyoza,
chicken-and- in the Southern USA, etc. And then I realized I needed to research if Canada had dumplings
(spoiler alert, they have a chicken and dumpling corollary made with beef) and our conversation concluded (we
both agreed that poutine does not count as a dumpling).
Did we talk about furniture or software? Not really. Did I get some cool swag? Yes. Did I at least begin (or
continue) some kind of familiarity with those company representatives so when I see them in 2025 they might
remember me as the gal who thinks hotdogs are sandwiches? Yes again. Do I plan on making my way up to
a position in Res Life where I will be able to purchase things? No, but I certainly am in a position to request
and propose and give feedback on purchases like that, and at least I've interacted with those representatives
enough that I can tell if they're a genuinely nice human who can provide good customer service to us and
halfway know what they're talking about.
So, aside from debating the categories of certain foods, what else can you do to alleviate the awkwardness of
talking to strangers wearing conference lanyards?
1) Have a question ready before you approach the booth (this also works with Disney characters). Tell me a
little about your product? How is your software different from other software? What is your favorite thing about
your furniture? Do you have contracts with other schools in my state or region?
2) Bring business cards to either hand the vendor or to enter in their drawing (you can unsubscribe from the
emails later). This also gives you something to do with your hands, which is a classic awkwardness amplifier.
3) Make a colleague or friend come with you, especially if you're not super outgoing. I went through the vendor
area with a former colleague at a different conference last year and she did such a good job talking up the reps
from a furniture vendor in Vermont that we both got tiny jugs of maple syrup from a secret stash, at which we
both screamed quietly. The small containers were so cute.
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SEAHO Report - Fall 2024

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