Working The Room

Do in a few hours at Dairy-Deli-Bake what might take months in the office.

We've all been to events where we "worked the room" to maximize our time and to focus our energies on the things that were important to us.

The key word here is "work" — because it is work. It can be a lot of fun, too, but the rewards are in direct relation to the planning and effort we put into the event.

IDDBA's Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar and Expo is a bigger version of working a room — it's all about scale. The room or expo hall is 1,000 or more times bigger, the number of people attending is in the high thousands, the speakers and educational programs require intense concentration, and the incredible variety of foods to be sampled and services to be viewed can keep you eating and talking for hours.

Those are all good things. For however long you're at IDDBA's Show of Shows, you're tuned in to the job at hand: maximizing your time, leveraging the ideas, and building relationships that have short- and long-term payback. Sure, if you're a buyer, you can see some of these products in your office, but not at the same level of intensity, quantity and comparison value than at the IDDBA show. Being able to taste products at their freshest and make comparisons between multiple vendors is priceless. You can do in a few hours what would take days, weeks or even months in the office.

Time is our most valuable commodity. A face-to-face negotiation is time well spent and pays long-term dividends. A recent study showed that 90 percent of buyers are more likely to trust someone they can see and look in the eye, over doing business via e-mail or phone call. IDDBA show attendees have already signaled that they're ready to buy — they do that by registering. They are seriously interested in the products and services being showcased, and have the authority and money to make a deal. Pre-qualified buyers and targeted exhibitors mean no wasted time with tire-kickers — just pure opportunity.

The energy and synergy coming from the IDDBA show include the generational variations among attendees. The new cohort groups are educated and independent thinkers, and range from entry- and midlevel managers to top executives. Their experience and skill sets embrace everything from the latest in technology to the old tried-and-true marketing systems. Experiential learning and transparent communication are the keys to networking and connecting.

Face time. Word of mouth. Social media. Networking. No matter what you call it, it's communication and engaging buyers and sellers in a mutually beneficial dialogue. It's human nature. When all things are considered, people want to do business with their friends and people they can trust. They want to examine the goods and comparison shop. And they want to do it fast. IDDBA's Show of Shows delivers on all points.

Come for the show (the speakers are outstanding), stay for the food (it's the biggest dairy-deli-bakery-cheese show in the world) and experience the best (the best exhibits, the best networking, the best programming, the best of the best). Come to Orlando and "work" the room!

For however long you're at IDDBA's Show of Shows, you're tuned in to the job at hand — maximizing your time, leveraging the ideas, and building relationships that have short- and long-term payback.