ry using a "wide-angle lens" when approaching this trade show season. Open up your way of thinking about meeting, marketing, and selling. You will be happily surprised at results which may exceed your show expectations!

I met a delightful woman who shared with me her open-minded approach to a simple business task. Her employer did not want staff wasting paper; however, as a brand-new employee, she felt more comfortable having her own "scratch sheet" of a document she could write on. Without disregarding her employer's request and policy, she made a copy for herself on the back of some scrap paper that would have gone in the garbage. I found her inventive approach very refreshing!

How many times have you found yourself saying, "I never would have thought of that," OR "I wish I'd thought of that" (as someone else wins millions of dollars!). We are taught to think in straight lines when the world is full of curving, meandering side roads. As children, we get gold stars for "coloring inside the lines." Yet the world's great inventions, discoveries, and cures have come from someone courageous enough to think "with a wide-angle lens." Don't exclude any possibility. See the larger picture.

Another simple marketing example is an "envelope" I received, which opened itself up into "the letter" - a one-piece document. This approach surprises the reader, saves on paper, and makes a lighter-weight mailing piece. It is environmentally more friendly. This is another simple example of seeing your opportunities in new ways.

As you approach this busy trade show season, HEAR what the doorman or the cab driver may have to say. They may hold the secret to your next great idea, or they may know a key piece of information you need. Notice what inspires you - it may be a competitor's brochure handout. Would you typically disregard that? Perhaps they are doing something well that inspires you to do something better. Jot down or tape any stray great ideas you get on the plane, while everyone else is sleeping.

If you never go to the trade show luncheons, try attending one time. If you ALWAYS go, consider taking someone out to a lunch elsewhere. Change the rules. Expand the boundaries. Re-route your thinking ruts. This is the stuff of great business.

When you find yourself standing in endless lines waiting to GET SOMEWHERE, decide on the spot that you already ARE THERE. That this line contains your next most important business contact, that once-in-a-lifetime associate that will change your life. This backed-up line of impatient people is your only chance to ever meet this person.

Do you find yourself with aching feet after every trade show? Take the time to get the best-fitting, most comfortable pair of shoes you can find, and take the discomfort out of working a trade show. Start realizing that the sore feet, dry eyes, and headaches of pushing yourself through the show aren't worth it. Put yourself first. You'll find yourself looking forward to this season's great events. Sometimes the little things get in the way of the big things.

When you find yourself coming up with a way another exhibitor could get the most out of their display, or you see an additional electrical outlet they can use, share information. See the trade show environment as a huge WIN-WIN situation, not a war or a competition. Your conviction it IS definitely colors your thinking and the results.

Remember to open up the lens of your thinking as you decide your goals for this year's trade shows. The way it's always been is no measure of your success for the year 2,000 and beyond. You may think it sounds TOO EASY or too coincidental, but the world's most successful people in all walks of life already know this. And practice it.

Let me know how your application of the wide-angle lens approach improved your trade show experience.