Key Takeaways from Sea Air Space 2024

This April our sales team headed out to our cherry blossom-sprinkled capital of Washington, D.C. to attend the Sea Air Space 2024 conference. If you’re not in the know, Sea Air Space (or SAS for short!) is a Navy-League-hosted exposition featuring defense industry leaders and major military decision makers from around the globe.  It’s a place where innovation meets tradition, and industry leaders gather to discuss the latest advancements in defense technology. This was our second time attending and we were more familiar with the lay of the land. This time around, we put ourselves out there and to try some new things! Here are some of the things we learned. 

All conversations are meaningful, even if they aren’t focused on sales.

At our first Sea Air Space conference, we spoke to people in a sales-focused way.  This time around, our approach was to have great conversations and get to know people in a real way. Our ebullient booth neighbor Chad (AFC Industries) gave us the perfect challenge–to learn 10 things about 10 people during our conversations. Katie really identified with this framework and found that it actually required less talking and more listening. When we were open to listen, everyone was friendly and forthcoming. We felt more connected to the folks we met with our more open communication style.

Gatherings after the conference hours were imperative to success.

During the day, we learned that authentic connections are everything. We also learned that the magic happens when you connect outside of the exhibition hall walls. Attending social gatherings, lunches, and dinners with new connections and engaging in after hour activities were sometimes outside of our comfort zone (aka bedtime), but allowed us to interact with so many fascinating people. 

Making friends with your booth neighbors helps with connection.

This was the first time at a conference that we were part of an inner circle of friendly, successful industry folk. Our booth neighbors were amazing and took us under their wing! It was great to make new friends and let off steam together. They were also helpful by introducing their network to us. When you’re trying to make headway into a new-to-you industry, these kinds of connections are so appreciated and make you feel like less of a newbie.

It pays to stand out!

We love to move around and found that our bright, expressive Hawaiian shirts attracted everyone’s attention as we walked through the exhibition hall. Our presence brought a lot of smiles to the faces of the attendees! Also, our sponsored event for the Marine Machinery Association put our custom bow ties at the center of conversation and activity. It was more fun to not be stuck in one spot!

Overall this year at Sea Air Space was about having fun, making connections, and trying new things. We made a big impression just by being curious and open to whatever came our way and made fast friends with some amazing folks. We can’t wait for #SAS25.