I was very fortunate to attend the convention with Tim.

Besides being a contributor to the blog, my role at the convention was to assist Tim by helping with sales, taking photos, keeping up with paperwork and brainstorming with him.  I’m also the feisty mother you may have read about in a previous comment by Gary of Temporary Memorials.

 I’ve attended many other types of conventions over the years and participated in several as well.  Nothing prepared me for this one.  With a background in estate planning and firm administration for a law firm plus dealing with several deaths in my own family, I am well acquainted with the consumer side of the funeral industry. 

I understand the need for the goods and services that were represented at the convention. Although I know a bit about the industry, I had no idea how much money was put into selling to funeral professionals.  Some of the displays cost many thousands of dollars. Our booth was modest yet very effective.

That was completely due to the effort Tim put into his desired outcome well before the convention utilizing his blog and how he has structured, marketed and grown his business.  He has a natural ability to interact with folks that generates interest in what he has to say and people really do want to listen.  He knows what he’s talking about and has a great product.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, we shopped for supplies to prepare our booth.  We only shipped and packed actual product and brought few things in our luggage to build the booth.  Frugal and handy, Tim was able to put together what we needed on a shoestring budget, plus get extra supplies “just in case” for the neighboring booths, which came in quite handy for those exhibitors.

Once we were set up on Sunday, Tim had time to visit with the other exhibitors and get to know about their businesses.  He explained his quilted cot covers and encouraged them to read the blog.  He told them about the Final Embrace Forum scheduled for Monday night at the Hilton.  There were already 25 RSVP’s and he expected to speak about 30 minutes.

Monday we arrived early to put the finishing touches on our booth and Tim visited with more exhibitors.  Once the attendees started coming through, we were ready and raring to go.  The day was a very good one and we headed over to the Hilton to begin the Final Embrace Forum, scheduled to begin at 6 pm.

Almost 30 guests attended the Forum to hear Tim’s ideas on co-operative marketing, referral marketing and shared tools marketing.  We discussed press releases, newsletters, helping one another by offering skills each are strong in and getting help with the things each are weak in, and doing cooperative advertising (among others).  It was a hit with all attendees and some were quite surprised at what a great speaker and just how knowledgeable Tim truly is, not only in the industry but business as well. 

Tuesday and Wednesday brought more sales and more visiting with and by exhibitors. Tim did video interviews with several exhibitors, which you’ll see on the blog in the days to come.  He also gave advice to many exhibitors. 

Those that took his words to heart typically saw positive results almost immediately.  At least one chose to stick with what they were doing and from what I could see during the conference, the only thing being achieved was a whole lot of brochures being handed out.  With over 400 vendors on the floor, something has to make your product stand out. 

A simple brochure does not do it, nor does a key location.  If you don’t get the attendee’s attention, you’ve wasted your money on the booth, the travel, the brochures, your time, etc.  Why bother if you’re not willing to do what it takes to make it successful?

I really enjoyed meeting the funeral directors and their families, as well as the exhibitors.  I found that I could sell Tim’s cot covers pretty well and that when a funeral director said he or she would be back later or at a certain time, they were. 

I saw some very interesting products and many duplicated services.  The booth directly across from us had paper caskets and they were pushing the environmental benefits as well as the lower cost.  The booth beside them gave out ice cream to everyone that stopped for information and they were wildly popular until they had to give up the ice cream cart to another booth as part of a shared agreement.  Many vendors gave out the traditional candy and trinkets and some even had models handing out their materials.

Tim went around early on Wednesday, the last day of the exhibit, to get a few of the goodies for the Convention Amnesia Contest.  He was also able to meet other exhibitors and funeral directors during this trek as well. 

Many of the smaller booths were getting packed up well in advance of the 1:00 p.m. closing.  I was amazed that one of our neighbors packed up completely yet stayed in their booth and ignored everyone that passed their way.  They read, chatted or did anything else except pay attention to the funeral directors that were obviously interested in their product.  And their product started at a wholesale price of $1,800.00!

We stayed fully assembled until well after the close.  Tim was still talking to other exhibitors and we still had a sale to make after close.  I began packing up only the “behind the scenes” stuff.  When Tim was ready, we broke everything down and packed for shipping, toting, tossing and giving away.  We made two quick trips to the car and away we went, talking about what a great success the convention was, what great connections Tim made (not only did he get lots of new customers, he set up several new distributor relationships) and how everything he set out in his business plan continues to progress.

 Would I go again?  Absolutely!  Tim is already planning his booth for the 2008 convention and I hope he invites me to participate once more as part of his team!

Robin Richter is a Human Resources Expert, an avid motorcycle enthusiast and, as the owner of several Boston Terriers, is a “rabid” fan of the breed.

As a Creative Memories Consultant, she helps preserve memories through scrapbooking.  Visit her Creative Memories website to see how this “Queen of the Scrappers” can help you.