The PPAI Expo trade floor is a daunting experience, even for the 10-or-20-year veterans of the event. There’s the hustle and bustle; at the busiest moments, you can barely see 10 feet in front of you. There are products literally everywhere. There’s what you’re looking for, and there are hundreds (or thousands) of products that will catch your eye between you and that thing you need to find. And then there’s the sheer size. First timers usually feel like they need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to avoid getting entirely lost.
That’s all to say, an attendee could use some motivation going right in.
Enter: Daniel Lewis. Tuesday’s keynote speaker began at 8:15 and finished his session right before the trade floor officially opened at 9:30. His job was to inform, educate and quite frankly, wake up the audience. He was ready for the task. His nickname is Human Caffeine, after all.
An author, entrepreneur and founder of the tea company T By Daniel, Lewis’s presentation was titled “The POP: Discover The Power Of Your Personality & How To Infuse It Into Your Business To Elevate, Engage And Excel!”
To a crowd full of people who will be making dozens upon dozens of connections over the next few days – connections that could fuel their business for the next year – Lewis tried to encourage them to go beyond the business card and let these new people they encounter see their personality.
“When you become what you do, you lose yourself,” Lewis says. “When you show up as yourself, you stand out, you thrive.”
Daniel Lewis
Author, Entrepreneur & International Speaker
Lewis told the story of the rise of his company T By Daniel, which he started from nothing and rose it to prominence, eventually serving it to King Charles. He tells his staff, “If we still have a customer after their third visit, we have a problem. We should have a friend at that point.”
Lewis advises distributors to turn customers into friends and then into followers and then into fans. Fans, he says, defend you.
“Someone will say ‘your product is terrible, and a fan will say ‘no, you’re terrible,'” Lewis only half jokes to the crowd.
After closing five stores during a rough stretch, Lewis called back to an old quote that he shared to the Expo crowd: “When nobody cares, I’ll sing to the chairs.” Eventually, he said the chairs were filled. Attitude made the difference. Networking with competitors, something promo pros are often apt to do, makes a positive difference in success, according to Lewis.
