Trade Show Season. Those words may mean different things to different people, but at Durvet, it means we’re about to get VERY busy.

For us Durvet folks, trade show season is usually centered around two times of the year, Spring and Fall. Trade shows are basically of two varieties:

1. Industry-Related Shows - Annual industry-related trade shows, such as the National Cattleman’s Trade Show, held in conjunction each year with their national meeting...or the World Pork Expo held every year in June in Des Moines, IA...or the World Dairy Expo, held every October in Madison, WI.
2. "Buying Shows" - These are put on by our individual member distributors.

These have been, and continue to be, important events that many of our Durvet members use very successfully in a number of ways.

Probably the most important, as far as our members are concerned, is that it provides an opportunity to “lock up” business with the individual customers who are attending the event for an extended period of time. We routinely see customers buying enough product at these events to fulfill their needs for 90 to 120 days. 

Another important aspect is the opportunity for vendors in attendance to be able to show off their new products, programs, and timely promotions to a captive audience.

A third element is the social aspect, where people within the same industry get an opportunity to meet with old friends, enjoy some time away from their business at home, and take away some fresh new ideas about how to be more profitable.

What a lot of people don’t realize is how much work and effort goes into putting on a successful trade show. We have our own version, called Sales Pro, which we annually hold for Durvet member distributor representatives. There are countless hours spent in preparation for such an event and a lot of "behind the scenes" work that goes into making the trade show a success.

At Durvet we don’t exactly “travel light” when it comes to our trade show set. Depending on the show, we will routinely have 10 to 60 feet of space, and when it comes to setting it up, it's an "all hands on deck" affair. While we've made some huge changes in the last 18 months to modernize and update our show booths, we are routinely the first booth to start set up and the last booth to get tore down.

Regardless of title, if you’re a Durvet employee at a trade show, you’re in your blue jeans and work clothes for set up and tear down.  As I mentioned at the start of this article, trade show season is busy season. We often will have trade shows that occur within days of each other, so Durvet employees will pack up from one show, go hop in a car or plane, and off we go to the next one!

The good news is that while it's busy, and can be physically fairly hard work for a few hours, the folks at Durvet enjoy the camaraderie and team effort it takes to make a show a success.

We work hard but we also enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done and a trade show that ends up a win/win, whether it be for our vendor partners, our member distributors, or the retail customers they serve.

So if you just happen to be around before or immediately after the start of a trade show, be sure and look out for the Durvet crew! We’re the ones with rolled up sleeves, a sense of urgency on our faces, and with a lot of unpacking or packing going on.

Just don’t get in our way...unless you’re bringing us liquid refreshments, of course. :)

Thanks for reading. Now we've got to get back to the trade show!