At a trade fair, it is normal to approach strangers, exchange business cards, ask questions and go out to dinner together in the evening. What would stand out in the office is part of the business here. For someone who wants to gather information or initiate contacts, this is ideal.
Austria's Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) points out that employees are approached through seemingly chance conversations and business encounters. Trade fairs and conferences offer both in great number.
How it typically unfolds
- An unusually well-prepared visitor asks questions at the stand that go beyond the product: suppliers, tolerances, stage of development.
- A supposed student, journalist or researcher asks for a more in-depth conversation, preferably over dinner.
- The first meeting is followed by an invitation to give a paid talk or to attend a conference abroad.
- Exhibits are photographed in conspicuous detail, documents are collected, staff are drawn into one-to-one conversations.
Why it works
Trade fair staff are trained to be open and helpful. Interest in one's own product is flattering. And anyone who has spent three days on a stand is tired and glad of a good conversation. Nobody wants to be the colleague who turns away a potential customer.
What you can do
- Brief your stand staff before the fair: what may be said, and what may not?
- Decide who answers questions on technology, suppliers and development.
- Answer on a need-to-know basis and, if in doubt, keep it vague.
- Briefly document suspicious contacts and pass them on to a designated point of contact.
- After the fair, discuss as a team who asked about what.
None of these measures makes a trade fair less friendly. They simply make visible what would otherwise go unnoticed.
Further reading: DSN economic protection (Austrian Ministry of the Interior)
