You’re heading to an insurance convention. Are you excited about the presentations? While many people think about workshops and keynotes as the core of a convention, the exhibitors are also key to your experience. What kind of exhibits can you expect, and how can you get the most out of them?
Know Who Is Exhibiting
If you’re considering trying out a new type of digital marketing system or looking into raters, you could potentially try these on for size at your next insurance convention. When you know who is exhibiting, you can plan to test out a number of new products at the convention instead of making a separate appointment to test each one out. Learn who is exhibiting and plan your schedule to try out some of their products and have those key conversations.
Learn From Others
If you’re considering exhibiting yourself, take some time at this exhibit to learn how others do it. How does your competition present itself? What kinds of incentives or freebies are available? How are the booths arranged, and what kinds of graphic information do your competitors or other businesses have for visitors to peruse? At an insurance convention, you’re not just there to learn about products: you’re also there to see how other people portray and sell their products so that you can take the best ideas and use them for your business.
Look Around the Edges
While many people spend time creating the best booth possible and draw many leads to that booth, remember to look around the edges of the exhibitors’ area as well. There may be a few booths that really draw the crowds, but that doesn’t mean that the others are ones to ignore. Visit the most popular booths, but know what you want to get out of the exhibits and visit all of those displays that are relevant to your goals, not just the most exciting ones. That exhibit for insurance agency software might not look as engaging as the one across the hall, but it could be just the product that you need to support the future success of your agency.
Make Time to Network
You’ll have time to talk with people at workshops and on breaks, but exhibits are an excellent opportunity to network as well. According to the Trade Show News Network, “You can learn a lot and make some great contacts while you mingle, attend activities, and visit other exhibition stands.” Know who you want to talk with at the event before it begins, and plan your strategy for connecting with those individuals. Get in touch before the event and connect with them at the exhibit to meet in person.
Reflect and Discuss
It’s easy to get excited about a product and then forget all about it once you’re home from the conference. If you’re using the exhibit time to network and to explore new possibilities for products and services, make sure that you plan some time in your schedule to follow up with those contacts. Schedule meeting time with key employees to make sure that you can debrief and discuss some of your learning from the conference. That way, you can determine how your new knowledge applies to your company and consider ways to apply it.
At American Agents Alliance, we work to make your insurance convention experience as educational as possible. Build your network and learn more about key products at our annual American Agents Alliance Convention in Palm Desert, California.
