Taking Advantage of Trade Shows
Why should commercial property managers attend industry trade shows? The answer is simple: Trade shows provide multiple opportunities to save time, save money, network with peers, keep your fingers on the pulse of your industry, evaluate new technology and have fun.
Too often, however, the benefits of trade shows are overlooked or minimized. In one sense, entering an exhibit hall with 250 or so exhibits can translate to sensory overload. Conversely, if you effectively plan for you and your staff's trade show participation, you can maximize the benefits that a trade show has to offer.
The first step in the planning process is to determine which trade shows are best suited for your needs. National organizations typically sponsor trade shows at their annual meetings. These can be very insightful and educational. However, the locations are not easily accessible without incurring significant expenses for both travel and attendance. If you can't afford the time or the budget to attend national conventions, consider regional alternatives such as the Property Management Exposition (PMEXPO). PMEXPO is recognized as the largest one-day property management event in the nation. And for good reason. The show serves the second largest commercial real estate market, attracting attendees and exhibitors from the Richmond-Washington-Baltimore corridor to Northern New Jersey and all points in between. PMEXPO 2001 will be held Thursday, October 11, at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex, adjacent to FedEx Field in Landover, MD.
The next step in effective trade show planning is to prepare a pre-show needs list to identify products and services your properties and companies most want and need to see. Evaluate existing products and services, consultants and suppliers to identify areas where improvements are needed and can be made.
After identifying high-priority products and services, many savvy attendees call exhibitors and make appointments to discuss specific needs at the show. Making specific appointments helps to assure that time at a show is used most efficiently and that you receive the quality time from exhibitors that you expect and deserve. Another effective trade show strategy is to challenge staff to return with one idea that can help improve operations or enhance the quality of service to owners and tenants. Consider offering a incentive to the staff member who returns with the best idea. This approach helps staff members to look outside the box and find creative solutions to common challenges.
Trade shows typically feature the introduction of new products and services and PMEXPO 2001 will continue that tradition. New technologies will abound as evidenced by one exhibitor that will spotlight a utility monitor that provides real-time usage data of gas, electric and water consumption. This information is critical to any property that is required to buy utilities in a deregulated market because it provides empirical evidence necessary to develop building profiles.
Once your firm identifies its priorities, the next step is to determine who shall attend. The decision should be an easy one. If it is a regional venue within driving distance, all staff should be given the opportunity to attend. Shows like PMEXPO make the decision even easier because there is no cost to access the exhibit concourse or the demonstrations of new technology if you are responsible for the development, purchasing, management or operations of real property. And a considerable number of property management professionals take advantage of the offering. More than 2,500 typically attend PMEXPO.
One of the most significant benefits of trade shows is the opportunity it provides for attendees to talk with exhibitors in a relaxed, informal atmosphere devoid of typical sales and time pressures associated with sales calls and marketing presentations. The networking benefits cannot be overstated from both attendee and exhibitor prospective. Business realities dictate that there are not enough hours in the day or days in the week to meet with everyone who offers products and services used in property management and development. That is why shows such as PMEXPO represent such a valuable service to the industry. On October 11, a property development and management professional can meet with many different suppliers and discuss various properties' needs all at one time, under one roof and in one day.
Numbers alone don't necessarily spell success. The quality of attendance is equally if not more important to exhibitors. PMEXPO will not disappoint. The trade show provides a medium for suppliers to easily approach the heads of property management divisions, CEOs and other key executives who may not be available at any other time of the year.
And there's more. Trade shows offer formal educational programs. One of the factors that distinguishes PMEXPO is the quality of seminars and speakers is equal if not superior to the programs offered by national organizations whose cost is literally ten to 20 times higher. The PMEXPO Commercial Town Meeting features Charles E. Smith Commercial's David Taylor, WRIT's Ken Reed, Polinger Shannon & Luchs' Jack Gallagher and Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal publisher Keith Rosenbaum. They will explore how the continuing paradigm shift in the management of office buildings is changing property management services from a value preserver to a value creator.
The Town Meeting headlines the seminar program. Additional sessions address the needs of those involved in energy management, utility buying, marketing and management operations. At a program called, 30 Commercial Ideas in 60 Minutes, commercial managers will hear the best ideas of industry leaders in a variety of topics ranging from new innovations in tenant services to the perils, pitfalls and rewards of new technology integration. The District of Columbia Real Estate Commission has accredited each seminar for continuing education hours. The seminars coupled with the information provided by exhibitors make the time spent at PMEXPO and other trade shows one of the most enjoyable and productive times of the year. For more information and to obtain a free concourse admission pass, contact PMEXPO at 301-657-9200 or download a free pass at the PMA website at www.pma-dc.org.
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