By Kat Fronek for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series
My last post encouraged you to rethink your approach to attending industry events by involving your staff before, during, and after the event, even if those team members are staying behind to keep the store running. But with all of the distractions at trade shows that may take your mind off of your business, how can you stay focused on gleaning value from the experience that will benefit your staff when you share it?
Keep in mind your answers to the question, “Why am I going to this event?” Are you there to gain some ideas for a new POS solution for your store? Are you hoping to learn how to build profit in your front-end? Or are you there simply to find out what other pharmacists are doing that is positively impacting their stores? Whatever your goals may be, keeping focus on bringing answers to the “Why am I going?” question back to your team will keep you on track.
You can also make memorable moments at trade events out of seemingly inconsequential interactions. Vendors offering freebies? Don’t just grab and go. Take a moment to introduce yourself, exchange information, and yes, listen to their full pitch. You may not need their product or service now, but what about a year from now? New contacts, fresh ideas, and boundless opportunities will only be found if you seek them out. Keep an open mind, and you’ll be surprised at what you might learn.
Finally, remember the great team you left behind, and how energizing it will be to bring your experience back and pass along the exciting knowledge you gained at the event. You’ll have plenty to share, so make a conscious effort while at the industry event to collect as much insight as you can.
Kat supports our sales effort in continuing to build out efficient processes, defining and researching new business opportunities, maintaining high-integrity data, developing and organizing sales tools, analyzing campaign performance, and facilitating the success and performance tracking of our direct mail programs. Since 1987, Kat has strived to identify creative and effective solutions that result in HRG’s ability to deliver quality products and services. Kat is also an owner of the company.