As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been a few years since I’ve worked a tradeshow floor. (A fact my feet are reminding me of, even as I type. Some things never change.) I’m happy to say that I successfully anticipated most everything that could happen. But not everything. And some things, honestly, I would have done differently. Here’s a rundown on my DGS Tradeshow Experience:

THE GOOD:

The people have been universally nice and receptive. All the vendors share a spirit of camaraderie and cooperation. The attendees are polite. Most people dropping by the booth have been very receptive to my product.

THE BAD:

One guy I saw was walking around wearing a shirt saying “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.” Um…Not so much. I don’t mind loud, but I do mind guys that think the entire Dallas Market Hall wants to hear every riff he knows, cranking the amp to “11″ – over and over again. It gets so loud, you can’t THINK, much less talk.

THE UGLY:

The weather on Friday and for part of Saturday was Dallas’ very own version of the monsoon season. Rain and gusts up to 60 MPH tend to put a damper on the visiting public. Not fun. And don’t get me started on the economy.

THE TRULY STUPID:

I’ve done a lot of tradeshows. Some things I’ve just come to expect. Like booth numbers. Vendors listed on a map, given to each attendee. A P.A. System you can actually HEAR. WiFi access that doesn’t cost $250. (I’m NOT kidding.) A press room.

THE RESULTS:

I’ve gotten a lot of interest, but as I write this on Sunday morning, no sales in hand – yet. I’m not alone. Only one guy on my row has sold ANYTHING – and that was a couple of low-end, used guitars. Everybody else – nada. I don’t know if it’s the economy (I suspect it is), a “keep your powder dry for ‘great deals’ mentality” or something else, but nobody seems to be selling anything of note. The good news is that I’ve gotten a lot of interest from both guitar manufacturers and guitar specialty stores, in carrying my products. And I’ve made a huge number of contacts, which I expect will be valuable.

THE LESSONS LEARNED:

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, guitarist extraordinaire of Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers fame, said at a clinic yesterday, “Play with everybody. Play everything you can. You never know where the guitar will take you.” He’s right. Much the same can be said of tradeshows. I set out, expecting this to be a show where I’d sell stands to “end-users,” bypassing manufacturer and dealer relationships to “go direct.” Looks like I was wrong. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I’m also learning that the people that are excited about this product want to order it once they get home, instead of at the show. (At least I hope that’s what will happen.) Some of the other vendors there have told me that they’ve found the Dallas Guitar Show to be big for used guitar sales and information gathering – a place for people to touch and see…and order later. Fair enough.

THE SURPRISES:

I’ve seen only two booth bimbos. Babes in short skirts, low-cut tops, and the IQ of a carrot were a staple of tradeshows (both musical instrument shows and computer shows) in the 80′s. I guess some things do change.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 7:42 am and is filed under design, marketing.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.