Three Q&A on yesterday’s New England Xpo for Business at Boston:
- What was the best reason to be there? The event was an opportunity to network, learn and cultivate new business resources and vendors. Plus…these kinds of events are always a great way to feed the brain.
- What were your three key take-aways from the seminars: The single most gratifying take-away was that I already know a lot. But I also learned: 1) Two sources for oft-quoted concepts in Loeb Group workshops. It was Henry Thoreau who said “Our life is frittered away by detail…Simplify. Simplify.” Plus both Roger Ailes and the Harvard Business School talk about the “seven second rule” — asserting that impressions are created in the first seven seconds. 2) Rather than consider web opportunities as one part of your marketing strategy, instead — and thinking with a client-centric mindset — the web is actually at the center of all marketing activity. And…3) Contrary to what we’d expect in a down economy, and because of the conversations vs. hard sell happening in social media, marketing is moving towards longer-term returns. So at a time when information moves faster than ever, the pace of persuasion is slowing. Hmmmm.
- What was most surprising? Though I certainly exchanged lots of business cards (notice: exchanged vs. gave out), there were many, many times when there really was no fit at all. I even passed up the opportunity to win some very cool prizes when I realized that there was absolutely no reason XYZ company needed to have my contact information in their database. Similarly, the person sitting to my left and right at each seminar wasn’t always a potential client, resource or vendor. I wonder…given the era of LinkedIn, Plaxo and Outlook,will anyone even carry business cards at the New England Xpo for Business in 2015 (or next year)?
Finally, one thing hasn’t changed since the first trade show I attended 20 years ago and this year’s business expo. It’s still good to wear comfortable walking shoes!
