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PTDA Manufacturer Member Participation in MD-IDEX

A booth at MD-IDEX is a benefit unique to PTDA manufacturer members—only members can exhibit during MD-IDEX and make appointments with distributor members.  MD-IDEX can help you get your foot in the door or help you solidify relationships you may already have with distributors.  MD-IDEX:

• Increases your company’s visibility at the Industry Summit.
• Provides an extremely cost- and time- efficient opportunity to meet with multiple distributors.
• Communicates awareness of your brands and products through limited tabletop displays of product samples, posters and silent multimedia.
• Allows distributors to schedule advanced appointments with you or browse during open time.

Here’s how you can make the most of your MD-IDEX experience:

1. Reserve your booth space for the MD-IDEX by contacting PTDA at +1.312.516.2100 or e-mail to bholt@ptda.org.   Space is limited; reserve by June 30th to be included in the promotions in advance of the Industry Summit.
2. Send invitations or contact those distributors you’d like to meet.  A mailing list of PTDA distributor members will be sent to you with your MD-IDEX booth confirmation.  Make sure you’ve given the distributor a great reason to meet with you, such as:
   • Discussion of e-commerce initiatives and the distributor’s role in it.
   • Discussion of new joint promotional plans.
   • Share information on target markets and strategies for selling.
   • Introduce the distributor to new product opportunities with your line.
   • Annual inventory adjustments.
   • Share information on competitive influences in the market.
   • Discuss authorizing the distributor for your product line.
3. Schedule meetings with PTDA distributor member executives who will be attending the Industry Summit using the online scheduler.  Download a demonstration of the online scheduling process so you'll be ready to go when the scheduler is live.  The list of distributor members attending will be available on PTDA’s Web site before online scheduling goes live.  Online scheduling for manufacturers will be available from September 20 through October 1, 2010.
4. Prepare for your appointments by researching the companies you’ve scheduled appointments with and the companies that have scheduled appointments with you.
5. Staff your booth for both the open time and for scheduled appointments with executives who have national decision-making authority.  Many distributors use open time to browse and see manufacturers whose appointment schedules were full. 

MD-IDEX Overview     
2010 MD-IDEX booth reservation information
2010 MD-IDEX booth reservation form