You’ve probably thought about attending industry trade shows; however, you’re not sure if it’s worth the effort.
But networking and continued learning are essential to any business, and trade shows are a great avenue to achieve both. Trade shows are an investment and allow you to learn new skills, keep up with the industry, and discover new products that could help your business.
What can trade shows do for you? We’ll cover four reasons to attend:
- Get new ideas
- Build your network
- Gain valuable insight
- Find the best show to match your needs
1. Get New Ideas
There are many businesses promoting their products and services at trade shows. There’s a vast amount of expertise and knowledge that these businesses have that you may not be aware of.
Use trade shows as a source of inspiration to gain new ideas for your business. Also, you never know what you could learn that may spark your next business idea.
Attending various sessions and breakouts throughout the show can help you stay updated on the industry. Learn all you can while you are there and gather resources to review later.
2. Build Your Network
As mentioned earlier, networking is essential to any business. Most trade shows are located in major cities, which allows you to network with people from around the country, and sometimes people who are located overseas.
You never know who you might meet and build a relationship with. Also, you can develop collaborative business relationships in which you both promote each other’s services and products.
3. Gain Valuable Insight
Not only do trade shows display different businesses and products, but they also offer demonstrations or educational talks. Trade shows usually have a website, and from there, you can see a schedule of events taking place as well as the speakers.
In most cases, the speaker is usually a leader within the industry who can offer valuable tips. You can gain insight into their successes, losses, and lessons, which can help you make better decisions for your business.
In addition, if you’re a technician, it’s important to stay knowledgeable in your field, and attending one of these educational talks can help you achieve that goal.
Connect with other pros after sessions to discuss what can be implemented from the sessions.
4. Find The Best Trade Shows To Match Your Needs
There are many different shows for HVAC, electrical, plumbing and locksmiths. Some lean more heavily on learning skill while others are more product focused. Many of the websites allow you to find show details before attending, even connecting to video highlights from the last show.
It’s a great way to determine which show(s) may benefit your employees and business.
Trade shows are usually held yearly, often switching venues each year. Each year is different and the show usually improves over time due to feedback from attendees.
Don’t know of upcoming industry trade shows? Here’s a list of the top trade shows that you should attend in 2023:
- ISC West (Electronic Security): March 28th – 31sth
- Lennox Live (HVAC): Feb 28th – March 1st
- Field Service Palm Springs: April 25th – 27th
- Electronic Security Expo: June 5th – 7th
- Infocomm (Pro-AV): June 10th – 16th
- NFPA Expo (Fire & Life Protection): June 19th – 23
- ALOA (Locksmith): August 6th – August 12th
- Field Service Amelia Island: August 15th – 17th
- CEDIA Expo (Home Technology): September 7th – 9th
- Service World Expo (Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing): October 3rd – 6th
- PHCC Connect (Plumbing, Heating, Cooling: October 25th – October 27th
- EPIC (Electrical & HVAC): March 16th – 17th
- HARDI (HVACR): December 3rd – December 6th
Stay In The Know By Attending Trade Shows!
You now have 4 great reasons and a list of shows to meet your needs. Spend some time on the shows and book your next trade show for the coming season!
In this article we covered the benefits of attending trade shows including:
- Getting new ideas
- Building your network
- Gaining valuable insight
- Finding the best show to match your needs
