By Alan Wolf, YSN
With Summit 21 just eight days away, what better time to share some tips on getting the most from your virtual show experience?
Compiled by Residential Systems magazine in advance of the annual CEDIA consumer tech expo, the following 10 pointers are no less relevant for next week’s online BrandSource event. Used in conjunction with these member and staff suggestions (i.e., setting aside undistracted time for the show), you’re sure to reap the most benefits from your attendance at Summit 21.
- Treat the Virtual Summit Like an On-Site Show. That means turning on your out-of-office email replies, silencing your phone, carving out quiet time, and giving Summit your undivided attention.
- Plan Your Summit in Advance. Summit is power-packed with a gangbuster cluster of trainings, presentations, vendor exhibits, special sessions and social hour fun. Consult the agenda to map out which events you want to attend — and which you want staff members to attend — on each of the three days (next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Manage your time effectively.
- Road Test the Platform. AVB will make the Summit’s virtual “convention center” available to attendees next Monday, a day before the show opens. Just like learning the lay of the land at a convention hotel, use that time to familiarize yourself with the online format so you can hit the ground running on Tuesday.
- Keep Pen and Paper Handy. AVB’s vendors, staff and presenters will be sharing a lot of great information next week. Be ready to take notes on key points and to jot down reminders for things you’ll want to follow up on.
- Participate. Whether through a chat box or real-time webcam exchanges, ask questions, meet with your vendor reps, and connect with colleagues and AVB staff. Engagement is how you learn, so take full advantage of the interactive platform.
- Learn. If your kids can attend school in a virtual classroom, you can too. Sit in on an education session, hone your tech skills in a vendor training, and hear about BrandSource’s newest initiatives in CEO Jim Ristow’s keynote.
- Have Fun! All work and no play can make any convention a dull trade show. That’s why BrandSource has built in plenty of after-hours entertainment with its Wednesday slate of Social Hour activities. Pick one!
- Get Social. Continue the conversation on social media, using the official Summit hashtag #DblDown21. Post your comments, questions, experiences and takeaways, and see if there’s anything you might have missed that day.
- Follow Up. Remember Tip No. 4? Review those notes you took and act on insights and pertinent new information that can help improve your business.
- Best of Summit. One advantage to virtual shows is that they live on past closing day. AVB will keep elements of Summit available for review even after Tom Bennet’s Virtual Pool Party wrap.
See you next week!
Hat tip to Residential Systems.
BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, furniture, mattress and CE dealers.
