Trade Show
Make Education a Priority in Your #ATA2020 Schedule
Grow your business by attending educational events at the ATA Trade Show.
Photo Credit: ATA
Share
Author: Cassie Gasaway
The 2020 ATA Trade Show education schedule is complete, and all the classrooms are reserved. Instructors have practiced and prepared their presentations. Everything and everyone is ready. Are you?
With the holidays over and a new business year looming, it’s time to hone your 2020 ATA Trade Show plan of attack.
You have exhibitors to visit, products to buy, meetings to attend, and much to learn, so plan your schedule before arriving in Indianapolis for the Jan. 9 to 11 Show. Prep work ensures your trip is more enjoyable and productive.
Consider making several education events a priority, and arranging the rest of your schedule around them. Running a profitable archery business requires a deep understanding of products, equipment repairs, and shooting instructions. But to stay in business, you must also understand profit margins, pricing strategies, tax liabilities, employee benefits, and inventory management.
You can deepen your knowledge of those topics at the Show’s seminars, demonstrations and Coffee Talks. Click here to see the Show’s education schedule. Then review your options and highlight your favorites to create your schedule. The following four tips will help you plan your schedule.
Download the app to save events and plan your schedule. Photo credit: ATA
1. Download the App
The ATA’s free mobile app makes planning your schedule easy. Go to the “Learn, ” “Schedule,” and “Booth Events” tab on the app’s homepage and “star” your favorite events, seminars, Coffee Talks and demonstrations. Your starred selections will show up in the “My Planner” feature, which you’ll find under the menu in the app’s upper left-hand corner. You can also star your favorite booth visits using the “Exhibitors” tab.
The app is available through the App Store (iPhone app), Google Play (Android app) and ChirpE (Mobile Web). Download it now!
2. Buy on Day 1, Learn on Days 2 and 3
To ensure you attend as many educational events as possible, try to complete much of your order-writing on Buyer Day, which is Day 1 of the three-day Show. Most educational events are on days 2 and 3. To help you concentrate on buying on Day 1, only buyers (red badges) and exhibitors (yellow badges) can enter the Show floor that day.
Attend education sessions that cover an area you haven't learned about before. Photo credit: ATA
3. Expand Your Horizons
It’s great to learn more about your areas of expertise, such as coaching or bow-tuning, but it’s important to work on skills outside your comfort zone. Learning new skills helps you and your business grow.
4. Divide and Conquer
If your business sends several people to the Show, assign them up to cover different educational events. Remind everyone to take detailed notes so you can discuss the material later. Consider holding a post-Show staff meeting to share tips, exchange information, and review important takeaways.
Click here to view the education schedule and plan your “school” days. Questions? Contact Kurt Smith, ATA’s director of industry relations, at (717) 478-5919 or kurtsmith@archerytrade.org.
Enter to win a Suunto Alpha Traverse watch just by downloading the app! Photo credit: ATA
Other Show To-Do’s
While you prep for the Show, be sure to capitalize on these Show offerings:
- Use the App’s Many Features: In addition to starring activities, the app lets you add notes, create meetings, view the floorplan, find concessions, and check off events and activities as they happen. Opt into buzz alerts – aka push notifications – to stay informed throughout the Show. The app also features new tabs, including “Save” and “Enter to Win.” The “Save” tab lists all exhibitors and special offers in the Big Buck Tag Coupon Book. The “Enter to Win” tab lets everyone who downloads the app enter a drawing for a Suunto Alpha Traverse watch.
- Enter to Win the Show’s Cash Giveaways: The ATA is giving away $5,000 each day of the Show, and ScentLok is giving away $1,000 daily, for a combined $18,000. Retailers who place $5,000 in Show orders qualify for the ATA’s $5,000 giveaway, and those who place $1,000 in orders with Nexus Outdoors’ companies qualify for ScentLok’s $1,000 giveaway. Complete your orders, fill out the first two coupons in your Big Buck Tags book, and drop them off at the Info Booth in the MyATA Area by 5 p.m. for your chance to win. Your coupons remain in the drawings until the Show ends, which increases your odds of winning.
- Vote for Your Favorite Products: The Featured Products Showcase is in Exhibit Hall F, across from the MyATA Area. The space lets attendees examine and handle hundreds of products. These products are competing to win awards through the ATA’s “Best in Show” program. Buyers can vote for their favorite product in these categories: youth, women, archery accessory, bowhunting accessory, and breakthrough innovation. Voting opens on Day 1 of the Show at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. ATA staff will tally the votes, and present gold, silver and bronze awards in each category on Friday at 10 a.m. in the MyATA Area.
Click here to learn more about the Show, and take advantage of everything the Show offers. We’ll see you in Indianapolis!
BECOME A MEMBER
WE ARE HERE TO HELP THE INDUSTRY, TO HELP INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES GET THE MOST OUT OF THE INDUSTRY, AND TO HELP YOU.
SHARE THIS STORY
Related Stories
Trade Show, Industry
Archery Trade Association