ITMA 2005

Today is my first day at the International Exhibition of Textiles and Machinery (ITMA) at the Singapore Expo. This is also my first time attending a commercial exhibition. Of course I am not attending as a businessman, but as an exhibitor to help promote my agent company's products.

Agents from other parts of Asia like Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia were also present at the show. Unlike them, I had no experience in doing such sales as I was trained mainly on servicing and technical support. Hence I was really lost at such events. I did not know how to approach potential customers, or give a demonstration on the products. Not that I know nothing about the products, but giving a detailed and informative presentation is what I am weak at. My first presentation was a flop, and the customer walked away disinterested. How I hate it when someone just throw the customer to you, and expect you to take control of everything as if you are already very well-versed with it!

Sales aside, I found some time to go walk around the exhibition hall during my meal and toilet breaks. It was indeed an eye-opener for me. This is the first time I've ever seen an automated embroidering machine and also how machine used to produce braided ropes. So perhaps I didn't manage to show any positive results in sales, but this exposure did increase my knowledge and awareness of the textile industry. It may not be directly related to my scope of work, but at least I'd be able to link with my customers in future.

The exhibition closed at 6pm, and I was already dead beat. It was tiring having to stand from 10am till 6pm, with occasional short breaks when there wasn't any people patronising our booth. But this is only the first day, and there're 3 more days to go! I hope I do not have to end up in clutches or wheelchair by the end of the last day!