The Motivation Show is an annual gathering held in Chicago every fall, and I attended my first event this year. I was definitely motivated; motivated to do better! What I was not motivated by was the participants of the show. Walking up and down each aisle I was amazed by the lack of interaction with the buyers of incentives for their respective company’s incentive programs. Just because you buy a booth and put up a sign, does not mean people will buy from you.
Make an effort, just a minimal effort will garner attention.
Two booths on the incentive side and one on the travel side impressed me. First on the incentive side was Omaha Steaks. Why? They were cooking a variety of meats and the aroma attracted all passers-by. They were not shy about spending some money and sharing their product. Is that unconventional? No, but it attracted attention. Good enough for me.
Secondly was the American Express booth. The people who manned the booth approached each person who walked by the booth with the simple question, “ Who is your business credit card issued by?”, or, “Do you use American Express?”
On the travel side, the Colorado booth was giving away free Colorado brewed beer. Whether you drink or not, it was a hook to attract buyers.
The amount of dollars and time spent preparing and executing this event must have been immense. Why not make the effort to make sure this is worth the effort? Think about it – why waste money creating a presence if you are unwilling to participate?
POWER ON!–Mark
