Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493443
8 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2023 After the Show, Now What? You've spent a good part of your month either planning for, attending, or traveling home from a trade show, most likely. Now you have a pocketful of new business cards, and your company has a whole slew of leads for potential customers. You've learned a few things at conference classes and met a few dozen experts that you plan to chat with ASAP. You've networked so much that your voice is just about gone. You actually sound like a sick bullfrog, but hopefully you've at least tested negative for COVID. (Not mentioning any names.) It's tempting to kick back for a while, espe- cially with all that goes into attending a trade show. I'm sure we're all guilty of this over the years: You get home from the airport and sleep for four hours. en you attend the one meeting that you can't miss, hit the high spots on your emails, finish off whatever you were working on before the show started, start a load of laun- dry, and go back to sleep. Sure, you've earned a little R&R time. But in the meantime, you need to do some serious trade show follow-up. e impact of the show does not end when the show closes its doors. A good post-show plan may not guarantee suc- cess, but it puts you on a good path. How do you carry the momentum you felt during the trade show, when you had that "a-ha" moment and knew you were onto some- thing really new and innovative? You can't let up. You have to be relentless, because all of your competitors are being relentless. You can't take your foot off the gas. Your company spent some money sending you to the show; what are you bringing back to justify your trip and your likely frequent vis- its to the bar? What was the biggest takeaway? The Shaughnessy Report by Andy Shaughnessy, I-CONNECT007