Monday, 12 March 2012

Business As Usual

Well, not quite. Business as usual for me means to be here in my living room which double-functions as my home office, on the phone to my customers and sending to and receiving emails from them.
Once a month, I travel 2 1/2 hours by train to the small town where the company I work for has their offices, and spend the day with my boss and colleagues there.

Every now and then, though, there are fairs or trade shows to go to; mainly as a visitor, as was the case in November when I went to Salzburg or twice this year when I spent a day in Stuttgart at the fair.
Twice a year, we are exhibitors and not just visitors, and it is the part of my work I enjoy most.

The week before last, my boss and I drove to Düsseldorf (that takes about 4 hours if all goes well) and spent three days as part of our manufacturer's team on their booth at the EuroCIS.
For me, it was the first time working a fair where I was not involved in all the preparations, in the unpacking and setting up of our hardware on the booth, in the daily cleaning and tidying up, in the catering, or in the packing up and loading the van for the drive back.
Instead, everything was organized by the manufacturer's marketing department, and all my boss and I had to do as co-exhibitors was to be there, talk to our customers (potential and existing ones), show and explain our hardware and enjoy the excellent cooking of the two chefs who, among many other staff, manned our booth which was one of the biggest, if not the biggest one, in the hall.

It was a good chance for me to meet a lot of people face to face, some of which I have not met before in spite of having been in close contact with them by telephone for almost 10 years, as well as some familiar faces I encounter every time I go somewhere work-related.

I have often wondered why I like working fairs and trade shows so much.
The most probable explanation, other than it being a welcome break-up of my daily and weekly routine, is summed up in three words: expect the unexpected.

The business world is, as we all know, full of unspoken regulations and rules. Not quite as strict as, say, 20 years ago, but still strict enough to provide a rather stable framework of foreseeable interactions and settings, such as the dress code and much of how people behave in this environment.

And yet, there is always the surprise element to be taken into account: you never really now in advance who is going to appear at your booth next, what country they are from, which language you are required to speak with them, what interests them, how good a contact you will be able to establish with them, and what is going to happen afterwards; will anything tangible result from their visit, or are they going to be part of the pool of never-to-be-heard-ofs which always make up a small part of the leads we take home?

Here are some pictures for you to give you an impression of what the week before last was like for me.
We were showing this device (a touch screen cash PC) in a flower bed with water running over it for all of the three days, to prove its water-tightness - quite important for those of our dealers whose customers are restaurant owners.

The kitchen counter on our booth.

This bit was mainly "our" corner of the booth. My mannequin "colleague" here served no real purpose other than stand in the way.

My room at the hotel was a suprise; it was much larger than I had expected, and the overall impression of the hotel was better than what I had thought after I had checked their website before our trip.

This was my outfit on the 2nd day. I wore long black trousers on the first day and an apricot coloured jumper with a black ribbon round the neck, and on the third day, the grey dress I showed you already in the January edition of my Fashion Calendar :-)

20 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:
    We have found this post most interesting, not least for the insight which it gives into your world of work. The stand at the show looks to be most impressive, but the screen over which water runs is quite something else - absolutely incredible but, as we are now able to see, essential in situations where someone with wet hands may be the computer operator.

    And yes, your hotel room looks to be most comfortable and you, yourself, very, very professional. We are a tiny bit in awe!!

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    1. Jane and Lance, thank you - I think this is the first time ever that someone found me awe-inspiring :-)

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  2. Those potted plants that are on display there...I hope someone was able to take them home and care for them! Your hotel room looks very inviting (that bed makes me just want to go to sleep...sorry, this time change is killing me!)

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    1. Kay, the plants are plastic and I dare say they will be used many more times for other events before the company who set up the stand will throw them out :-)
      Our time change will happen on Sunday next week. The economical and environmental benefit, this has been proven, is non-existent, and yet they stick to this rather stubbornly.

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  3. Ah those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end. But they did. I, too, loved trade fairs which I attended for many years when we had the pottery. What I disliked was the pulling down and packing up. As our product was pottery we were often amongst the last to leave the halls. This is one area where your language skills are so useful professionally, of course.

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    1. All the surrounding activities I never minded, even packing up, but this year it was lovely not having to do it myself, and being able to really focus on my customers.

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  4. As a person who seems destined to spill coffee and coca cola on my computer and keyboard, I really appreciate your presentation!

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    1. Oh! Are you a potential customer? Hmm... I'm afraid not, since my work is strictly B2B, and in your case, we'd be crossing the line to B2C...

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  5. I am sorely disappointed! You don't look at all like a librarian, you look every inch the dynamic and chic German business woman. Are you as smart as this when you are working from home?

    I hope you sold lots of stuff to boost the German economy.

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    1. Friko, du bist witzig :-) Well, I do look very librarianish sometimes, but I admit maybe not in that outfit. When I work from home, I sometimes dress like that, too; it depends on what else I'm up to on the same day or in the evening. But I am always dressed properly, never in just a track suit or something like that, no matter whether I intend to go out during lunch break or after work or stay in all day (which happens very, very rarely anyway; most days I am out at least twice).

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  6. I know what you mean about expecting the unexpected. For me, there's a slightly other worldly feeling about trade fairs, almost as if it it is a parallel universe or a story....

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    1. Yes, Jenny, that is how I feel about it, too! It is almost like living in the scenes of a film set for a few days: everything is glossy facades and shiny surfaces and stylish looks, but as soon as the fair ends (and also if you happen to be there before it opens), the whole world is reduced to panels of compressed sawdust and duct tape. A cardboard palace dissolving (almost) into thin air.

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    2. That is exactly how it used to be. You have (put colloquially) hit the nail right on the head.

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    3. And the workmen who build the booths are a class of their own... I wouldn't trust them as far as the tip of my nose! Over the years, I have learnt that you need Argus' eyes and chain everything you can't take with you to the spot, otherwise even the most banal pieces of equipment will disappear.

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  7. You have been a busy girl! Looks like you had a successful trip! Your hotel room looks very comfortable and love the outfits! You look professional and fashionable!

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  8. How great that you didn't have to the set up & break down of the booth! Sounds like a good trip.

    I like your outfits, agreed they are professional & fashionable - nicely done Lady!

    Best,
    e

    P.S. I would love to visit Germany this summer. I didn't include it because I just have no idea where to start! We have 8 weeks because I decided to close up shop this summer (kills me a little bit to turn away work, but I think it will be worth it), Plus my partner is a teacher who has the summer holiday off! Life is short right?

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    1. You are so right about life being short, Elizabeth - it is the best thing the two of you can do, spending as much time as possible together! Thanks for the compliment reg. my outfits :-)

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  9. An organisation, particularly in contrast to a project or program which would introduce change, reveals his exciting new vision for the future. As a Force for Good .

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    1. Huh? Sorry - I'm afraid I don't understand a word of what you are saying. Do you actually mean to comment on my blog, or is this just good old spam?

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