One of the biggest commercial real estate conventions is coming up: ICSC RECon at the Las Vegas Convention Center on May 18-20. As an attendee for the last several years, I’ve compiled some tips to help you have the best experience.
Excess Time for Appointments
RECon is the perfect opportunity to drum up new business, forge new relationships or enhance existing ones. There are thousands (roughly 45,000) people attending that are somehow related to commercial real estate…make sure you set your appointments.
Give yourself time between meetings – I’ve made the mistake of giving myself 15 minutes or less for the next appointment. Even if your appointment is at your company’s booth, still give yourself 15 minutes for idle chit-chat that always seems to happen. If your next appointment is at another booth, give yourself at least 30 minutes to make the trek to that location. Trust me on that one.
It seems like meetings at RECon don’t ever start on time; because someone gets trapped in another meeting, or it takes longer to walk to a booth, or you stop for a quick bite to eat and the line was a little long…but if you know this going to happen, you can try your best to be on time, or at least set your expectations for your day and know that the person you are meeting with may be late.
Appointments / Vendors Mapped
RECon is huge, there are various sections in the enormous conference center. It is one of the largest convention centers in the world with 3,200,000 SF. Download the programbefore you get to the show and physically map out where your appointments are or Vendors you’d like to speak with. You will get a nice surprise if you are in the South Hall and your next appointment is in North Hall. Like everything in Vegas, it seems like it is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away…but in reality, it is a decent hike.
Cocktails Scheduled
At RECon, there are tons of opportunities for Cocktail hours. If your company is throwing one, make sure you take the time to invite your clients. Give them clear instructions on how to get to your booth (utilizing the number and street location gets confusing). Tell them who you are next to, etc. If you get invited to a few cocktail hours, attend the ones that you will get value from. Don’t just go to every one because there are free drinks during your week in Vegas. Keep your drinking under control and mingle like you know how. Don’t try to schedule meetings during them or try to accomplish business. You can however set up a scheduled meeting for the next day.
Schedule
Prior to arriving, make sure you map out your entire schedule (including walk times and lunches). Give yourself some downtime because all that walking can be draining. Keep a backup hard copy of your schedule (I’ll explain why below).
Insoles Purchased
Notice how many times I’ve already mentioned walking. You will walk tons during the RECon show. I always like to pick up one of those tchotchke pedometers from a vendor and turn it on to see just how far I walk at the show. My advice, get a pair of Dr Scholl’s insoles to help alleviate the pressure. Business shoes just aren’t that comfortable. Don’t be surprised if you see people wearing sneakers and a suit (it looks awkward, but I bet they are more comfortable than the rest of us).
Undigitize
This is the day and age of digital. If I didn’t have my smartphone, I don’t know how I would function. However, at ICSC, you have to learn to undigitize a bit. There isn’t always internet available and if there is, there are so many people trying to get on it…it can be really slow. Also, for some reason, the Las Vegas Convention Center seems like an energy suck on phones. Every year I go, my phone drains several hours quicker than normal. Don’t get caught off-guard. Bring your charger with you and utilize the many charging stations. But I say to undigitize a bit and here is what I mean. If you think you are going to bring your iPad to show all your listings, bring hard copy backups. I mentioned to bring a hard copy backup of your schedule. Nothing is worse when you try to check your schedule on your phone and either you can’t get service or your battery is about to die.
There you have it, with these tips, you should be more productive and may enjoy the show more.
By: John Boyer, Director, Marketing, Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates
