What we learnt at IMEX America

In October, our Client Relationship Director, Nick Bramley, went to IMEX America in Las Vegas as a Hosted Buyer, and spoke on confident, easy event networking. Here is what he brought back. (If you missed why we were invited, read our earlier post.)

Plan early, and plan properly

The biggest thing Nick took away was how much the preparation paid off. In the run up he reached out to prospective meeting hosts and started conversations before he arrived, so he walked in with a plan rather than hoping to bump into the right people.

The scale was big, the organisation was better

IMEX America is huge, and that is impressive on its own. What stood out even more was how seamlessly the whole event was organised.

People want real collaboration

A lot of Nick's conversations came back to collaboration. Businesses are focusing on their specific areas of specialism, which means they need partners in the parallel areas of their clients' offering.

AI was everywhere

AI seemed to be everywhere. In more than a few cases it looked like AI for the sake of AI, rather than something solving a problem or improving a process. Yet.

We are a very human business, and that is not changing. AI is clearly here to stay and we are experimenting with it, but the test is a simple one: what problem does it actually solve?

Start with football

Two of Nick's best conversations began with a shared interest in football and grew quickly into proper business dialogue. A common interest, sport or otherwise, is an easy icebreaker and can give you an early win. Both conversations have led to strong follow ups with genuine prospects of working together.

If it is your first big trade show

• Put the time into a plan, and research the people you want to meet before you go.

• Use the event app. They are usually very helpful.

• Look for common ground. It can turn a first hello into a proper conversation.

  
  

Planning an event of your own? Talk to us.