What Really Matters at Logistics Trade Shows with Ash Thoms

In this kickoff-to-trade-show-season episode, host Jen Karpus-Romain sits down with Ash Thoms, Senior Trade Show & Events Manager at ITS Logistics, to talk about what’s shaping logistics trade show season in 2026. From emerging trends at major conferences to how logistics professionals prepare for the whirlwind of events ahead, Ash breaks down what matters most to her, and what listeners should be thinking about as the industry’s calendar fills up. 

We’ll also cover the TMSA Awards program (with nominations due by March 6, 2026) and TMSA’s own networking event at Manifest in the ITS Logistics booth. Tune in for practical insights on handling the logistics behind logistics events, career-building at tradeshows, and why recognition within the TMSA community matters now more than ever.

Register for our Manifest Connection Event - If you’re at Manifest Vegas, join TMSA at the ITS Logistics Booth #732 on Tuesday, February 10 from 10:00–11:00 a.m.

Check out the Transportation Sales and Marketing Association (TMSA) website or engage with us on LinkedIn.

Transcript

Winter Break And Season Kickoff

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 0:23

Hello, everybody, and welcome to On the Move, a show where we share transportation sales and marketing success stories. I am Jennifer Carpis Romain, Executive Director of TMSA, a trade nonprofit educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics. So happy to be back on the show. We took a winter break, and so we enjoyed our holidays and the first couple weeks of getting back into the swings of things, have had multiple snow days for the kids on my side of things. But here we are at the beginning of the year. And I'm so excited to have my first guest of 2026, Ash Toms, senior director, senior trade show and events manager of ITS Logistics. Literally was reading the scroll and still messed it up. But you know, we're all human kicking off the show, kicking off the air. How are you doing today, Ash?

SPEAKER_01 1:20

I am doing well. You know, we have not had as many snow days out here, which is good from my perspective, but sad for everybody else. So, you know, R.I.P., but life is life in a long.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 1:33

Yep. For sure. And so one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on the show is one, I just always enjoy talking to you. But two, we are, you know, we're we're kicking off trade show season, and that's a big part of what your role is. So for many that don't know you yet, which they should, they but tell us a bit about your role at ITS Logistics, what you're responsible for when it comes to trade shows and events.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Absolutely. So I am, as you said, our senior trade show and events manager. So I'm responsible for the whole life cycle of the events and trade shows that we plan and attend, all the way from like, should we be going to this thing down to like how are we following up and what are we doing? And any on-site staffing setup shenanigans. So it all kind of falls under my purview. I love all of it. And uh yeah, if you don't know me, you really should. You're right.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 2:35

Yeah, 100% super fun person, always great perspectives. Clearly has to be at all of the events, and ITS does a lot of them. So always a good person to know. And we are, we're kicking off trade show season.

Ash’s Role And Event Lifecycle

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 2:50

So we're mid-January, we're getting ready to launch. From your perspective, does anything feel different from this year kicking off events than it has in years past?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

I mean, I am just as excited as every year because I personally love trade show season. Um, but from like what's changed over the past few years, I do think that people are getting more intentional with like their events and their trade shows, either like more intentional about why they're going or what they're going for, or even like what shows they're going to. But like more so than that, like the value of the shows, I think, is shifting because capacity is tightening. We have all these uncertainty with like trade volumes, and we have specific challenges that people are kind of searching for fixes for now, and that's what more of the conversations have been coming around towards. So I'm kind of anticipating that being more of the focus of this year, if you will, um, which is intriguing, and I am excited to see how that kind of plays out on the floor.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 4:02

And I love when you were like talking about what you do, that you're like the whole life cycle, because I feel like if you're not an events manager, if you're not the person going to the trade shows, you don't understand how much pre and post-work there is for things to be effective. And so I agree. I think people are being more intentional because we have to prove that ROI in a different way than we used to. And so I know, like if I because we do have seasons and push all these events together, and so the you don't always have time to do proper posts. And if you don't, then you're it's not worth the time of going to the show. So we do have to be more strategic, more specific, really think through like, why are we going to the show? How are we showing up for the show? What are we doing? How are we going to reach out to people after? So I do think that's really important. And um, so I like that you phrased it that way. Like the full life cycle, including identifying what shows that we're going to. What are some of the tips that you do to identify which shows are going to make the most sense, especially now that there is kind of more of a prove your ROI of why you're doing that?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

A hundred percent. There is so much prove your ROI, and we all love the ROI tracking of events because it's just so easy, you know.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 5:26

Very easy to be like, this is what was successful and why.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

So clean cut, very chill. I, you know, have never felt stressed about it in my life. Um, I think a lot of

What’s Different This Year

SPEAKER_01 5:40

the times we tend to be like, oh, our competitors are at this event. Like, we should be at that event just to defend. And honestly, there are shows where you need to go to defend against your competitors. You're right, especially in this industry because it is so big, it's so fast moving, and your competitors can easily get in front of your current clients at these shows if you're not there. Um, so while that is a huge, like that can be a part of it, I think other pieces of it, it's like for me, when we're looking at shows, it's what are the vertical alignments? Um, when do we have time? Because as you already said, the shows love to pile on top of each other. And we don't want to do more than two or three shows in the same week because that would be like unable for us to follow up effectively. So it's timing, it's does it align with where we're trying to grow? And also, like, once I get the prospectus, what is the breakdown of attendees that are going to be there? Are they the titles that we can sell into, or are they kind of more humans that we're anticipating as like influencers later down the line, which is not bad, it's just a totally different strategy that you want to take to an event? So, kind of determining like the who is really the biggest piece and the alignment with like where we're trying to grow our business lines.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 7:12

And so when you're deciding that lineup, is there a mix between okay, we're gonna do 60% shows that we've done before and we know what to expect, and like 40% of brand new shows because we show up differently that way or we don't put as much money? Like, how does that breakdown happen?

SPEAKER_01 7:31

I think ours is probably closer to like an 80-20 split, like 80% shows where we know we've seen value, we've tracked the ROI, we know that the right humans are there, we know the deals have closed on the back end of those things. And so that's like 80% of our trade show strategy. And then 20% is going, okay, let's take a few risks, let's take a gamble, let's see if showing here makes sense. And I will say, like, rarely, if ever, our first year do we like go out and be like, all right, we're gonna put up a booth and throw our own networking party and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. You know, we start smaller. Oftentimes we'll start by sending one or two sellers to a show to be like, go get the lay of the land, come back, tell us if you think that it's a show where the right humans are and like you could be more successful with the support of exhibiting or sponsoring. We do that kind of debrief touch-based shenanigan when they get back. And then if it's so that they're into it and it did line up, and we all share that kind of opinion, we'll move forward with sponsoring or exhibiting the following year and kind of just follow that trend, if you will. So it's like if it continues to show ROI, we'll continue to put into the show and invest into the show to be where the humans

Choosing The Right Shows

SPEAKER_01 9:02

are.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 9:03

I think that makes sense. Like you have to be able to have some amount, and I definitely think 20% is way smarter than 40%, or just throwing out numbers. Um, because some people, especially like startups or new people, it may slide more to that first ever, this is the first time going. So we need to see, especially like you said, um, very rarely do people go to a show for the first time and do the big booth or the big investment. So if you're a newer company, you may have more first time show. Well, they may all be first-time shows too, but like, okay, we're gonna do a lot more of we're attending everything and then seeing what makes sense because then we're building a more robust and targeted strategy for next year. So it just kind of depends on where you land. I definitely think the logistics behind logistics events is substantially more than people would think. So, what are some of the biggest challenges that people don't realize really go into executing a successful trade show presence?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Biggest challenge, and you actually touched on it in the question, is that people don't really realize almost all of your work should be done ahead of time. Your booth presence isn't what's going to generate you business on a trade show floor. If you are successful in a trade show, that is the result of efforts from months of sending out pre-email engagements, booking meetings, getting all of your shipping shenanigans done on time, which is such a great reminder for me to go ship my booth to manifest later today. And you know, all those timelines, the the travel, the staff, the vendors, like getting everybody aligned is done in the months ahead of your show. And that makes your presence like so cool, so fun, such a vibe. But you can't just show up and expect to be successful. Similarly, on the back end of your event, you can't just like leave and expect to be successful either. Because on the back end, you need to be doing all of the follow-up, which is like also part of the logistics of events, is how are we going to continue these conversations when we leave? Whose job is it? How are we getting them the notes? Like if they weren't like if they weren't there on the floor, like who's passing them off, warm convos, etc. Um, so it's before and after the event where things are so are made, really, where your event is into a success, whereas the event itself is really such a very small part of it. And I don't know that that's as well recognized, you know.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 12:10

I I agree. I mean, I feel like events are whirlwinds. You go there, you have these fast conversations, you need to be able, but like you said, okay, how who's in charge of the follow-up? Is it the person that was on the floor? Are they handing it off?

80/20 Mix And Testing New Events

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 12:24

Like, and if they are, there has to be some type of warm like touch point or conversation. You can't just expect this person who was not there to be able to successfully follow up with the person that you met at the booth. Um and I would say from my experience of being in charge of the booth in a previous role, I uh I cried almost every time I sat up a trade show booth because they're supposed to the pieces they're supposed to connect and they don't. Like, and I I know that sounds so silly, but it is. I and I've sliced my finger open on a pop-up banner. Like it, I don't so I agree holistically, your answer was correct and like the right approach, but I also need people to know how hard it is to set up those booths.

unknown 13:18

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Here's the thing I I love booth setup, it's like kind of my my whole thing, and I get to do it alone, and I put on very loud music, and I just like my booth is is my child at this point, don't tell my cat or my bunny. Um but yeah, so I I'm like, ah yes, booth setup and I are besties, but booth setup is extremely hard. Did I recently buy first aid kit that is going to travel with me and show? Yes, because I have cut myself probably every booth setup. Yeah, I've entered myself in some way, shape, or form basically every time.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 13:58

It's just not a simple task, and some of the things are very challenging to do as a one-person human. Um and yeah, like I nothing will bring you down 18 pegs as a smart human than trying to read the directions on a first-time booth. You got directions sometimes directions? Every time they do it, we never make it if they don't, they don't make sense. So I definitely feel like that. Like, I wish I I mean, I know that this is, but like buy your booth person a coffee when they're done. Like just check in with them, make sure they're I love that message because it's just not easy, like it seems simple, and if you've never been that person who has to set it up, you you are the one. So, like, yeah, uh other people who aren't in charge of booth are thinking about like, okay, I have to talk to this person, I have this meeting, like I have to make sure I have this ready to go. I like I have that like they have things to do too, but just be nice, ask them if they're okay when they're done, like, because it's uh it's find out if they need to go to the hospital or something, check it in, you know, make sure they have a band-aid if they need it. But I mean, so I guess that like I just remember how challenging that was. And um people like close to headquarters here at TMSA know that the only rule that I have that I ever like enforce, like um, like hierarchy is that I cannot set out the signs because I will cry. Like I will put like the normal pop-up banner, like I can do that. It does like make my heart palpitate because I have sliced my finger open, but I will do it. But like the big back end stuff that you put, I can't, it just it I can't, it it affects me.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

So kudos there are no boundaries in this.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 15:55

It is, and so part I was like, oh, let's have you on the show. Talk about getting ready for trade show season. So, this is just my

Hidden Challenges And Prework

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 16:02

PSA treat your booth people nicely, know how hard it is to do that, and maybe bring a coffee. That's all interview over. I'm kidding, we have so much more to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Bring your booth person a coffee, that's the only message you need to take away from this.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 16:20

This is the takeaway, but it's just it's just it's harder than if you've never set up a booth, it's a lot harder than you think it would be. And like you said, most of the pieces don't come with instructions, and so you're like, I really have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

It's just so wild that they don't come with instructions. Like every time I get a new booth, and like I've been blessed, the current booth that we have, we've had for like a year and a half now, so it hasn't really changed, which I'm like, okay, now I know it. Like, you get better at it as you do it more and more. But the first time I opened it, also it came in like 60 different boxes. I need you to understand this. So I had to open all the boxes first. I found no instructions in that entire time, and I was like, Well, we're just gonna freewheel this and see what happens. The first two times were bad, but then we made it to show season and we got there.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 17:16

I mean, sometimes that's what you have to do, um, but you know, we all do the best we can. Um, and so that is to me the hardest part about the at show. But like we said before, your post, your pre is so important. So as we're gearing up towards trade show season, we're getting ready for the big shows we you mentioned to manifest, um, which we'll be at and we'll talk about a little bit. But what are one to two things that you think every company, every professional that's heading into trade show season right now should be thinking about before they ever set foot on that floor?

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Uh first, I think why are you there? You know, like run it, but run it like all the way down. I don't, it's like if your goal is prospecting, that's awesome. How many conversations do you actually want to have to make this a successful show for you? Who do you want to have those conversations with? Like what companies, what attendees, how are you gonna reach out to them and let them know that you're gonna be there? Because if they don't know that you're there, why are they gonna care? So you should know why you're going. Second, and this is my favorite part, uh, what are you doing to be memorable? Because our attention spans are like this long. After the 15th booth conversation, they kind of all just like peer together. And you're like, I don't really remember what I talked to each of these humans about. And so, is there something that you can do to create a memorable moment? So for us, like oftentimes that means hosting private events after the show hours or like networking events during show hours. And while I'm a huge fan of the flashy, um, like hosting at the F1 arcade or on a yacht or something that's really like going to garner attention, any moment that like brings real connection makes that kind of memorable impression. And those memorable impressions create momentum that you can actually use to close business later down the road.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 19:37

I think that's really good advice, and especially that like think through it holistically, and also like we talked about before, like, think about the people that are gonna be there. So, like, if I'm going to a trade show for TMSA, I know that no other conference that I'm going to are people like, do you know what I want to know about? Sales and marketing. Like, That's not why people are going to other conferences. They're there to do a bunch of other things. So personally, like when I first started at TMSA, we did have an event that had a booth and I was like, never again. I am stuck and no one is coming to me because they don't care, which is fine. Like that's you know, like that is something that I learned. I have to be the one that's making the appointments, like making sure that I'm finding the sales and marketing people that could be interested, but also acknowledging that those people are there to do something else. And so, like most of my meetings are like the back half of the show when you're more like, okay, yes, we'll talk to you because people aren't coming to the booth anymore, you know. But just knowing that, like, but that is part of my strategy is like, okay, like who do I talk to? When do I talk to them? How do I find the right people? And normally getting some type of visibility where I can then talk about sales or marketing on a stage. And if I can hit those, typically that's when you will see me at a show because we do like to talk about sales and marketing. That is what we do here at TMSA. And so if I can spread that message or give

Be Nice To Your Booth People

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 21:06

that type of insight into a panel or a presentation, that is a really good way for me to approach it. Whereas at a booth, again, people are just walking by, they don't care because they're looking for you, like they're looking for your solution, like ITS's solutions or whatever. So I do think like shows can be good for all different types of companies, but you have to really figure out like who's gonna be there and how, why would they care about what I do? And how do I find them in a profile? So I think that's really important. Um, and of course, I agree if you can stand out, have some type of networking. So the other thing that I like to do for TMSA when we're at events is do some type of networking for sales and marketing people so everyone has a moment to get together. So manifest has been my favorite because we partner with you guys at the ITS Logistics Booth, which I love. We, you know, just full crash your booth and invite all TMSA members and community members and people interested. So we'll be doing that at Manifest this year on Tuesday at 10 a.m., which is right when the expo opens. Um and we don't do it super flashy, we do it right when the expo opens. We do always have fun swag to give away. I'm so excited. Like you said, I love to put the little pieces. I'm not gonna tell them what it is, but you know what it is. Um, but like the little thing, like how you can be memorable. And I love, I feel like I really sit into this one and think about how to make it fun and different and engaging. And so I do think that that's really important and to remember that even those informal relationship-driven networking can matter so much, especially at the big, big, big events where you feel lost at sea, which I have explained to people though. Like, I have some people coming to manifest for the first time, like, you will still see the people that you want to see. Like, I still see everyone somehow, and I don't know how, but you still see them in the hallway, even though it's it's trade show magic.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

I don't really know.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 23:09

So um, why do you let us crash your booth and um you know be part of that type of engagement? Well, I know I say please.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

First of all, I love you guys, so obviously you should come crash my booth and by you guys, I mean Jen. Um TMSA as a collective whole. I love TMSA. TMSA has made me a bunch of my friends. Thank you, TMSA, for all of my little industry friends. I appreciate it. Um I think I mean, just for the reason that you said, like informal networking, like well, informal, but like more casual networking vibes. So important, especially in like giant settings, because you can get really lost. And also when you get really lost, it's easy to just be like to internalize and be like, I don't, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Like, am I what especially if you're newer to the trade show circuit

Pre-Show Goals And Being Memorable

SPEAKER_01 24:12

or newer to the show, even and you're like, I don't, I don't know these humans, or like that, I don't think I know these humans. Things like this can give you just like an easy way to connect with people on a on a on a people level, on a human level. Not that that makes much more sense, um, but like it gives you an opportunity to be like, hey, you like let's just chat and like connect with each other. And going back to like connection matters because it creates momentum, regardless of the momentum that you're looking for. Because we don't do business with robots, we do business with other human beings, and the more we know about them, the more we trust them, the more we're willing to actually like engage with them, and that's what these kinds of things give us like the ability to do. Um, also, very selfishly through the TMSA networking hang, you bring me a lot of booth traffic right when we open it, manifest. And I personally love that.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 25:20

Yes. So we do that on purpose to help you guys, but also just because, like you said, this can be very overwhelming. It is a big event. If it's your first time at the event or you're for like you're newer to the industry, this is like kind of when everything kicks off. And so that's why we've done this for one, two, three, four, four. This is our fourth year. It is our fourth year, yeah. And so it gives people in our community a touch point with other humans that they know or have some type of similar interest with or whatever, that's like right as things are kicking off on Tuesday morning, so that they can kind of get a footing in. And so that's why it works well for all of us. We love seeing all of our TMSA people, and then we we scatter off. We used to do coffee, but we've changed it up a little bit, and I know that you miss it because I would I would always bring special like coffee flavoring, and then I would leave them for Ash for the rest of the show. I should just bring you some anyway. But we do have really cool. Oh, yeah. People like smoothies. We have smoothies, we have really fun. I'm very excited about the TMSA swag I'm bringing this year too. And so excited for people to come and see that. Um, you mentioned too, like you are part of the TMSA community, and not just because I crashed your manifest booth, but you've been part of the recognition committee. So you've actually actually helped execute our award program. So, what does that work mean to you and why do you think recognition is such an important part of our industry?

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Yeah, I I love being on the recognition committee for several reasons. One of which is all of the humans are so fantastic. Um, the other of which is because, like at the end of the day, all of the work, a lot of the marketing and sales work of this world is fairly invisible. Like you can see the results, but the actual execution of the work, it's it happens so quietly, so like behind the scenes. So just this is the engine that's running to keep us on track. And taking a moment for recognition, like through the TMSA recognition committee, for example, like gives us an opportunity to be like, hey, you killed that! Like, congratulations. And especially like in our industry, what is so cool about TMSA is like there's so many competitors in the same room that are just like, hey, look at what we did. And we're like, dude, yes, that's sick, and that's like what the awards program gets to build on, too. It's like, hey, I see you, all the hard work that you put into this,

TMSA x ITS Manifest Meetup

SPEAKER_01 28:08

and you're doing incredible, and we want to take a moment for that, especially like in an industry that's just moving so fast and adapting so constantly, it matters more than I think we even realize.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 28:25

I agree. And one of the things when we really sat and rebranded the award program a couple of years ago was thinking through what should those awards be. So we have the Trailblazers, and those are the best of the best in sales and marketing initiatives, but we also have rising stars, which is for people who've been in the industry five years or less. And that makes it a little bit different than other like rising star awards, because normally that's like 39 or under or whatever. But I'm like, no, people reinvent themselves all of the time. It doesn't matter how old you are. Having a foothold in this industry that so many people do know each other. And once you get in it, you don't really leave. Being able to put your place, your mark on something in five years or less, no matter your age, I think is really impressive. And so that was something that was really important to us. And then, of course, we have the Purpose Awards who um is for community-based or sustainability-based programs, and all of those are open for submissions now through March 6th. We are in the middle of our award season right now, and so it is really, really exciting to be talking about it. If somebody was on the fence about submitting a nomination, whether that's, you know, for a rising star award or for purpose or for um trailblazers, what would you tell them about why they should submit for it?

SPEAKER_01 29:45

I mean, first of all, I would just tell them to do it, like, but I would do it like pretty aggressively. Like if you could imagine me just like standing right next to them with my lips right next to their ear, going, do it, do it. That would that would be how I would do it. But really, just like hype yourself up, share your story. You're doing work that you're proud of. Other people want to celebrate it and recognize you for it. It's not, it's not that it's not the it's not like a giant scary awards program. It's like such a wonderful group of people that really just want to say, like, I'm so proud of the work that we're doing in our industry. Like, that's what we're all there for, is like our industry, we do some incredible work for marketing and sales in it. Like, come celebrate the work we're all doing with us. So submit it because why not?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 30:46

You might win. Absolutely. And we will include in the notes the link to the manifest networking event and both the and the award submissions if you are interested in attending and or submitting. But I agree, I think you're never gonna know um if you can win unless if you do. And so we want to recognize great work and celebrate it. And we love seeing like new people, new submissions, new ideas. And so really excited about it. So from everything that you've seen over the years, I feel like we've touched a lot about like trade show success and like making, like you said, we don't buy from robots, even though we kind of may be a little bit, but we're trying not to. Like, we want to, you know, you shouldn't make it seem like people are buying from robots if they are. But from everything that we've seen over the year, kind of what separates people who really get that maximum value, that ROI from trade shows versus people who walk away and they're like, Well, why did we do that? Like, is I feel like there's such a disconnect there, and because we do have to prove that ROI, people really get it or they don't. And I feel like some of the people that don't, they're just missing a step or two that they could be doing. So, what do you think kind of they could do to maximize that success?

SPEAKER_01 32:09

Not to be the dead horse of me, but being prepared, having a plan. No matter what your goal is for the trade show, just showing up is like how we kill ROI. Like, we need to go with the intention of what we want to get out of it, and in doing that, we need a plan for how we're going to get that intended goal out of it. So for us, like obviously lead generation is a huge part of our events, but I don't care about the quantity of leads, I care about the quality of leads. Sure. Because I want them to be people that we can have conversations with when we return. So it's do they fit, like who fits inside of our ICP? Am I targeting them? Does my booth

Recognition Matters And Awards

SPEAKER_01 33:02

target them and like make a make them want to come by? Like, what can we do to like effectively go? Hi, ICP, we are here because we we want to chat with you. Um, so having that in my mind the whole time helps get clear on all of the next steps and also like through to the ROI. So, like being able to plan out why you're going, what you're doing, what what shenanigans are afoot, that it separates you from not getting ROI because you know you're trying. You're you you have an idea and a plan, you have a goal. And it's when you don't, when you're just going to go to a trade show, which to be clear, I love that as a goal. If you have a goal of just going to the trade show and that's your goal, love that for you.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 34:04

Yeah, success. You just show up your but you probably aren't going to be able to keep going if that's all you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

You probably won't get much ROI, which is fine. You know, if you're a one and done, like go after it. Unfortunately, we need ROI to continue. So having a plan to realize it is how we actually turn into that success.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 34:30

I agree, you know, that prep work is so important. Um, I know too. And then um looking at each show once you've been to them and understanding that while everything is in the industry, they all work a little bit differently. There are some shows that you're like, nope, I need to schedule meetings all throughout the day because there's really like they focus a little bit more on education. So if I don't have those meetings set, it's harder to find people to chat up in the hallway. Whereas some shows you're like, okay, I know I need to be in this part of the show on Monday afternoon because that's where all the people are. I don't gotta set meetings, I'm gonna just see everybody, you know. Like you get those vibes and you get those plans. And then I know that you can get better at sales and you can equip yourself to be better at some types of engagements, and absolutely that's training that you should go to if you're gonna be one of the people that are either at a booth or like talking to people at booths or whatever. With that said, I know personally I am terrible at approaching a booth and striking up a conversation. I know I can't I can do it and I will get better at it. I don't like it. And so for me, the more meetings I can have ahead of time makes me feel better. In part because, like I said, when I'm going to a show, I know most people aren't going to talk to me. And so I don't like to feel disruptive to their lives. But if they're accepting a meeting with me, it's means that they want to talk to me. Whereas, like, I've also been a booth person where random people are trying to talk to me about something that has nothing to do with what I'm doing, and I'm not then getting my ROI. So I just I get in my head about it. So I that's my approach. I try to schedule meetings ahead of time. That that's all prep work, though. So if I do just show up, like, and it's not like I haven't gone to too many shows back to back, and so you go to one that you're like, oh yeah, I'm not prepared for. I have to figure out how to make this work on the fly. But like I try to do that as little as possible because you know, have that prep work and then also give yourself time at the end after show to do proper follow-up. Um, and I know for myself, I'm always surprised at the length of time that it can take for some of those conversations to come to fruition. So make sure that when we say post, we're not just saying LinkedIn request them the next day or send them one email the week after that you're not done. And I don't know if that like you really think out that strategy. How many times, how many touch points am I planning to do after conference? What does that look like after you go to the show a year or two years? What is that like lead cycle for that particular show? And then make that plan, like, yeah, this all takes a lot of extra work, but that ROI will come in, and you know, just realizing that that looks a little bit different, um, what the market looks like is going to make those things look a little bit different. We're trying to stay top of mind, all of that stuff is really important. And I feel like sometimes when we say, Oh, don't forget to do your post, people think that that's what it is, like a post one post, and it's not, it's continued engagement.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

I feel that because the the like the follow-up lead cycle, we can't just hit them once because that's also not how like any marketing or sales activities have ever worked.

SPEAKER_02 38:06

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

We have to continue to stay in front of them and like do

Turning Shows Into ROI

SPEAKER_01 38:10

it, do it with conversational callbacks to like what we talked to at the show or like what they actually cared about. And I agree with you, the lead cycle is like so much longer for shows than most people anticipate it will be. Like that it can be up to months or years, depending on what you're selling, or like what you know, and so it's not just like, oh, thank you so much for stopping by, let me know when you have business that I can do for you.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 38:42

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

That would be that would be so good, but that's not how that works.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 38:48

So yeah, exactly. And then if I was giving like one piece of advice, which we kind of touched on it, but I just want to be like clear on like when you whether you are a booth person and you're giving the same pitch over and over and over and over, or you're having meetings and you're doing the same pitch about your company over and over, it gets very blurry. And so my advice is so especially at Manifest the show, we're going to, you can schedule 15-minute meetings and I schedule them all day, every day. Write your note about the person immediately after, because it will blur all together. And you will be like, I did the same pitch, and it was lovely. I loved everybody I talked to. They were great conversations, but they will blur together just naturally. If you have eight meetings in a day, you're not gonna remember every single thing about every single person that you met. So the time frame in which you you like write those notes about that person, the the follow-up that you plan to do, something distinguishing because guess what? They're not gonna remember everything about you either, but they will then appreciate that you're calling back to something they should have remembered. And so that will, you know, do that camaraderie. But I know I've that's a mistake I've made too. It's been like remembering. You're gonna be great. And then even at the end of the day, like going back to my hotel and be like, okay, let me take my note. Like, nope.

SPEAKER_02 40:06

What is this?

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 40:08

Like, I remember I talked to them, but I don't remember anything distinguishable that's going to set me apart from somebody when I follow up with them or when I LinkedIn request them or when I send them an email. And so I just think those things are really important. They seem so silly to take that extra 30 seconds when you're going from one person to the next, but it's so important because it all just blurs together when you're like speeding through life at those shows.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Seriously. I totally agree with that.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 40:39

So, well, I appreciate you giving us such great advice and your thoughts around events as we head into event season and for all your work that you do for TMSA. We would be nothing without our volunteers and our committee members and our board members. So we're always so thankful. Last question ask everyone who comes on the show if you could go back in time and advise your younger self something, whether that's personally or professionally, when would you go back to and what would you say?

SPEAKER_01 41:12

I would go back to my early 20s. For those of you that are like, go back to your early 20s. I'm not as young as I look. Thank you very much. Ah look, I get in this fight a lot, so I'm just preempting it. I'd go back to my early 20s and I would tell myself to do it alone. Um, to stop waiting for people to live life for me, stop waiting for permission, stop waiting for like a group, a crew, and just start doing things that I want to do and have the life that I want to live and assume that the people will come with it.

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 41:57

I love that advice. I do think that early 20s is a pretty common clearly, we all make a lot of mistakes in that time bracket because it is one that a lot of people go back to. And I do, I think that like trusting yourself and what you want and going after it is like a pretty common theme because you know, we self-doubt ourselves through all of life, but that age bracket, like especially when you're coming out of like when other people made your choices for you, you're allowed to make them yourself, and you're like, excuse me, no. I don't want to be an adult. Um, but I agree, I like it, you know. And I I do think that's really great advice too, because if you do go after the things that you want, if you start doing that on your own, it's not even that people will follow you or like the people you thought would, but you find the people that are already there or are on, you know, you find yeah, you find your humans a little sooner. So I think it's great advice. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. Um, I have missed these shows. I'm so glad to be back. Um, I mean, I take the breaks over the holidays because things are insane, so it's very hard, and I'm like, everyone else is insane, no one's gonna listen, but um glad to be back. Welcome to 2026, and I'll catch you guys next time. Thank you.

Follow-Up Cadence And Note-Taking

Jennifer Karpus-Romain 43:20

Thank you.