Everyone’s Guide to SEMA Show Survival

SEMA Member News—November/December 2013

Everyone’s Guide to SEMA Show Survival

	Don’t miss the SEMA Speed Networking Breakfast on Thursday, November 7, at the SEMA Show from 7:15 a.m.–9:00 a.m. in the Las Vegas Hotel, Ballroom A. It’s always a sellout, so get your tickets early.

Whether you’re a complete newbie or a seasoned veteran, everyone needs to be reminded of the basics of trade-show survival.

Comfortable shoes, breath mints, official SEMA Show guide, water and sleep are the essentials. Here are just a few tips that anyone can use to ensure a stress-free, successful SEMA show.

Travel Light

Use your tablet or smartphone to showcase your company using the free Wi-Fi that’s available throughout the SEMA Show floor. After all, your company website is probably one of the best ways to share your attributes and value to potential customers.

To ensure that content will always be available, download digital files in advance and save them directly to your device. Evernote is a wonderful way to organize notes, documents, pictures, to-do lists and business cards, and Evernote Hello allows you to share business cards on the go and offers an alternative to sending contact info via e-mail. Bump, an app for both iOS and Android, allows you to share files, contacts, photos or anything in your device by simply bumping them together.


Don’t Miss These SBN Events! Gear Up Girl Event, Powered by SEI & SBN Monday, November 4, 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N263C Seminar: Are You A Leader or A Boss? Tuesday, November 5, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N253 Seminar: Dealing with Difficult People Wednesday, November 6, 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N254 SBN 20th Anniversary Reception: Celebrating Past, Present & Future Wednesday, November 6, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Las Vegas Hotel, Oasis Lounge Seminar: Selling to Women Thursday, November 7, 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N258 SEMA Speed Networking Breakfast Thursday, November 7, 7:15 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Las Vegas Hotel, Ballroom A Café SEMA: In the Know with a Cup of Joe! Friday, November 8, 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Las Vegas Convention Center, SEMA Member’s Lounge

Go Digital

Be sure to use the social-media tools available in order to get the most engagement possible. Hashtags, a tool that now works for both Twitter and Facebook, are used to mark keywords or topics to help them show more easily in search. Twitter, where hashtags originated, recommends using no more than two hashtags per Tweet.

When Tweeting about a company or person, use the @ symbol in front of their username to make sure that their followers see your Tweet. #SEMA2013 and @SEMAshow are both good to use during the Show.

If you and your associates have iPhones, check out the Find My Friends app. This tool allows you to locate people you know from your iPhone or iPad. With the free app installed on everyone’s device, you simply send a request to see someone’s location. If you’re travelling in a group, an app called GroupMe is a great way to keep in contact, and it offers more functionality than group texting.

Travel Smart

Taxi lines get incredibly long at the SEMA Show, so be sure to use the other modes of transportation available to Showgoers. Shuttles run to and from the convention center and many local hotels. Check the list of hotels and get a schedule when you arrive.

To get around town, the Las Vegas Monorail arrives at the convention center station about every 10 minutes traveling in each direction. It is fast, easy and inexpensive. To get tickets for the Monorail in advance, visit here.

Finally, a few words of wisdom: When it comes to shoes, don’t sacrifice comfort for fashion. This is one week where even the most comfortable footwear will become torture chambers! And be smart about sleep. Don’t get stuck in places where the phrase, “OMG! Look what time it is!” is all too common. You will pay for it the next day.