Sunday 21 May 2017

Recent Chinese Trade Show

At most western trade shows, you can arrange meetings in advance.
At a recent Chinese trade show that I went to (one of the largest trade, outsourcing & investment event for IP - tv/film, animation, games, comics, toys etc) if you are new, you have to work way harder. It's like you are a fan hunting for the autograph of the superstar. (Get the scan of his WeChat account so that you can get in touch with the top executive from the biggest companies. They hardly read their emails)
The best part of the game is you do not know who is the superstar. So you need to do your research. Try to find out which talk your superstar is attending. It could be a press conference of a series they have invested in etc. Or pay attention to the host at the event. Normally the VIP sit in front. They are part of the evaluation panelist for project being pitched. The host will announced who the VIP are. Once the event is over, you need to go straight to him asap as many will do the same. Or during networking, walk around, trying to hijack into others conversation.


At the one to one business matching, I was told that Chinese companies do not like to have a schedule of appointments every 30mins like what we used to do in Western market. So it is really like a market place. You walk from table to table to look for the buyer. (They will put a badge on the table) You do not know which company (buyer) is there at the table before hand. And the buyer is different in the morning and afternoon. So you need to walk around. When you see a good buyer, you need to circle around the table like a vulture. Once you see a vacancy, put your yourself on the seat immediately ha ha. Else someone else would.

If you are shy, you might end up going home empty handed. I felt uneasy at first. But there is no choice. In order to survive, one must seize every opportunity. Once you get the attention and interest, do your best as this is the only chance to impress them.
Coming to China is really a good training for survival.

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