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By Sandra Lee Schubert | June 5, 2009
My first excursion to BEA was exhausting, exciting and enlightening. If you love books, and I do, then being in a space with thousands of books, publishers, authors is having a serious case of sugar overload.
Saturday, I was better rested, and prepared. I ate a big breakfast, brought my own cheaper lunch and kept my breath mints handy. My goal was to pick up books, engage some publishers, and meet some authors I would like to interview.
Most people heard of elevator pitches The idea is you have to tell somebody, who you are, what you do, and why they would be interested in you or your product as you ride in the elevator with them. You have anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute (at most) to engage the person. The fun thing at the BEA expo was to create my pitch on the go. I modified it as I visited the hundreds of exhibits. By the end of the day I saw someone I wanted to meet and I was able to go right up to them and in 10 seconds they had my business card and a handshake agreement to be a guest on my show.
The thing about expo’s or conventions is that nothing you want to see next is on the same floor. Kim’s book signing was in the back and lower level and I had to meet someone upstairs on the other end of the Javits Center. I think I made 10,000 steps that day. I had ten minutes with my friend and one minute to take a photo with David Mathison of Be The Media (more about him tomorrow) and then I had to run all the way to the opposite side of the convention center on the lower level.
I heard lots of Twitter conversations. Sterling Books,
http://twitter.com/SterlingBooks, is a good example of a brand using Twitter to build relationship, mixing casual conversation with value. I heard multiple conversations around convention about Gary Vaynerchuk’s talk at two on Saturday.
When I ran down to hear Gary Vaynerchuk I had learned from my missed connection with Chris Brogan. Gary was up in front chatting with someone and I went right up to Gary said hello, give out my card and ask him to be a guest on my show. The fun moment came when Gary said he saw my tweet that morning and liked my logo. The one problem with social media Twitter and other platforms is that occasional feel of disconnection. You don’t always know if you are being heard. Sometimes you say hello and hear nothing back. There is a satisfaction knowing someone has heard you in a crowded landscape.
Like Chris Brogan, Gary is a down to earth approachable guy. Again he seems truly interested in meeting people. I am posting the video of Gary’s talk here > Gary’s talk . You will get more from hearing him then my synopsis of his talk.
There was some pleasure in learning from my mistake and saying hello to Gary. Even if he had not seen my Tweet about the BEA, I had made some kind of connection. This non-drinker can relate to Gary’s message of following your passion. I would
love 10% of his energy and enthusiasm. Gary’s book can preordered here
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
.
Part of this elevator pitch thing is being authentic. You may only have seconds to say something you don’t have to be cold, it can be warm and friendly. I had quite a few nice conversations after my pitch with authors and publishers.
Tomorrow: Be the Media and meeting someone through Twitter.
. My learn list included mobile marketing. The book fell into my hands like a gift from above. OK, I was happy.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:01 am
Sandra Lee!
OMG! Some people get to have all the fun! Oh I wish I could have been there. I am looking forward to future events.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of your posts on the BEA and I need to catch up on your show.
You, my friend are a shining star! Brilliant!