You can easily spend thousands of dollars just to be an exhibitor at one trade Production Capability Assessment show. What’s the best way to get the most bang – and orders – for your buck?
1. Walk the trade show first before you decide to become an exhibitor. This really is a must-do! And there really are no excuses because there are trade shows in just about any medium- to large-sized city for just about everything. What you’ll find out from doing this is if your product is a good fit for that particular show. Fame in New York, for example, is usually for higher-end designer apparel whereas MAGIC in Las Vegas is for mainstream clothing and accessories. You’ll also get an idea of how much “traffic” the shows get – i.e. how many buyers are actually there looking to place orders.
2. Test drive your booth in advance. This may sound like a big “duh!” but you’d be surprised how busy and distracted you can get before the show and, at least for me, this was one of those things I put on the back burner because I thought I’d just figure it out at the show. Bad idea! By the time you get to the show, have unpacked your boxes and set up most of your booth, your exhausted. And then you still have to “merchandise” your booth, which means displaying your products so that they capture the attention of the buyers walking by – and also show them the best way to display your items in their stores. This is actually one of the first things you should think about! You don’t want to be winging it the night before the show opens. This is one of those “do as I say, not as I did” sort of things. Trust me – it’s worth it to schedule a few hours a month before your show and set up your booth in your warehouse, office or garage. You’ll be so very happy you did.
3. Have all your marketing “collaterals” at the ready. “Collaterals” are all the things you hand to people to advertise your business: business cards, catalogs, price lists and order forms are the very least you should have for a trade show. I’ve seen people offer catalogs they’ve printed out from their computer and stapled together. So long as it shows off your product well, it’ll work for a start. But you definitely want to have things to give people to take away so that they’ll remember you.
4. Most buyers don’t buy the first time they’re in your booth. This is why you need the aforementioned cards and catalogs and such. They’re walking for miles – literally, sometimes – and seeing so many different exhibitors. The smart ones walk the show one day and make their orders on another day. Remember that they have budgets too and they usually sit in their hotel rooms at night doing their “homework,” which is mapping out their …
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Los Angeles Industrial Market Shows Signs of Recovery
Late 2010 exhibited early signs of stability for the Los Angeles industrial real estate market. Looking to the new year, many experts believe that with a slowly improving economy and increased optimism amongst consumers, positive trends will continue throughout 2011.
On December 17th, President Obama signed into law the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Re-authorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.” This legislation, while short lived, provides for various items including but not limited to an extension of the Bush era tax cuts, estate tax relief and new incentives for businesses that invest in machinery and equipment.
Closer to home, current vacancy rates in the Central Los Angeles market are at a relatively healthy 7.46% with a steady increase in overall transaction activity Manufacturing Industry Overview being reported. Positive absorption supports the notion that companies are coming off the sidelines, following the last two years of wait and see assessment.
The rebounding ports of both Long Beach and Los Angeles and resulting increase in container traffic will continue to drive new demand How Much Does An Electrician Apprentice Make for industrial product type as users seek out expanded facilities to support the forecasted increase in freight movement.
Business owners still appear to be the ones best positioned amongst the market place be it either through a below replacement cost purchase price or the negotiation of a new lease at very favorable terms (reduced rent, landlord concessions).
Strong market fundamentals and the scarcity of viable land sites in Los Angeles will only add increased competition amongst those seeking space when the markets fully recover. This will hold true for both users and investors alike. We can expect to see a continued focus from sophisticated and opportunistic investors seeking value added opportunities amongst underperforming or older construction assets. There remains an abundance of capital available for acquisitions and the Los Angeles industrial base has a irrefutable track record of high performance.
Despite encouraging trends, there remains a great deal of risk in the market that must be carefully monitored – pricing uncertainty, regulatory and taxation risk along with an estimated $1.4 trillion in commercial debt maturities expected through 2013 underscore the importance of staying informed.
As the Los Angeles Industrial market regains balance, investors and users seeking a unique value added purchase opportunity, will need to adopt an aggressive strategy. For those tenants seeking reduced rents, there will still be many options available to them, however, we are recommending coming to terms earlier in the year, rather than later.…