AGCSA 2014 Conference PART 2

As promised here is part 2 of my post on the AGCSA conference. There will be a final part coming soon with what you can see at our stand at this year’s show.

Getting the most out of the trade show:

The AGCSA conference week is a great experience for anyone in the turf industry. We get to catch yup with old friends and make new ones. Plenty of networking and education opportunities are available during the week and I encourage you to attend as many sessions as possible. As always there is the trade show part of the week which runs from Wednesday until Thursday just after lunch in the exhibition hall. There are plenty of new companies and new products available to help you and this is a great opportunity to see them. To better plan your trade who experience I have a to 10 list to make things easier for the week:

  1. Set goals on what you want to see and find out
  2. Check out the exhibitor list and make a note on who you want to see (the AGCSA app is perfect for this).
  3. Make contact with the company beforehand and inform them you want to meet with them. If a time that suits you works let them know or if there is a certain company staff member you want to see they can make sure they are available. They may suggest a member who is best to talk to.
  4. Speak to the company who makes the products (not just the ones that sell the product) as they will be able to help you get the most out of it. There are many experts in our industry that you may not of met them or may of only see them at shows so take the time to have a talk to them. They maybe able to help with other questions you have.
  5. You don’t have to load up your bag full of brochures ask the company to email you any information you want.
  6. Take your business cards with you. If you don’t have one get your club to make you one up (they are very cheap to do).
  7. Take your Smartphone and tablet (there is free internet available at the show). Utilise note taking apps such as evernote. This is the app I use when I travel and attend talks and tradeshows. For a complete review on evernote see http://iturfapps.com/application/evernote/
  8. Dress professionally. Remember you are representing your club/facility. If you don’t have a polo or long sleeve shirt from your facility ask the powers that be to give you one.
  9. Wear your badge- this makes it easier for everyone to remember each others name
  10. Wear comfortable shoes- you will be doing alot of walking during the week. Friends of mine who attended turf shows over the in the US said to me that they took over 20,000 a day

TO SIGN UP FOR THE TRADE SHOW CLICK THE LINK BELOW. ITS FREE AND WILL SAVE YOU TIME AT THE DOOR

https://www.secureregistrations.com/turfgrass2014/

Using QR codes:

You may have seen these on advertisements in everyday life but have no idea what they are for.
http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/ states that QR codes are:
Quick Response Codes are a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read using smartphones and dedicated QR reading devices, that link directly to text, emails, websites, phone numbers and more

There are plenty of free QR code apps you can use just search your app market for QR reader or QR scanner.

In my last part of the conference series I will be giving a preview of what we will have on our stand this year.

 

If you missed part 1 on the AGCSA conference app see this link here

Cheers

Nadeem Zreikat