Well, the world famous CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 Las Vegas, NV was definitely worth attending for myself once more, how about you? How quickly the show comes and goes with so much to see, I wish I could spend an entire week educating myself. Here are a few ideas I like to enact personally to make it last until 2020; hopefully some will work for you.

• First item is to save all those pictures taken as a brief reminder and quite possibly to show your coworkers or customers some of the valuable details captured. (I know even the ones that were taken slightly inconspicuous; you know the ones staged to look as you were talking with your buddy, earphones still connected and all, lol.)
• Now all the hard print data needs to find space back somewhere safe yet remain accessible for as long as possible and hopefully utilized many more times to come. (This process usually becomes easier if this time attending wasn’t the first. By at least your second time attending you have quickly realized that you tend to over collect this type of literature and that the Badge Reader is truly your friend.)
• Ok, Badge Reader fallout! (Wow, what to do now with all the incoming follow up calls, mailers, and emails from having my Badge read at almost every booth of interesting items?)

Good luck with this one as it may require having to hire a personal assistant to manage your calendar, ha! Don’t worry it slowly moves along, at least the ones that aren’t as necessary as you may have originally figured or just down the aisle there was actually the same item only manufactured closer to home or of better quality; but you sure couldn’t go back and have the lessor of the two un-scan your badge.

• Last but not least “SWAG” aka: ball caps, pens, magnets, t-shirts, stress relief squeezers, candy; and yes (I was there) — 10,000 CASE Equipment high visibility safety vests. Truly grateful the exhibitors care to do their best in leaving us with a small memento that will advertise and remind us of their products for a great deal of time to come. These items often make great gestures to those who had to stay back at the office and pretend they weren’t disappointed they themselves weren’t able to attend, or perfect ways to decorate that new bookshelf needed to store all things CONEXPO-CON/AGG. Either way you now have a subtle tangible reminder of the Greatest Equipment show in the world.

Now having attended my 9^th show and this being my first year to actually exhibit I have a completely new found appreciation for what it takes behind the scenes to make the CONEXPO-CON/AGG what it is for all who attend. There is a lot that happens in just 7 total days of setting up and some only get 4 believe it or not.

• Many ideas and new marketing techniques have been taking place since CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014 and are once again being set up at record speed to hopefully boost sales beyond expectation — every exhibitor hoping to hit that home run and put them in front of their competition for the next few years.
• Newly released improvements or innovative ideas, even patents to better position their customers’ needs are always attractions to get people into the booths. Perhaps capturing attention with popular television persons to get a picture taken with or an autograph on a specially made marketing poster.
• Whatever it takes these exhibitors definitely bring their “A” game and deservedly should be recognized for their efforts, as without them there isn’t a next CONEXPO-CON/AGG to attend.

So now it’s your turn, after attending for the first time or maybe like myself multiple times, could you say you left with ideas and information not expecting to have found? Is there simply that one thing or a group of things and experiences that will definitely have you coming back in 2020? If the answer is “YES” to either question, then I would definitely say that attending CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 was worth the cost for yourself or the business that sent you and that has officially answered the question of my last article “Is the CONEXPO-CON/AGG worth attending again?”

As for myself the answer is “YES” as it has always been and likely remain. The Good Lord willing, I will before you know it be attending my 10^th consecutive CONEXPO-CON/AGG (that’s over 30 years’ worth of everything mentioned above) and hopefully once more exhibiting, I will also be looking forward to one day meeting you there, too, as I’m extremely excited to continue writing for this column and to continue reaching as many new readers as possible. Stay Safe my Friends!

Questions? Tim Holmberg prairiedawg@pdpractical.com.