Remember value
Think for a moment: Why do you attend trade shows when times are good? Certainly not just because you can afford the expense. You attend because you know you get back many times what you spend — in cost-saving ideas, in technologies that help you earn more profit, in clues to finding whole new lines of business that help you grow.
Does any of that change just because the economy isn’t the same as it was two years ago? Not likely. Everything that has attracted you in the past is still there. So why even consider staying home?
The 2010 Pumper & Cleaner Expo is the 30th annual show. That fact alone will help bring out some of the sharpest people in the industry. You just never know who you’ll meet. Just one piece of advice or one idea can make your entire trip worthwhile.
Of course, the Expo format is designed to help you make those important connections. You can meet other professionals almost anywhere: In line for registration, around exhibitor booths, in seminar rooms, and lunch tables, and in cocktail areas with seating in the COLE Pub outside the exhibit hall.
Wise investment
Attending a trade show is never an expense — it is always an investment, and one with a strong and reliable return. At the very least, it’s something you do consistently to promote the health of your business.
In a course I once took about starting a business, I learned about the importance of having a good accountant. Few businesses, the instructor said, fail because of their accounting fees — but many fail for lack of accounting services. Trying to get by without an accountant is penny wise and pound foolish.
There’s a parallel here. Very seldom will the cost of attending an important trade show kill a business. But many businesses are damaged because they fail to keep pace with new technology and fail to keep learning new and better ways to do things. Customers outgrow them; competitors pass them by.
Don’t let it happen. Visit www. pumpershow.com and make plans to attend the 30th Annual Pumper & Cleaner Expo. You can still save by taking advantage of early registration. Join your peers in Louisville and keep your business driving forward.
