THE Ministry of Housing and Water yesterday hosted a one-day training programme for companies participating in the 2012 Building Expo at the Guyana National Stadium from July 6 to 8 with the theme ‘Embracing Standards – Building the Future’. Twenty-four representatives from 20 companies participated in the training titled, ‘Successful Exhibiting Maximizing Your Trade Show Investment’. The training was conducted by Business Consultant, Sandra Ann Baptiste, who specialises in international marketing, training, business development and communications.
She has conducted trade show training for over 10 years.
Topics covered in the training included trade show planning and promotion; budgeting; adequately staffing the booth; effective marketing and sales; securing orders and leads; turning inquiries into sales; exhibiting overseas; calculating a return on investment; post-show evaluation and follow up.
Participants in the training programme came from various sectors of the building industry and ancillary services including construction, home furnishing, housing development, electrical and hardware companies, insurance and security.
International Building Expo is a unique partnership between the Government of Guyana, specifically the Ministry of Housing and Water, Central Housing and Planning Authority, and the private sector.
Close to a hundred companies are signed up to participate in the 2012 Building Expo, compared with 80  in 2011.
Building Expo brings together all the stakeholders in building and construction from the blockmaker to the landscaper and the vision is to make Building Expo the premier Building and Construction Expo in the Caribbean and Latin America.
A number of overseas companies are expected to attend the 2012 Building Expo, including from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.