part-time job idea

Isn't the snag that if the idea works, all the stands will be manned by franchisees(?) signing each other up?

I don't think so. The big exhibitors want to be there to schmooze with customers, and their marketing departments would fight the idea too. Only smaller companies would sign up. Of course, anybody can do as I've suggested, so there could be more than one booth doing this.

Some trade show booths are already bought by reps who display stuff from several principals. This idea doesn't require signing up a regional rep who will want a big piece of all the sales in his region.

John

The small companies should send a sampling of their goods to the representative -- if you have a guy with just a few signs and some literature (and not even any real company employees, much less engineers), I suspect most people will just keep walking. Now, if you have some Real Hardware, people will stop and play... and some freight to each show is still pretty cheap.

It's always interesting to see which big companies let their engineers out of their cages to attend tradeshows... I attended an IMS (Intl. Microwave Symposium) a handful of years ago, and they had lots of fancy five- and six-digit-price-tag equipment sitting around to play with, but every last one of the (many) people manning the booths were sales guys (and gals), and I didn't find anyone who know much more than just what was on the data sheets.

Hittite, on the other hand, had some of their real engineers around, and were far more interesting to talk to.

---Joel

^^^^ "They" = Agilent

Not going to work. Save your money, skip that trade show and spend it on a nice get-together with your employees at Zeitgeist.

That had cost Microsoft a sale in the late 90's. Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose. We needed an embedded-kind OS, looked at CE. Only sales guys, they were constantly referring to this or that "partner", couldn't answer our questions. So we left. Trudged over to QNX where the first guy we met answered all our questions, down to the nitty-gritty interrupt latencies and stuff. Wow, we thought, these guys really know, this is going to be our OS.

Then he said "But I am only a sales guy, maybe you want to talk to one of our engineers over there." Thing is, he had exhaustively answered all our questions. And then got the deal.

Honestly, manning highly technical trade shows with only sales guys or hired placeholders is not going to work. I'd walk away the millisecond I find out.

That's how it's done right.

Sure, but my employees aren't going to buy my products!

most

But they could tell visitors, very honestly, "here's the literature and here's the business card of the engineer who can talk to you in detail."

Not everybody would walk away in milliseconds, especially if they were interested in the product. They'd walk away with datasheets and biz cards. And leave their contact info for us to follow up.

John

Then you'd have to make products they could use 8-D

Seriously, my brainstorm group once suggested to consider ultrasonic toothbrushes in addition to producing our ob/gyn and cardiology ultrasound machines. Thundering laughter. Later Philips did exactly that and made (still makes) oodles of money. Had management given that idea a chance we'd all have our own Pacific islands now, with matching LearJets.

literature

most

of

one

They could get all that from your web site. Your company is among the few that have a web site which actually works.

I don't think so. "Hey, do you guys have something we could use to control the laser on a super-whizbang obfuscator?" ... "Umm, uhm, a what?" ... "Well, never mind, have a nice day." Ok, if some foxy ladies were there they'd probably stay for a complimentary coffee or something.

Exactly. Trade shows are not like selling hotdogs. There is no point in talking to those who can't answer questions or make decisions.

Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

Yep. I never do because that would waste time.

It's actually counter-productive. Every time I met booth personnel that I found too incompetent this left a really bad aftertaste. In my mind the respective company kind of lost its professionalism so I walked away.

:))))))

What a naive hope. Even if (big if!) the idea worked and the company had made lots of money, the engineers still remain the engineers.

Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

Sure, but designing a circuit under a palm tree in Tuvalu with a trackball in one hand and a pina colada in the other does have its advantages :-)

It sounds good but sand flies bite, the sun burns, the glare blots out your screen, and the salt air rots your Acura. Oh wait, that's me I'm talking about!

BTDT.

Cheers, James Arthur

Well, you don't need an Acura down there and an umbrella takes care of the other issues except for the flies :-)

Really? What possessed you to ever give that up again?

I like to make stuff. It's really that simple.

Cheers, James Arthur

Ok, an urgent Digikey shipment to Tuvalu could occasionally be a challenge.

sage

What if the Trade Show Contractor employed engineers? There's a recession going on, after all, and thousands of engineers have been laid off, right? If nothing else, have new college engineering grads study the products and man the booths.

Michael

Like Hula Girls? Mike :-)

I love making electronic stuff, mostly--making electrons do useful things--and some supporting mechanical stuff. Hula girls? Ahhh, Nature made them all so lovely, whether hula or not.

Cheers, James Arthur

"John Larkin" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Sounds dooable, most booth holders at the RSNA hire models er um pros to do the presentations.

cheers