Looking For Suggestions On Industry Trade Shows.

I go to both ISC West and ASIS (now GSX) nearly every year. I think that ISC West is probably the better show from the integrator's perspective.

We are looking for any recommendations on the best trade shows to attend or present new gear at.

Don’t tell me, it’s one of those multi-spectral, multi-focal, multi-imager units in a dodecahedral semi-geodesic dome with built-in bird nest deterrence spikes?  ;)

• March (6-8) NJESA Annual Symposium ​
• April (10-12) – ISC West, Vegas ​
• May (4-6) IAPSC Annual Conference, Miami ​
• June (4) - ESX Expo, Indianapolis​
• June (12) - NEACC Expo, Worcester, MA​
• September (8-12) - GSX, Chicago​
• November(20-21) - ISC East, New York​

Hi Nathan - I agree with Michael Silva however, I think there should be questions behind your question. For example:

 - What is your distribution model (through dealers/Integrators or direct to the end user)?

 - What types of end users do you service?  Commercial, Government, Resi, etc?

 - How do you currently market?

 - Startup? Or well established?

Once again, ISC West generally speaking is the answer to your question however our experience is that there isn't a magic bullet. 

Remember, methodical and steady marketing wins the race!

Hope this helps. Cheers!

It's hard to answer your question without knowing a bit more about your product, your distribution model, and your target audience. 

I agree with Michael Silva that you should probably do ISC West. It's the premier show for a reason. That said, the show is so big that it can be hard to attract attention. 

As for other shows, it really depends on what you're selling, how you're selling it, and who you think is going to want to buy it. 

And don't limit yourself to just security industry shows. If your solution is specialized enough, and your marketing staff skilled enough, you might get more traction at an end user oriented show, especially one that not a lot of other security technology companies are displaying at. For example, a guard services company would just be one of many at a security industry trade show, but they would stand out if they attended a property manager show or a school administrator or a retail show. But the people in your booth better be real skilled at delivering a half-shouted elevator pitch to people who weren't planning on thinking about security and are only approaching your booth out of idle curiosity. 

If you're going to go that route, make sure your swag is both cheap and fun, so you can give a lot of it away and lots of people seek out your booth because they see other people have it, and make sure your lead gathering effort is slick and efficient, so you get as many phone numbers as you can. 

Hope this helps!

congrats Nathan on your WSJ coverage...