We live at a time where we don’t ever have to interact with another human being if we don’t want to. It’s all there on your phone or computer: food, shopping, banking, even your friends and family. But there’s more to life—and business—than what you can find online. I mean, we do love a Doordash lunch during a Zoom meeting, but when we give ourselves completely to convenience we lose a little bit of what makes life interesting. The chance encounters, the random conversations that lead to eureka moments, the people who change your life even though you weren’t even looking for them…you only get those experiences when you step outside the office.
No one loves a meeting that could have been an email, but even the most introverted of us start to stagnate and wither away when we’re cooped up for too long. We get stuck in a rut. We lose our passion and our verve for our businesses and our customers.
As big as it is, the jewelry industry is still a very tight-knit one, built on trust between people who have gotten to know each other. Our industry is all about the relationships you nurture. That’s why, even when you can order all the inventory you need online, we still hold the Atlanta Jewelry Show twice a year.
Nurture Ongoing Relationships…
Relationships, both in our personal lives and in business, require trust. The best way to build trust is face-to-face, where you can just chat and see where the conversation takes you. To really build a strong partnership, you have to go beyond a strictly transactional relationship that consists of clicking an “order” button. Trade shows are where deals are made, where new ideas get hashed out, where transactions become relationships.
…And Create New Ones You Didn’t Know You Needed
Where else can a buyer just stumble onto a supplier that perfectly speaks to their needs? We can’t count the number of times an exhibitor showed up to meet their usual clients or to listen to one particular panel and left with a spreadsheet full of new leads and a head full of new business ideas.
Let the Leads Come to You
Sometimes sales feels like fishing, but without the peaceful feeling of drifting on the river while the wind blows through the trees and the frogs croak in the grass. But while you don’t really need to catch any fish to have a good time, you do need to close a sale. So you drop a line to a lead, and you anxiously await a bite. At a trade show, you don’t have to sit around waiting for a reply. Qualified leads are out there on the show floor, looking for a pleasant surprise, a new product line, or a vendor they really click with. Your next sale is just a conversation away.
This Definitely Could Not Have Been an Email
If this show could have been an email, it would have been in your inbox already. But there’s no electronic equivalent of sharing a meal and a drink with colleagues, the unexpected encounter with a buyer who falls in love with your jewelry or tools, or the enlightening panel discussion that changes the way you think about your craft. Until there is, we’ll see y’all at AJS.
