tradeshow speed dating
TRANSCRIPT
AssociationsNowApril|May2012 39
Speed dating for companies on your tradeshow floor?
It’s not as strange as it sounds. When your exhibitors
and attendees make productive business connections
at your event, you keep them coming back. Here’s how
one association used high-tech tools to make those
connections happen.
By Jacqui Cook
Tradeshow Speed DDating
||||||||||||||||||
40 AssociationsNowApril|May2012
convention,thesystemenabledmorethan21,000individualmeetingsoverfourdays;in2009,14,000meetingsoccurred,Colangelosays.
Theelectronicsystemhasbeeninplaceinsomeformsincetheearly2000s,butBIOtookitoverfromanoutsidevendorin2005andbroughtitentirelyinhouse.Theorganizationworkedwithitsassociationman-agementsoftwareprovider,TMAResources,tointegrateOne-on-OnePartneringintoitsPersonifydatabase.Membersinteractwiththeprogram
justifyyourpresenceatthemeeting.You’renotjustshowingupandhopingitworksout.Youcanseeasnapshotofthebiotechindustryintheworldforthecostofahotel[room]andacon-ventionpass.“
From Index Cards to OnlineBIOistheworld’slargestbiotechnol-ogyorganization,withmorethan1,100membersworldwideinvolvedintheresearchanddevelopmentofhealthcare,agricultural,industrial,andenvironmentalproducts.Itscorporate
If you’ve ever walked the floor at a tradeshow, there’sagoodchanceyou’vebeeninvolvedinanexchangelikethisone:
Youtoexhibitor:“Thislooksinter-esting,doyou–”
Attendeepassingby:“Excuseme,whereisthebeveragestation?”
Youtoexhibitor:“AsIwassaying,canyoutellmemoreabout–”
Anotherpasserby:“Doyouknowwherethebathroomis?”
Youtoexhibitor:“Nevermind,I’llcomeback.”
Unfortunatelyforbothyouandtheexhibitor,chancesareyouwon’tmakeyourwayback,andabusinessoppor-tunitywillbemissed.Nextyear,bothofyoumaydecideyoudidn’tgetenoughoutoftheeventtojustifycomingback.
Andthat,ofcourse,isbadnewsforthehost-ingorganization,whichwantstoseemembersandexhibitorsmakingproductiveconnec-tionsonitstradeshowfloor.Whentheexhibithallisdominatedbymissesratherthanhits,memberandexhibitorsatisfaction—nottomen-tionanimportantrevenuestream—isatrisk.
TheBiotechnologyIndustryOrganizationsetouttoeliminatethisproblemwithanovelapproachthat’spartMatch.comandpartspeeddatingforcompanies.BIO’sOne-on-OnePartneringprogramallowsattendeesandexhibitorsattheorga-nization’smeetingstocreatedetailedprofilesandthenseekmeetingswheretheyseeanopportunitytodobusi-ness.BIOprovidesthespaceandkeepstheschedule,limitingeachmeetingto25minutesbeforeabellringsandthepartiesmoveontotheirnextappointment.
“Thishasbeenagamechangerforus,”saysJosephColangelo,MBA,BIO’sdirectorofbusinessdevelopment.“Youandtheexhibitorarebothableto
“This has been a game changerfor us.”
||||||||||||||||
membersrangefromsmallentrepre-neurialcompaniestoFortune500multinationals,anditalsorepresentsstateandregionalbiotechassociations,serviceproviderstotheindustry,andacademiccenters.
BIOholdsseveralmeetingsaroundtheworldeachyear.ItcurrentlyusestheOne-on-OnePartneringprogramat10conferencesandattheBIOInternationalConvention,whichdrawsabout1,800exhibitorsand15,500attendeesfrommorethan65countries.Atlastyear’s
throughawebsite,butthesystemoperatesthroughitsintegrationwiththeAMS,saysChrisLove,BIO’smanag-ingdirectorofwebandinformationtechnologies.
LovesaysthecurrentversionofOne-on-OnePartneringisrootedina1990ssystemthatusedindexcardstotrytomatchlike-mindedattendeesandexhibitors.Althoughfarmoreadvanced,today’ssystemisupdatedfrequentlytoreflectchangingneedsandtechnologies.
—Joseph Colangelo, Biotechnology Industry Organization
AssociationsNowApril|May2012 41
gettothenextmeetingifitwasattheoppositeendofthemeetingspace.Sothisyear,forthefirsttime,One-on-OnePartneringmeetingsalsocanbesched-uledtotakeplaceontheexhibitfloor.
“Astradeshowproducers,itispivotaltoevolvewiththeindustry,andforusitmeansofferingthePartneringopportu-nitytobetterserveourexhibitors,”says
beatthesameevent,it’sagoodtimeforthemtocatchup.”
BIOhadbeensettingasidespaceaboutthesizeofafootballfieldtoholdthemeetings,butthatbecameachal-lengeasinterestintheprogramgrewandthenumberofmeetingsincreasedsubstantially.Withonlyfiveminutesbetweenmeetings,itbecamedifficultto
“Wedoasurvey[ofusers]everyyear,andalotoftheideasthestaffhasforimprovementsarereinforcedinthosesurveys,”Lovesays.
How It WorksTheOne-on-OnePartneringsystemisopentoanyoneregisteredforaBIOmeetingthatoffersit.About12weeksbeforethemeeting,participantsgointothesystemwebsitetobuildacompanyprofile,thensearchtheotherprofilesforcompaniesthatmaybepotentialbusi-nesspartners.Ameetingrequestissent,andiftheothercompanyagrees,thetwopartiesaregivenatimeandplacetogettogetherinadesignatedareaattheconference.Themeetingslast25min-utes—withfiveminutestomovetothenextmeeting—andafterthatthetwopartiesdecideontheirownwhethertopursuemorediscussions.Attheconven-tion,attendeespayfeesrangingfrom$250to$800toparticipate,dependingonmembershipstatus;theprogramisfreeatothermeetings.
Atypicalscenariowouldgosome-thinglikethis:CompanyAhasanewcancerdruginthepipeline,butitdoesnothaveenoughmoneytofunddevelop-mentoverseveralyearsfromconcepttoFDAapproval.CompanyBisapharma-ceuticalgiantthatwouldliketofindanewcancerdrugtoinvestinandbringtomarketwithinafewyears.CompanyB’steamregistersfortheBIOInternationalConvention,thenstartslookingatprofilesinthedatabaseforcompaniesdevelopingnewcancerdrugs.TheyfindCompanyA’sprofile,areintriguedaboutwhatit’sdeveloping,andsendameetingrequest.CompanyAishappytodiscussitsproduct,sothetwocommittoameet-ingattheconvention.How(orwhether)businessdevelopsfromthereisentirelyuptothem.
“Weprovidethemechanics,notthestrategy,”Colangelosays.“Fromtheout-sideitlookslikespeeddating,butwhat’sactuallygoingonispeoplearedoingthoseimportantfirst-timemeetings,orthey’vemetbeforeandit’sanadditionalnetworkingmeeting,orthey’repartnersnowbutbecausetheybothknowthey’ll
—Joseph Colangelo, Biotechnology Industry Organization
42 AssociationsNowApril|May2012
JohnHicks,directorofcorporatedevel-opmentforAltheaTechnologies,Inc.,saysOne-on-OnePartneringisavaluablebusinesstoolforhisfirmandhasledtoseveraldeals.Althea,basedinSanDiego,isabiotechnologycontractdevelopmentandmanufacturingorganization.Thecompanyattends12to15showsperyearandprefersthePartneringmodeltothetraditionalstrollthroughtheBIOexhibition.
“LastyearatBIO,Ihadabout40meet-ingsoverthreedays,andanumberofthosehaveturnedintowell-qualifiedprospects,”Hickssays.“Insomecases,therearedealsintheworks.”
Hesaysthekeytomakingitworkishavinganeffective“elevatorpitch”ready,sobusinesstalkscanbeginassoonasbothpartiessitdown.Italsohelpstodoasmuchhomeworkaspossiblebeforethemeetingsothetimecanbespentidentifyingareaswherebothpartiescanworktogether.
“Itcanbeprettyhecticbecausethereisonly30minutes,”Hickssays.“Youhavetohaveyourintroductionandyourpitchdownbecausethebellringsandyougorighttothenextone,andusuallysomeoneelseiswaitingtogetintothatspace.Butitworksbecauseyougeta
EricMisic,CEM,seniorsalesexecutiveatBIO.“Wearenowdeliveringdoublethevisibilityandleadswithournewexhibi-torPartneringopportunity.”
That’sgoodnewsfortheteamatPfenex,Inc.,aSanDiego-basedbiotech-nologycompany.CassidyBrady,seniormanagerofmarketingandbusinessdevelopment,jokesthateachmemberofthePfenexgroup“lostfivepoundsrun-ningfrommeetingtomeeting.”
ShesaysOne-on-OnePartneringisofsignificantvaluetoPfenexbecauseitallowsitsstaffwhoattendtomakethebestuseoftheirtimeatalargeshow.Lastyear,ateamofsixpeopleheld90meetingsoverthreedays,Bradysays.
Usingthissystem,“wecanbettermanagebothourtimeandourresourc-es,”shesays.“Youhavealimitedamountofboth,andPartneringtakesawaythelevelofspontaneity.Ifthere’saclientwereallywanttomeet,wedon’thavetoworrytheywon’tbeavailablewhenweare.It’sreallyaseamlessintegration.”
Theotherbenefit,shesays,isthattheinitialcontactestablishesafounda-tionbeforethefirstmeetingsoitdoesn’tfeellikea“coldcall,”andtheycangetrightdowntobusinessinthe25-minutemeeting.
“If there’s a client we really want to meet, we don’t have to worry they won’t be available when we are.”—Cassidy Brady, Pfenex, Inc.
||||||||||||||||
AssociationsNowApril|May2012 43
popularityofOne-on-OnePartnering—especiallyitsgrowthduringreces-sionarytimes—indicatesthatbothexhibitorsandattendeesvaluethein-personexperience.Whileanattendeemightresearchadestinationoraprod-uctonline,manywanttodiscussanactualbusinessdealinperson.
“Theideathatwedon’twanttomeetanymoreisafallacy,”Breedensays.“Peoplearen’tjustinterestedinretriev-inginformation;that’safirststep.Theywantthefacetoface,tohelpunder-standthecharacterofthepeopletheywillbepartneringwith,andthatisnevergoingtogoaway.”an
Jacqui Cook is a freelance writer in the Chicago area. Email: jacquicook@ comcast.net
currentbusinessventures.Butdoesthiskindofsystemhaveusesforothertypesofassociations?
Thatdepends,saysGeorgeBreeden,CAE,seniordirectorofproductmarket-ingforTMAResources.Hesaysapart-neringprogrammightnotberightforassociationmeetingsthatareprimarilyfocusedonprovidingeducationorpro-motingmembership.Butitcouldbeagreatbenefitforthosethathaveexhibi-torswithsomethingtoselltoassocia-tionprofessionals,suchasanannualmeetingdestination.
“Anytimeyouhavepeopleyou’retryingtoconnecttocreateabusinessrelationship,thistypeofpartneringsituationwouldhavevalue,”Breedensays.“Ifit’sworthputtingtheshowtogethertogetpeopletointeractandmeet,thenitmightbeworthittodosomethinglikethis.”
WhatBreedeniscertainofisthatthe
chancetogetthepointacross,andthenifyouneedtofollowupyoucanarrangetomeetatanothertimeattheshoworinthefuture.”
LikePfenex’sBrady,Hicksbelievesthechiefstrengthoftheprogramistheabil-itytomakethemostofthelimitedtimeattheconvention.
“Othertradeshowsaremorepassive,”hesays.“Here,IcanhaveaverytargeteddiscussionwithpeoplewhoIknowarelookingformycapabilities.Icangothroughalistandputoutatargetedinvitationtosomebodyandsay,‘Ihaveasolutionforthisareayou’relookingfor’or‘Ihaveadrugprogramthatmightfitwithyourstrategy.’”
Would It Work for You?TheOne-on-OnePartneringsystemworkswellforBIObecauseexhibitorsandattendeesareatitseventsseekingeithernewbusinessorinvestorsintheir