Cannabis trade shows are where the industry conducts business. Retailers, investors, buyers and decision makers attend trade shows in mass while exhibitors launch products, services and host meetings from decorated booths. A quality booth at the right trade show can garner results equal to a quarter of a successful cold call campaign. With the growing list of trade shows held annually across North America, time and thousands of dollars can be wasted on unnecessary booth space by attending the wrong shows for the wrong reasons. In this column we will outline the shows and how to use them to meet your business objectives.
The show landscape
The anchor events are the large business expo’s with tens of thousands of attendees from cultivation, retail and manufacturing also the consumer cup events where all the brands compete and sample to get brand awareness. The regional shows in newly legal states actually have more value than normal due to fact that in newly legal states EVERY operator in market attends the same 2-3 events to form wholesale relationships.
Choosing by attendee, not attendance
It’s far better to choose to attend a show by the distribution of attendees by role rather than by total numbers of attendees. A supplier of accessories to retailers would choose to attend supplier-heavy expositions whereas a brand trying to get its product on to store shelves would seek out the shows that dispensary buyers attend. A service company would attend business conferences where other businesses who could be potential clients attend. Ask the show organizers for a breakdown of the expected attendees by role, and you will be able to decide whether or not to attend based on their response.
Booth economics
The Booth economics follow a very simple rule: If you have a small booth with a very clear offer (as well as demos of your products and scheduled meetings with accounts you want to see), it beats out a large empty booth. Book your meetings with your target accounts 2-3 weeks prior to the show. This is because the most valuable people to speak to at a trade show are the types who would plan out their floor time in advance and thus know what booths they are going to visit prior to the show. Also, your staff at your booth should be able to recite to a trade show buyer your pricing and minimums in the first 2 minutes of conversation. This is because, unsurprisingly, trade show buyers qualify suppliers very rapidly.
Giveaways as a filter
Trade show giveaways are a filter not confetti. Inexpensive pens get thrown in hotel trash; Useful items such as grinder cards, lighters, one hitters get put in pocket and found months later. Create a tiered approach for show giveaways: a cheap giveaway for people that stop by your booth and a premium item such as a high quality metal grinder or bong tray for qualified buyers that schedule a follow up meeting with you after the show. The premium item becomes the reason for the meeting.
Follow-up is the show
Following up with leads is where trade shows really pay off or fail. Record each conversation as it happens, mail off samples promised in booth within a week when badges are still good, and mail out follow up mailings in order of greatest potential deal size. Shows with 30 or so real leads and 5 or so follow up sales kill those with 300 badge scans and not a word of follow up afterwards.
Planning your event calendar? Browse upcoming events on our cannabis events hub, and stock the booth from the wholesale accessories catalog — grinder cards are the proven floor giveaway.
