Trade Show Season Is Upon Us

by Michael Hamline, Editor / Published September 2015

As the dog days of summer fade and fall colors begin to emerge, the trade show season for the pressure washing industry will kick off. In fact, by the time you read this, the 2015 Pressure Washing & Window Cleaning Convention will have taken place in early August followed by the UAMCC National Annual Convention to be held September 10–12.

Next on the docket is the Cleaning Equipment Trade Association (CETA) 2015 Annual Convention, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from October 20–23. The CETA Annual Convention will be followed by the WJTA-IMCA 2015 Conference & Expo, the main event for the waterjetting industry, in New Orleans from November 2–4. And the season will wrap up with the Power Washers of North America (PWNA) Annual Convention and Trade Show from November 12–14.

So why am I bringing these conventions to your attention? First, to ask you to keep your eyes peeled for the October issue of Cleaner Times, which will have both the previews and recaps of several of these conventions. Second, if you are involved in the industry as a manufacturer, supplier, distributor, end user, or contract cleaner, these shows are designed to help you. These conventions help you financially, with sales at the show or soon after; they help with the logistics of running your business; they establish useful networking contacts; they provide useful tips on what works and what doesn’t work. These conventions are a huge investment, and we at Cleaner Times want to see those investments pay dividends.

For that reason, Beth Borrego’s article, “Creating a Successful Trade Show Booth,” in this month’s issue is a must read and can be found on page 28. Borrego helps you as a business owner ask several important questions before making the commitment, both in time and money, to exhibit at a show. Her Pre-Show checklist is incredibly helpful, and she includes an important description of guidelines for booth setup and even consideration of what type of booth to have. She also includes some helpful tips for following up on leads from the conventions and how to adeptly handle “tire kickers.”  There are many additional, valuable pieces of information in this article.

Cleaner Times hopes to see many of you at these conventions, and please let us hear your comments and thoughts about life and about resources you would like to see in CT to benefit the industry.

Michael Hamline
michael@adpub.com
(800) 525-7038