#241 I In Conversation with Sooraj Dhawan, President, Indian Exhibition Industry Association
Sooraj Dhawan, President, Indian Exhibition Industry Association, in conversation with Subhanjan Sarkar
[PitchLink Original] The Tade Show Podcast #21: Sooraj Dhawan, President, Indian Exhibition Industry Association. In Conversation with Subhanjan Sarkar.
[AI:Vibes] 1967 was the Summer of Love; we will remember 2025 as the Summer of Vibes by Scott Brinker
[Product] The Story Behind Owner’s Pivots to a Billion-Dollar Business from The First Round Review
[Customer/Renewal] The Revenue Fixer – With Sandy Yu
with Rohit Nallapeta
[Sales : History] How Sales Saved The Union – The First National Sales Campaign by Todd Caponi
[Events] The ultimate guide to networking as an event professional by Charley Murfitt
Freeman Report shows that attendees rate “doing business” more over everything else at a Trade Show.
Amongst a lot of discussion about learning, experience, matchmaking and fun, the Freeman Report shows that the key to a successful B2B Event/Trade Show is still “Business”.
Doing business at Events with Attonce:
Conversation Intelligence and instant follow up is missing from the Exhibitors Event Strategy.
Simply the inability or neglecting the gathering conversation intelligence at the booth.
While we can complicate the process as much as we want, the real traction has only 3 levers
Orchestrate Booth Visits : Ensure you warm up the attendees, book advance meetings and that you are creatively driving the maximum number of attendees to your booth.
Conversation Intelligence : Capturing every conversation at the booth (downstream analysis for real qualification and follow up strategy)
Instant On-Point Follow up : Responsive follow up on point, ideally the same day.
What do you think?
If you want to discuss this or anything else related to Event ROI - do reach out. We are waiting. And it is free and without any obligation.
Book a personal session with our Outcome Specialists.
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From - The Trade Show Podcast, Episode#21
Sooraj Dhawan, President, Indian Exhibition Industry Association
A PGDM from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Mr. Sooraj Dhawan is attributed with inception and sustainable success of several landmark Trade Shows in India, including International Engineering Sourcing Show (since 2012), InfoComm India (since 2012), IPHEX India (since 2013), Cap India (since 2016), Source India (since 2016), Logix India (since 2019) PlexConnect (since 2023).
Mr. Dhawan is the Director of Falcon Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. A visionary business strategist, Mr. Dhawan specialises in International Trade development & Investments and feels that trade shows are the best way forward to business expansion. He is also a big advocate of ‘Make in India – Export from India and is an acknowledged specialist in organising International Buyer-Seller meets in India in areas, including Engineering, Power & Electricals, Automobile components, Rubber, Plastics & Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles and Information Technology.
Currently, Mr. Dhawan is the President of Indian Exhibition Industry Association. The Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA) is the national apex body representing the Exhibitions industry in India, comprising 400+ leading Exhibitions industry players, sectoral associations and trade bodies. He is representing IEIA in the prestigious India M.I.C.E. Board formed by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
Mr. Dhawan is National convenor for MICE Sector Panel of Bureau of Indian standards. He also represents India in the ISO Standards body and in the UFI ISO Working Group. Mr. Dhawan is currently Director to the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta Incubation Park and is focused on mentoring startups all over India. Mr. Dhawan is also a trained business mediator and empanelled with the Ministry of Company Affairs in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata for offering business mediation and conciliation services.
In this episode, Sooraj Dhawan talks about the current state of the Exhibition Industry in India, as well as future plans and required actions to take it further.
He points out that modern infrastructure for MICE is growing rapidly in the country, not just in Metros but also Tier II and Tier III towns, making India a very attractive destination for global exhibitions. What needs to be added to the mix is much greater international flight connectivity to emerging destinations in the country.
Alongside, in terms of technology, there is great skill and adoption in the country, providing a robust base for leveraging the India Stack. In the area of manpower, there needs to be greater skilling, which associations and universities are already developing and delivering.
Run time – 00:50:04
Authors of 22 Blockbuster Sales and Marketing Books in 22 twenty minute sessions.
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[AI:Vibes]
1967 was the Summer of Love; we will remember 2025 as the Summer of Vibes
by Scott Brinker
“Vibe” has become the latest AI buzzword. Even more than “agentic,” which is saying a lot. While both terms are widely open to interpretation — and therefore ripe to be appropriated by anyone selling anything — vibe stands out for sheer weirdness.
[Product]
The Story Behind Owner’s Pivots to a Billion-Dollar Business
from The First Round Review
“At the time, most small business software had been built with the assumption that customizability is king. Small business owners can use a tool like Wix and choose from thousands of templates and then add their own site copy,” he says. “But what I noticed when helping my mom, and what I’d observed from a lot of other local businesses' websites, was that they make mistake after mistake, like not adding alt text to images or not including the right keywords in meta titles. So I wanted to build an out-of-the-box system so users would have everything they needed to rank at the top of Google.”
[Customer/Renewal]
The Revenue Fixer – With Sandy Yu
with Rohit Nallapeta
In this episode, Sandy Yu digs into one of the hardest challenges in GTM: aligning Sales and CS without the turf wars.
She talks about:
– What actually causes misalignment
– Why “who owns expansion” is the wrong starting point
– And how to rebuild trust across teams to stop revenue leaks before they startIf you’ve ever watched a renewal fall through the cracks—or felt the tension between farming and hunting—this one’s for you.
[Sales : History]
How Sales Saved The Union – The First National Sales Campaign
by Todd Caponi
Jay Cooke. Who is that?
“There is no doubt that some of the abundant glory that has gone to Grant and Lincoln ought to have gone to this Philadelphia banker-salesman. As one editor very fitly said: “The nation owes a debt of gratitude to Jay Cooke that it cannot discharge, for without his value aid the wheels of government might have been seriously entangled.”
While Lincoln and Grant put down the Rebellion during the Civil War, it was Jay Cooke, a banker, who sold the bonds and brought in the money.
“Jay Cooke was unquestionably the first to launch a national sales campaign.”
Here’s the short story of what he did.
[Events]
The ultimate guide to networking as an event professional
by Charley Murfitt
1. Be approachable
It’s important to seem open and friendly at a networking event. Smile, make eye contact and keep your body language open. If you’re standing alone, try joining a group that’s open to new people. And ask them what they’re talking about. Most attendees are there to meet others too.
2. Ask open-ended questions
Instead of “What do you do?”, try “What brings you here?” or “What kind of events do you work on?” These questions invite conversation and show genuine interest in whoever you end up speaking with.
3. Listen more than you talk
Good networking is about building relationships, not selling. Focus on understanding the other person’s needs and interests. Long-lasting relationships are built on trust, not hard selling.
4. Take notes
After each conversation, jot down a few key points—what you talked about, any follow-up needed, and personal details to help you remember them when you connect later.
5. Use the event’s networking tools
Most events will offer networking opportunities such as matchmaking platforms, attendee lists or networking lounges. Take advantage of these to meet relevant contacts in a structured way.
The Pitch.Linker X|O Update No.241. Volume 05. Issue 35* 2nd September 2025