A Better Experience for ExpoWest
You’re heading to the big show. No, not the off-Broadway one your wife promised would be the talk of the town in a matter of days. The one where 85,000 of your fellow citizens gather to see the latest in blockchain informed supply chains and delicious but sustainable treats. With so many people passing through in such a small window of time, there’s often very little time to reflect. React, respond and repeat are the magic words of comprehending a show at this scale -- which means you have to know your product, brand, messaging and reason for existence.
No pressure.
The rest of your team needs to be just as prepared as you, or this condensed opportunity dramatically decreases in what it has to return. This show is an extreme sport that offers up an environment only the most dedicated of endurance athletes can withstand. You need everyone at their peak performance to make the most of these three short days.
A few pro tips:
1. Messaging: Is everyone working from the same song sheet of messaging? Do you have a set of headlines that either start a conversation with gears grinding or finish it with jaws dropped? Have you set a priority on what you have to say? What should be the first and most repeated message? What profoundly awestruck or warm fuzzy memories should people retain from your meetings?
2. Sense and respond: The ability to sense and respond in a conversation is directly tied to your empathy. This means your team should be in a “how can I help you” versus a ‘what do you want” state of mind. Almost everyone is capable of empathy (even a Grinch with a heart 2 sizes too small), but it gets harder if you’re hungry, angry, frustrated or distracted from what’s important. Proactive self-care that allows you to stay in the moment is essential.
3. Work the objectives: Don’t let them work you. We can get overly metric focused, it’s easy when you’re looking for a return on the ExpoWest investment. If you’re too focused on the objectives sometimes you miss the opportunities. Keep your mind open to opportunities, with each interaction. “not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” ~ William Bruce Cameron (not A. Einstein)
Now, here’s how we put these principles to life.
We are walking the show for a client launching a new chocolate ingredient company and product. We’re participating in a small panel for founders to talk about managing growth, from the lens of operations, finance, legality and marketing. We’re also there as a member of the media, looking for founder stories to share. This means we can provide some social or journalistic love, we can share some advice to make entrepreneurial life just a bit easier, and we are quick to hand you a bar of amazing chocolate.
Find us if you’d like to identify ways to grow your business and brand. Find us if you’d like a bit of media coverage, at least some social love. And, find us if you’d love to try a new, healthy and responsibly sourced chocolate bar.
Either way, enjoy the show and all it has to offer. It’s the World’s Fair of organic and natural products. It should be fun.
Sincerely,
Aaron Keller, Kelly Leighton & The Capsule team.