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In this issue:
• Marketing Article: Seven Skills of Management
• Marketing Article: 27 Exhibiting Do's and Don'ts

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1. Planning

"Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance". A solid plan should have measurable goals to determine progress and success. It should take into account the current situation and environment, and the plan should be both documented and communicated. Plans should be compared and aligned with a comprehensive strategy.

2. Setting Goals

Goals should be specific, time limited and measurable. Measurements include quantity, capacity, percentage, monetary, timeliness, completeness, ratings or similar items that can be quantified.

3. Making Decisions

The following are steps to making logical and informed decisions: Define the problem. Measure the problem or situation, gather as much information as necessary. Analyze the information that you have gathered, not the problem. Analyzing the information often leads to discoveries or perspectives of root cause issues that may have been previously overlooked by concentration on the results of the problem, so be sure to focus on the facts of the information. Implement solutions that are targeted at the root cause of the problem or opportunities. Measure the outcome, compare to the original situation, and created controls to maintain the improved performance or situation.

4. Delegation

Be willing to delegate authority as well as responsibility, obligations or tasks. Delegating authority empowers individuals who are closer to the activity to respond with more informed and more timely action. You are surrounded by talented individuals, give them the chance to perform. Maintain a constant and consistent balance between Authority, Accountability and Responsibility.

5. Support

Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of leadership is the willingness and ability to provide support for your people. You can demonstrate support by being an advocate for their ideas, be compassionate and patient, contribute with your own time, and reinforce that what they do is important to the overall success of the organization.

6. Communication

Communication is not only speaking, it is listening. Use Active Listening Skills to enhance your communication, assure good comprehension and demonstrate the value of the message. When it is time to speak, be precise and clear in your communications. Explain fully to eliminate ambiguity in instructions. In meetings, keep speeches to fifteen minutes or less. Try to keep all meetings under thirty minutes by maintaining subject focused communication and require information preparation in advance.

7. Control

If you have a plan, stick to it. Apply daily diligence according to plan, use measurements to assure progress, and keep control when the plan has been implemented.

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Words of Wisdom

"Communication is most effective when it translates a complex idea in a simple way." - Mark Jarvis, Senior Vice President, Oracle

"If people have better information, they make better decisions - period." - Suzanne Muchin, CEO, Civitas

"Every Leader needs to clearly explain the top three things the organization is working on. If you can't, you are not leading well." - Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, General Electric

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John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching.

Http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.

Associations and non-profit groups are a powerful resource for building and expanding networking and business opportunities, finding jobs, evaluating goods and services, and industry publications.

Our database puts you in direct contact with these organizations.

1. Do:
Research a show carefully before you decide to exhibit. Does this show attract a large number of people from your target audience? Tradeshow participation takes a lot of time, energy and resources. You don't want to spend them on folks who are unlikely ever to do business with you.

2. Don't:
Be afraid to ask questions. Show organizers have all kinds of information that new exhibitors would benefit from knowing. Ask about attendee demographics, exhibitor's requirements, and what assistance you can expect from the show's staff.

3. Do:
Start planning early. Regular tradeshow exhibitors routinely start planning their appearances twelve to eighteen months in advance.

4. Don't:
Pass up the chance to visit other industry events before you exhibit for the first time. Make note of what exhibitors worked for you and what turned you off. What did you find to be effective? Can you incorporate those items into your own exhibit?

5. Do:
Make a list of goals and objectives for the show. This list should be very specific. Do you want to generate $X in new sales, start a certain number of new business relationships, or spread the word about a new service offering you're introducing to the market?

6. Don't:
Get sidetracked by what everyone else is doing - or by what people tell you you 'have' to do at a tradeshow. You're at the show to reinforce your expert identity and achieve your goals and objectives. Anything else is off-target.

7. Do:
Be open to creative and new ways of presenting your services. Tradeshow attendees see hundreds of exhibits in the course of one day. You need to be unique and engaging for your display to be memorable.

8. Don't:
Be afraid to be enthusiastic about your services. If you're genuinely jazzed up about what you do, attendees will sense that. Enthusiasm is contagious -- and more importantly, it sells!

9. Do:
Learn the 80/20 rule and take it to heart. The best exhibitors are those who listen 80% of the time and talk 20%. Focusing on attendees' wants and needs is a surefire route to success.

10. Don't:
"Throw Up" on attendees. This very common practice occurs when nervous exhibitors can't stop talking, and keep up a constant barrage of facts, figures, and sales spiel. Attendees are quickly turned off by this, and your chance to form a profitable new business relationship walks away.

11. Do:
Remember you're on display. What you're selling at a tradeshow is, primarily, first impressions. Be professional, well-dressed, and mannerly at all times. You never know who's watching.

12. Don't:
Eat, drink, or chat on your cell phone on the show floor. When you need refreshment or a break, leave your exhibit booth. Remember, the eyes of the public are on you at all times, so you'll want to conduct yourself well.

13. Do:
Be realistic. Tradeshows are long events. You're on the floor for anywhere from ten to twelve hours at a go, often several days in a row. This is a lot for any one person to do on their own, and most Nichepreneuers are solo operations. Ask for help. Recruit friends to work the show with you. If nothing else, they can spell you while you grab a quick bite to eat.

14. Don't:
Forget! If you have friends help you at the tradeshow, it behooves you to provide them with some training. Make sure they understand what your services are, how you're different from your peers, and what the marketing message is. Also, have a plan in place to cover what they should do when they run into a question they don't know the answer to.

15. Do:
Ask qualifying questions. You want to know who you're talking to, who they work for, and in what capacity. This will help you determine if the attendee is a prospective customer or not.

16. Don't:
Be afraid to encourage people to move along if they're not interested in your services. Some of the people who attend tradeshows are 'tire-kickers' -- they like to discuss everything, but buy nothing. You don't want to waste your time with them.

17. Do:
Take notes. Take time before the show to create a lead-card system, in which you'll record pertinent information to facilitate post-show follow-up.

18. Don't:
Depend on your memory -- no matter how good you are, a few words scrawled on the back of a business card won't be enough after the show's over and you've met with literally hundreds of people.

19. Do:
Be polite and nice to everyone. The junior executive today can be a senior executive tomorrow.

20. Don't:
Forget to read the Exhibitor's Service manual. This is the thick packet of materials you received when you registered for the show. Inside, you'll find everything you need to know about exhibiting at that particular show -- and discover important deadlines for ordering services. Don't miss those deadlines or you'll pay more for everything!

21. Do:
Reach out to the media. Have a press kit available in the media room. Be open to interviews -- reporters and freelancers often walk the floor looking for stories. If you have something truly newsworthy to announce, schedule a press conference at the show.

22. Don't:
Forget to advertise your tradeshow participation. Make sure your target audience knows they can see you at the show, where you'll be, and what they can expect when they visit you.

23. Do:
Follow Up! The most important part of any tradeshow takes place after you leave the building. You see that big pile of leads you've gathered? Send them all thank you notes for coming to see you -- and follow up with them the most promising prospects quickly. You'll be glad you did.

24. Don't:
Hesitate to include hands-on, interactive demonstrations into your exhibit whenever possible. People love to participate. They love to try new things. Most of all, they love to have fun. If you can integrate fun into your exhibit, you'll have more attendees than you know what to do with.

25. Do:
Use giveaway items that enhance your expert identity. You want items that your attendees will use regularly and reinforce their impression of you as the expert.

26. Don't:
Get caught up in trendy giveaway items pushed by promotional salespeople. You want to stand out from the crowd, not merge with it.

27. Do:
Give your tradeshow participation a fair chance to work. Results may not be immediate. Rome wasn't built in a day. But the business relationships you start at tradeshows today can steadily blossom into profitable partnerships tomorrow.

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Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. For a free copy of “10 Common Mistakes Exhibitors Make”, e-mail: article4@thetradeshowcoach.com; website: http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com