WHAT IS A
REVERSE
TRADE
SHOW
ANYWAY?
By Dee Waite
I
n February 2019 CAI San Diego hosted a Reverse Trade
Show, which is held on an annual basis. Some may still be
wondering what exactly is a Reverse Trade Show and why
should I participate?
A trade show is an event at which companies show their
products and services to customers and potential customers.
In the standard trade show model, exhibitors set up booths to
display their wares or services, and attendees wander from
booth to booth gathering samples, informational materials,
and tchotchkes.
CAI San Diego flips the traditional trade show inside out
and upside down for the annual Reverse Trade Show. It is
appropriate that this event is typically held in February, as
the Reverse Trade Show has been described as “speed dating
for vendors.” At this unique trade show, representatives
from management companies all over San Diego sit at tables
and are provided a schedule where business partners can
sign up to “date,” or pitch their services to, that company for
seven minutes. The event begins with a sponsored lunch for
management company attendees while snacks and beverages
are provided during the main event.
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SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY INSIDER
SUMMER 2019
Why participate in the 2020 Reverse
Trade Show? There is something
for everyone! Lunch Sponsors get to
nosh privately before the event with a
table of manager attendees. Business
partners, especially working to break
into the common interest development
industry and/or the San Diego area, are
provided with an invaluable opportunity
to introduce themselves one on one
with various management company
representatives without as many
distractions as the traditional trade
show set up. At the 2019 Reverse Trade
Show, new business partners, Smart
Water Solutions/UGMO Technologies
and Building Link, made a splash
with their exclusive, state-of-the-art
technology. Established business
partners in the CAI San Diego market,
such as Adams-Stirling, Kirk Miller
Insurance Agency, PatioShoppers
Inc., and Southern Cross Property