I type this as I sit at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. I’ve spent the past four days in Sin City, attending the Dentrix Business of Dentistry (BOD) Conference as one of the more than 900 people in attendance at the show (the biggest BOD ever, so kudos to the folks at Dentrix and Henry Schein for that). It was a busy meeting, filled with great speakers and great lecture subjects ... kind of like most of the shows we all attend throughout the year. But there was something different about this meeting ... the attitude of the attendees and exhibitors.
There are certain meetings on the calendar each year that are among my favorites. Personally, I enjoy kicking off the holiday season in New York with the Greater New York Dental Meeting and seeing all of the new products being introduced at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting. However, some of my favorite shows each year are actually smaller, specialized shows such as the annual session for the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM), the Business of Dentistry Conference, and our own RDH Under One Roof (yep, I’ll be back in Las Vegas in two weeks for PennWell’s awesome hygiene meeting ... keep the roulette wheel warm for me).
The smaller shows are among my favorites (and I’m guessing yours as well) because the attendees actually look forward to attending these conferences. It’s not something they have to do ... it’s something they WANT to do. You can see it in their body language when they head to their lectures or when they visit with exhibitors. Their attitude makes all the difference between “just another show” and “one of the shows I look forward to every year.”
I’ve also noticed a difference in the attitude of the exhibitors at these shows. When the attendees are more engaged, so are the exhibitors. The interactions at the booth aren’t forced. There’s a genuine interest on both sides in the other person’s thoughts, and it makes a huge difference in the feel of the exhibit area.
In preparation for our September print issue of Proofs, we’re working on some articles about the current state of the state shows. Trust me when I say there appear to be some red flags for the immediate and long-term futures of these meetings (you can read all about it in September). While there may be problems at the state meeting level, the future seems bright for some of the more specialized meetings like Under One Roof, AADOM, and BOD. The reason? People (attendees and exhibitors) want to be there.
Read on, this is your e-newsletter...
