We are in the company of niche royalty today. There are a handful of our alumni who work exclusively in the Trade Show market and one of them stepped forward to take us WAY under the hood of this booming market.

Danny Orleans (SBBP 2017) 2.5 hours of his brilliance on just about every aspect of the trade show industry – and held nothing back.

Follow up with Danny in the alumni group so as not to overwhelm him with emails.

Audio

Download the Audio File of this Masterclass

Resources

Danny’s Trade Show Website
Danny’s Slide Deck from the Masterclass
Trade Show Wiki Page
16 Stats on the Value of a Trade Show
Trade Shows by the Numbers
Ted Prodromou’s LinkedIN Cheatsheet
Seth Kramer’s Handbook

Chat Roll

00:03:03 Mark Phillips: Looking good Danny!
00:07:37 Gregory Dubin: Hey Barry!
00:09:30 Mark Paskell: Looking good, Gents!
00:11:19 Sven Jorgensen: The day is young, still plenty of time for Danny to get out for that daily trail run!
00:11:32 Doc Dixon: Hi, everybody!
00:11:38 Barry Richards: Buenos dias!
00:11:45 Mark Paskell: Hey Barry —I’m on, but can’t talk!
00:11:48 Dean Apple: Good morning – good to be here!
00:11:48 Sora Iriye: Good morning all!
00:12:31 AJ Sacco: Yo!
00:12:51 Dale Obrochta: Got it thanks
00:14:20 Sora Iriye: GREAT promo
00:23:15 Sven Jorgensen: I like how Trade Show is a synonym for Trade Show, who would have guessed…
00:24:34 Mark Phillips: Popcorn machine in the last photo!
00:24:45 Mark Phillips: No crowd there…
00:25:46 Mark Phillips: I was there too
00:26:12 Mark Phillips: Yep.
00:28:09 Mark Phillips: lol
00:28:12 Sven Jorgensen: magic trick, hair color change!
00:28:19 Sven Jorgensen: only takes 50 years or so!
00:28:24 Mark Phillips: Back when we all wore ties
00:28:33 Mark Phillips: including attendees
00:28:58 Barry Friedman: yeah remember that Mark?
00:31:01 Sven Jorgensen: Ha!
00:32:03 Mark Phillips: good view of your table, step and sound
00:33:07 Sven Jorgensen: serious relationship building!
00:33:55 Tim Hannig: audience engagement!
00:34:15 AJ Sacco: woot-woot!
00:34:35 Rene Chevalier: sooo beautiful this place
00:35:23 Sven Jorgensen: And they do spend tons of money, everything costs, carpeting in the booth, trash can in the booth, etc, etc, etc, tons of money to do a good booth
00:38:09 Barry Richards: Why are there so few companies that hire magicians?
00:38:14 AJ Sacco: Have you ever done 2 person entertainment at trade shows with Jan?
00:40:39 Sven Jorgensen: My mom’s company used to always bring a little foot massager to massage the feet of poor attendees who have been walking the concrete floor all day. Anything to get people to connect with their booth and brand
00:41:12 Tim Hannig: What mistakes have you seen magicians make once they are on the trade show floor?
00:42:10 Sven Jorgensen: I think our real competition is probably the fact that trade show attendees are completely sensory overloaded and information overloaded, and at the end of the day they are zombies in a dazed state
00:44:28 Mike Duseberg: lots of IT… is that where the majority of the work is? I do heavy industry stuff and far fewer entertainers there.
00:45:14 Sven Jorgensen: Mike- there are tons of trade shows and for every possible industry. 10’s of thousands of trade shows happen every year in the US. I have experience with outdoor industry tradeshows and bike trade shows as an example
00:46:19 Sven Jorgensen: the synthetic environment is also challenging, fluorescent lights, concrete floor, poly fiber carpeting, it all tends to add to the exhaustion factor
00:46:33 Mark Phillips: Don’t forget marital strains under cons!
00:47:02 Mark Phillips: lots of travel
00:47:25 Mark Phillips: exactly!
00:50:08 Sven Jorgensen: The art and creativity here is like being a copywriter, figuring out how to mesh my art with the company’s product, how do I package their message in my performance
00:52:10 Malik Haddadi: Ego-free entertainment
00:52:23 Mitch Harwood: Hi Malik
00:52:51 Mark Phillips: World of Concrete!
00:53:20 Mike Duseberg: we did MineExpo and ConExpo together Danny… (but I was too shy to say hi)
00:54:56 Malik Haddadi: Is there a benefit to being local to one of those cities?
00:55:00 Sven Jorgensen: I will vouch for Danny’s approachability!
00:55:41 Sven Jorgensen: Salt Palace in Salt Lake City is a pretty good one
00:56:52 Rene Chevalier: @ mike I can confirm dannys helpful nature … just approach him, in case you run into him
00:58:09 Mark Obarka: How far in advance do you approach potential clients?
00:58:19 Sora Iriye: I was just about to ask that, Mark!
00:59:49 Robert Ace: The earlier slide had something about looking up the ticket price as you research the trade show. How do you think around that?
01:00:21 Henrik Bothe: How do you book your first trade show?
01:00:26 Sora Iriye: You mentioned the show should not be more than 15 minutes…is there an optimal length of time for the show?
01:04:40 Rene Chevalier: we are in the wrong window, right?
01:04:44 AJ Sacco: only seeing Danny’s zoom account
01:04:54 Sven Jorgensen: Yes, we are in the wrong window, Barry, help Danny
01:04:56 Mark Paskell: Not seeing it Danny
01:10:40 Sven Jorgensen: Bigger booths are companies with bigger budgets,
01:12:07 Sora Iriye: Good tip!!
01:13:42 Sven Jorgensen: Yea, nothing says sexy like, “one minute guy” just ask the ladies…
01:14:42 Robert Ace: Got it
01:23:16 Dale Obrochta: Where can you find Internal conferences
01:23:28 AJ Sacco: Did you and Jan ever try two-person shows at trade shows?
01:23:31 Dale Obrochta: yes internet
01:23:41 Dale Obrochta: yes
01:24:22 Dale Obrochta: industry name…. convention / conference name
01:25:09 Dale Obrochta: We need more balloon entertainers… never thought of. ;0)
01:25:37 Doc Dixon: I have a pass to an upcoming trade show, how would you recommend approaching/prospecting exhibitors at the show? Preparing before the visit?
01:25:39 Sven Jorgensen: do you ever run into problems with tradeshows that limit entertainment. I have been asked to perform at a tradeshow only to find out that I am to really allowed to be there, or I have to be really careful about not being in the aisle
01:25:52 Mike Duseberg: who is the decision maker in these cases? Are we talking to the Director of Marketing, Marketing Manager, etc?
01:27:36 Bobby Medina: How would you suggest live music fit into trade shows?
01:28:36 Sven Jorgensen: Hypnosis could work at an evening party for the tradeshow or a lunch thing breakout session
01:30:08 Barry Richards: Would you turn down a gig just because the booth is in the middle of an aisle?
01:30:33 Mike Duseberg: Live music: you’ve got to do something that stops the traffic and makes them want to be near the booth. a lot of them blast music across the hall, so there’s no reason to stop/engage the client’s sales team
01:30:52 Bobby Medina: I was also thinking about fanfare trumpeters as well
01:31:17 Sven Jorgensen: I have seen things like musicians set up in the entryway outside of the tradeshow hall as entertainment for the entire event, so contact trade show organizer rather than an exhibitor
01:31:58 Dale Obrochta: My Dad sold those meters. LOL
01:35:49 Doc Dixon: I”m a magician
01:36:33 Sven Jorgensen: yes, this could all be Trade Show Blue Print!
01:37:01 AJ Sacco: seems like a very Joel Bauer approach
01:37:49 Doc Dixon: Wow.
01:38:01 Mark Phillips: It takes a lot of guts.
01:38:26 Bobby Medina: Any tips for caricature artists?
01:38:29 Mark Phillips: lol
01:38:55 Robert Ace: If you do work on a trade show how do you look for leads (without offending your current client)?
01:39:12 Sven Jorgensen: 2 hours, no problem, keep rocking!
01:40:05 Henrik Bothe: can’t wait to hear about what kind of “talk” you do about a product/company
01:43:28 Mark Phillips: Giovanni loved the funeral industry
01:43:45 Mitch Harwood: Seriously??!
01:44:25 Mark Phillips: I second the extension
01:44:30 Mark Phillips: Great info
01:44:43 Anthem Flint: same! keep going!
01:44:45 Barry Richards: Can you put the ”
01:45:05 Barry Richards: Can you put the examples back on the screen, please?
01:45:14 Mike Duseberg: if they’re thinking about logistics, how do we get them focused on results?
01:45:20 Mitch Harwood: Good Morning Anthem and Barry Richardson.
01:45:32 Mark Paskell: Do you try to get giveaways that tie into your show?
01:50:22 Mike Duseberg: Barry… uhm, those numbers seem low
01:50:24 Mark Paskell: I have a question
01:50:34 Lou Serrano: Those fees seem rather low
01:51:14 Mark Paskell: How do you get the client to get giveaways to tie into your act?
01:51:40 Barry Richards: What about the “age issue?” I have spoken with Danny about this on a phone call.
01:51:43 Tim Hannig: I’m guessing for that money Barry was doing more of his actual ACT to draw a crowd
01:52:14 Barry Friedman: very customized script Tim
01:52:17 Tim Hannig: Barry did you sacrifice a lot artistically?
01:52:35 Barry Friedman: like a whore
01:52:35 Michael Spremulli: I’m tired already!
01:53:19 Anthem Flint: any particular in-soles or shoes that help?
01:53:22 Doc Dixon: “Like a whore”. I love you, man.
01:53:38 Henrik Bothe: is your show announced or is it totally street style where you “just” start and draw your own crowd?
01:57:49 Mike Duseberg: so you don’t start working on message until after the show is sold?
01:58:26 AJ Sacco: Gotta run. I’m excited for the replay to finish it out. Great Stuff Danny!
02:01:10 Mike Duseberg: Those scripts are awesome – I can plug and play ideas so quickly, and I like to highlight their keywords and phrases when I send them out.
02:05:48 Sven Jorgensen: I love the call out of the company name, such a great technique for both the show and the brand
02:06:17 Henrik Bothe: were you mic’d?
02:06:39 Rene Chevalier: Bye
02:06:59 Mark Phillips: sometimes?
02:07:17 Barry Friedman: haha
02:07:29 Sven Jorgensen: Your elevation can also add some cushioning so that legs and back don’t get so tired from standing
02:07:39 Anthem Flint: do you bring the sound system and aerobic step?
02:09:02 Mark Phillips: lol
02:10:17 Sven Jorgensen: the ones that have seen you kicking ass at the booth across from them
02:10:20 Mark Phillips: Far away from you.
02:10:23 Henrik Bothe: Then closest ones that see you get attention
02:10:25 Mark Paskell: the BIGGEST booth!!!
02:10:26 Mike Duseberg: nearby saw the results…
02:10:30 Barry Richards: A close-by booth that has very little traffic.
02:10:33 Tim Hannig: corner booth!
02:10:39 David Malek: someone who exhibits in a different industry
02:11:26 Sven Jorgensen: the one you are working now
02:11:46 Mark Phillips: Way to go Sven!
02:11:55 Tim Hannig: ah, we all failed with that question. Except for Sven.
02:12:15 Barry Friedman: Sven for the win
02:12:19 Sven Jorgensen: after getting it wrong, finally got clear
02:13:19 Bobby Medina: What do you do between presentations? Do you stay in the booth or?
02:14:19 Malik Haddadi: If you stop working for a client, do you allow a certain amount of time to go by before you will take work from one of their competitors?
02:15:44 Sven Jorgensen: Also, you become an ambassador for the company you are representing, so just being there and schmoozing is great. Answering questions, directing them to go to the staff for a sale or lead, etc
02:21:22 Mark Phillips: right
02:21:29 Mark Phillips: worked it a few times
02:21:51 Bobby Medina: Thanks so much guys! I have to run
02:22:44 Angie Bortz: Thank you for the great info! Gotta log off….
02:24:07 Sven Jorgensen: I like the fact that this masterclass is as overwhelming as a tradeshow itself, really helps get the feeling across!
02:24:43 Mitch Harwood: Thanks Danny for all your time. You have gone above and beyond the call of duty.
02:24:54 Sven Jorgensen: So thankful for you sharing all this! and we haven’t even touched on the side stuff like break out sessions
02:27:12 Lou Serrano: A Modern
02:27:36 Lou Serrano: A Modern Trade Show handbook is a great book. Highly recommended!
02:28:05 Doc Dixon: Danny, your book “A Lecture On Corporate Magic” is also great stuff.
02:30:47 Sora Iriye: Danny…is there a place where you go to take breaks when you’re not on the floor? Is it common for the booth to provide a dressing area?
02:35:00 Anthem Flint: I’d be so down for that seminar! love it!
02:35:06 Sven Jorgensen: So awesome! Thanks Danny and Barry for making this happen!
02:35:16 Sven Jorgensen: thanks for going long on this
02:35:50 Mark Paskell: How do I get the client to buy giveaways that tie into my presentation?
02:36:31 Sven Jorgensen: At tradeshows, sometimes I just walk a few booths away, to a big corridor where I can do a couple stretches outside of the booth
02:37:19 Tim Hannig: what’s a common mistake you’ve seen magicians make when they are new to the market?
02:37:44 Mark Obarka: I’ve done a few shows in Las Vegas with my birds, mostly as traffic builders doing souvenir photos and small tricks here and there. Is there a specific way to promote this combo?
02:38:28 Sven Jorgensen: different tradeshows have different appropriate attire. some are business casual, some more formal
02:40:21 Mark Obarka: Would I be better off having a dedicated website or include it as part of my overall business?
02:41:23 Anthem Flint: anything you do to qualify and identify leads for the sales team?
02:42:20 Mike Duseberg: puppies and dogs are getting really popular… people like to pet dogs…
02:43:37 Mark Obarka: No kids’ stuff
02:43:54 Mark Obarka: Corporate event, theaters shows, fairs
02:44:35 Robert Ace: Thank you so much Danny!
02:44:37 Mark Phillips: Great job Danny!
02:44:48 Sora Iriye: Thank you so much, Danny!!! Great class!
02:44:53 Anthem Flint: this was great! thank you Danny and Barry!
02:44:57 Mark Obarka: thanks guys.
02:44:57 Doc Dixon: Thanks Danny and Barry.
02:44:58 Tim Hannig: Thank you Danny… see you at MagiFest!
02:45:02 Lou Serrano: Great job!
02:45:08 Malik Haddadi: Many Thanks for the presentation!
02:45:11 Mark Paskell: INCREDIBLE! Thanks Danny!!!!!!
02:45:13 Sven Jorgensen: So much gratitude! great motivator for me to get this going more this year!
02:45:17 Mike Duseberg: great!!!