Home Archive Seven top tips for show visitors

Seven top tips for show visitors

As the leaves start to fall from the trees and the sun gives way to the moon earlier each day, it can only mean one thing – it’s the show season for the adult industry.

The fetish sector has recently staged its Skin Two and Xpo events and we’re all about to pack our bags in preparation for the big one, Venus Berlin.

Between now and the end of the year hardened visitors may also have visited Leeds Erotica Festival, Erotica Sex in Prague, Eurowebtainment in Vienna, Erotica Lifestyles Expo in Wellington, Sexpo in Melbourne, Erotica in London and Asia Adult Expo in Macau.

With so many events on the horizon, here’s ETO’s seven top tips for show visitors:

1. Book early. Pre-register if possible. It’s far better to swan through the entrance hall waving a pre-approved pass at security than to queue with hundreds of other jostling visitors. You’ll get in quicker and be in a much more business-like frame of mind.

2. Select targets. Visit the show’s website (sites for the above named shows can be found on ETO’s Events Calendar) and pinpoint from the exhibitor listing exactly which exhibitors you want to spend time with.

3. Nail them down. Make appointments with all your chosen exhibitors in advance, though leave yourself plenty of time between appointments in case any overrun. If anyone can’t see you for any reason, don’t be afraid to suggest you meet up in the evening for a quick drink or a meal. You should plan your evenings with as much precision as your days – yes it’s great to get lashed in the bar with whoever random people turn up, but you’re here on business, so maximise your down time by making dinner dates with people who may be at the show but not exhibiting.

4. Look the part. If you’re a creative spark then by all means dress like a free spirit in a kaftan and sandals as you wander the aisles, but if you’re buying or selling then convention dictates that a smart suit is the order of the day. It reassures the person you’re dealing with that you mean business. If you are planning on hitting the sauce the night before a meeting, ensure you have packed effervescent tablets and breath fresheners.

5. Come prepared. That means business cards and a notebook and pen to write up the bullet points of meetings immediately after them, when they’re fresh in your memory. Being prepared also means having cash on you for whatever emergency/opportunity may arise during your show experience.

6. Be charming. Don’t be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Working on a stand is very demanding and the last thing your contact needs is for you to pout and make sarcastic comments if he or she is five minutes late for your appointment. Earlier meetings may have overrun or something urgent could have arisen that demanded your appointment’s attention.

7. Follow up. On your return to the office, fire off an email to your contact reiterating and confirming everything that was agreed between you at the show, but don’t leave it any longer than a few days or you may just have become a distant memory.