As always, the new year began with the organization of our presence at Europe’s largest e-learning trade fair, Learntec. Although I did not yet have much experience in this, it quickly became clear to me how extensive the preparations would be and, above all, how exciting the stay at this gathering of our industry’s Who’s Who would be. Even beforehand, I had the dubious pleasure of making contact with people from neighboring stands, as it seemed important to clarify well in advance who held the upper hand in this context.
And before we knew it, the madness began. Live and in full color. With full volume and many cookies.
GOODNESS, ARE THEY ALL SO BEAUTIFUL… AND SO TIRED
Monday morning – 7:12 AM. Preparation day.
Punctually, I drive along the A8 – or rather, I “stand” on the A8 towards Karlsruhe. After my shirt got soaked in over 30-degree June heat, I arrive: Hall 1 – Rear entrance. I park my car in a sunny spot and successfully forget the giveaway chocolate bars in the trunk. Within the next 90 minutes, I set up our almost finished exhibition stand and await my colleagues, who are still on their way from Biel to Karlsruhe. `What a great sense of optimism! And what a beautiful stand this is!`, I think proudly, as I literally pull a “big whole” of chocolate out of the trunk of the car…
Tuesday – 8:02 AM. First day of the fair.
Our TEAM is ready, and we’re all competing to smell good. Everyone is dressed to the nines and champing at the bit. I stand with a bowl full of cookies (the chocolate situation is resolved…) at the edge of our stand. It’s loud. People are bustling and talking everywhere, the last flyers are being unpacked, and questionable team-building motivational shouts echo through the hall from some other stand. The noise doesn’t stop me from exchanging a suspicious glance or two with the good-smelling employees of our competition at the opposite stand. I call him Olaf, the handsome twenty-something, who acknowledges my gaze with a winning smile while adjusting his pocket square.
I eat a cookie.
Tuesday – 11:34 AM
No offense to Scandinavians, but – holy cow, this is exhausting. Yes, it’s my debut as a trade fair organizer and a jack-of-all-trades. Yet, I’m not even the one who has to approach or convince the many visitors here. I’m simply the person in the background, the quietly delivered coffee, the discreet disposal of empty cookie wrappers. But we all work well together, very well indeed! Our stand is consistently well-attended and full of various people, company representatives, HR managers, and… a child. Huh? What? Why is the little one here alone?
“Can you tell me where my mom is?” Oh my goodness – that was certainly not part of my plan. Courageously, I take the little one by the hand, provide him with water and a cookie. Off to the technical office, because there should be people there who know what to do. After a half-hour conversation on site, dozens of questions about the child, all of which I successfully cannot answer with a “I am not the father.”, I eat a cookie. The fair organizers assure me that they will take care of the little tyke. Reassured, I make my way back. It occurs to me that I should also visit the local restrooms while I’m at it.
“Aren’t you THE ONES with the pink stand?”, a voice booms from the urinal next to me. “You’re probably glad you don’t have to wear work clothes too, huh?” Muaaa-aa-a. Funny. “You mean SWISSTEACH AG from stand C40 with the striking stand, the extremely competent staff, and the very high visitor traffic? Yes, exactly – that’s us. If you need any tips, feel free to stop by!”, I reply, leaving him to linger in awkward silence. He, whom I know belongs to a competitor’s team, leaves the restroom slightly irritated and with two backward glances.
Tuesday – 5:30 PM
The first day of the fair was a complete success. We gave it our all. In the afternoon, I also found myself in the pleasant situation of attracting various passersby to our stand to direct them straight to our experts. Of course, not without first offering them a coffee and – ta-daaa – a chocolate. (Yes, I went shopping.) In the end, like my colleagues, I was quite exhausted and talked out, but this trade fair madness was still a lot of fun. We are looking forward to the next day.
Wednesday – 8:13 AM. Second day of the fair.
It’s still a bit early, but SWISSTEACH is once again spruced up and ready with a united team. Let’s go – a new round, a new wild ride.
My gaze falls again to Olaf on the other side. Well, well? What’s going on there? While he’s still letting one espresso slide down his throat, another is already being poured into the next cup, destined for the same fate. When he turns around, today IT IS I who smiles winningly and adjusts my pocket square. I briefly realize that I don’t even own one, but still smiling, I run my hand tidily over my jacket. The very red eyes that look at me sufferingly suggest a somewhat wild night. And the rest of the team doesn’t look any better. `So, my dear friends!`, it crosses my mind. `WE are SWISSTEACH. WE are the experts in E-LEARNING FOR COMPANIES. WE are well-rested. And that makes US extremely dangerous for you today!` Everyone is in competition mode, and somehow it’s really fun to battle each other here.
Although I’m slowly getting really fed up with them, I pop a cookie into my mouth and try to whistle cheerfully. Of course, it doesn’t work. Pff.
Wednesday – 3:03 PM
Yes, it’s still loud. And yes, observing the crowds today is no less exhausting than yesterday. But honestly: this is simply an extraordinary situation. And it’s still a lot of fun! Many people have visited our stand, and even though I only catch most conversations in passing, I notice how satisfied and eager most are at the end for further discussions with my colleagues in the coming weeks. With us, you don’t just get off-the-shelf solutions for DIGITAL EMPLOYEE TRAINING that are simply imposed. Olaf has realized that by now too. He secretly glances over, resigned.
Thursday – 11:45 AM. Third and final day of the fair.
The final day of LEARNTEC is slowly moving into its second half, dedicated to packing up. Olaf already started packing up the first displays and equipment at 10:00 AM. Is he not in the mood, or what? He doesn’t seem any fitter today either.
With us, however, the unquestioned principle is to be available until the last minute with everything needed. Brochures, videos, DEMO platforms, drinks, chocolate, brains – everything is ready. And as today shows, this usually pays off.
An unassuming woman strolls past our stand. She is a visitor, which I can tell by the pass around her neck. “May I offer you one of our postcards and a chocolate?” I walk amiably towards the pleasant person and notice that she approaches me with a smile. “That’s nice – not exactly extravagant, but nice!” Well, okay – chocolate and a card aren’t necessarily THE unique selling point at a trade fair. But I’ve also learned quick wit over the last two days. “If we had a poorer product and less experience, better giveaways would have to smooth things over. As you can see, that’s not necessary. And it’s best to convince yourself!”, I reply, as I point the way to our product manager with my outstretched arm. She laughs and enters our stand. As it turns out later that day, the nice lady was indeed a representative of one of the largest German automotive supplier companies. She was looking for a new LMS for a total of 13,000 employees. She was exactly right with us! “I like to come to LEARNTEC quite late. Firstly, it’s not as crowded then, and you quickly see who’s wheat and who’s chaff.” We understood that sentence more than well.
Thursday – 5:15 PM
While the last items from our stand are being distributed among the available cars, I evaluate the current status of all contacts collected over the past three days. It was good – very good indeed! Many great, interesting conversations took place, and the feedback on our stand and the commitment of each individual was tremendous. A complete success, I would say!
Slightly sweating, I carry the last chocolate and cookie remnants into my colleague’s black station wagon. A foul smell of gasoline rises to my nose, and we spot a large puddle under the vehicle. “Seriously?”, a voice calls from the driver’s side. “Yep – I believe that’s indisputable!”, I sigh to him. While we wait for the ADAC with two remaining bottles of water in the June sun in front of Hall 1 of the Karlsruhe Trade Fair at 32 degrees Celsius, we have to admit, despite our botched after-work plans: It could always be worse.
We apply sunscreen and eat the last two cookies.
DON’T MISS THIS.
Would you like to experience this madness firsthand, or receive expert advice from our specialists? (Chocolate and postcards are included for free. And cookies, of course.)
We would be happy to send you tickets. Simply send a short email to sales@swissteach.ch.
Meet us at Stand C40 in Hall 1, and it’s guaranteed to be exciting!