For those Natural Perfumers who are attending or contemplating attending the trade event in Houston, Texas August 14-16, here are three event strategies that can make your participation a complete success!

1. Develop a pre-event plan

• The number one strategy for event success is the use of business cards, both yours and everyone you speak with at the event. Bring plenty of cards and don’t be shy about handing them out.
• Find out as much information as you can about who will attend the event. Consumers?  Media?  Students?
• Develop distinct messages for whomever you think will be there. 
• Develop a plan that will allow you to have a successful event even if you talk very few people there. More on this later.

2. Maximize the use of time spent at the event

• Remember, you are at the event for business and for no other reason than supporting your business’s success.
• Qualify everyone you speak with before you begin your presentation. Why are they there?
• Give your business card to whomever you speak with. 
• Get a card from every business or media person you connect with inside or outside the booth. If they say they have no card, write their name and contact information on one of your cards. Make quick notes on the back of their cards about what was discussed.
• At the end of each day, review each card and make notes on what follow-up will be needed.

3. Complete the after-event follow-up
The most under-appreciated but necessary key to event success is the strategy of after-event follow-up. It always amazes me that this most important event strategy is nearly always neglected or entirely forgotten. It probably has a lot to do with people returning from a trade event having to catch up with things put off by their event attendance. Even so, proper follow-up has to be immediately scheduled and completed within one week of returning, since the effectiveness of proper follow-up rapidly declines over a very short period of time. Here are a few suggestions to get the most out of your follow-up strategy:

• Keep every business card you get. Decide which people should be immediately contacted, but don’t throw any cards away. You never know when someone you spoke with at an event will become important to you later on.
• Follow up every event sale with a personal note thanking them for their purchase.
• Write a “Sorry we missed you letter” explaining how great you did at the event and what they missed. It doesn’t matter if they intended to attend the event or not.
• Write a blog or article about your event attendance, which is an act of leadership that will build consumers’ trust if you let them know.
• Now, about having a successful event even if you talk very few people at the event: what most people fail to realize is that more sales can be made after the event than at the event. At an event, people are pressed for time since there is a lot for them to see. After the event, you can contact or message not just those that were there, but those that weren’t there as well.

These are proven strategies can make your event attendance less stressful, knowing that you will be immediately following up and making your event a complete success!
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Please email me at [email protected] with any questions you may have on successful event management. IPF is here to help!

The Olfactory Experience of perceiving scents and the use of language for describing
scents have been present in all Ancient Civilisations and in this era. This means that Olfaction has been the most important sense used for survival, communication, protection, healing, and beauty, used in sacred rituals ceremonies and connection to the Divine.

Since pre-history, human beings discovered fire, and then, the fascinating experience of smelling the particles of wood and resins being burned through smoke.
The word “Perfume” comes from this concept in Latin “Per - fumum” that literally means “through smoke”.

In Literature, the language of scent has been used to describe events, places, persons,
gardens, palaces, dresses, the country-side, the misery and the richness, the sacred places, the abundant places, the simple places that trigger our memories, all in  descriptive, poetic, and historical ways.

We have used Language to describe the reality around us and pass the experience to
others, by categorisation of plants and flowers, olfactory properties, health properties, and uses in other aspects of our lives, like traditions. Additionally, we have used Scents as well as Body Language for Healing and Sacred Ceremonies to communicate with our inner-self and align better with Nature.

In pre-history and ancient history, humans had a bigger Limbic System in our brain
than today's human beings.
The Limbic System is responsible for managing our Memory, Emotions and Identification. In this era of immediacy, screen interaction, isolation, scent restriction or phobia, we are evolving with the risk of developing a smaller Limbic System and this is already bringing a society that does not retain concepts or places or historical factors, and also a society that has less empathy and less need for identifying with others and identifying risks by themselves without the use of technology. Society is been driven by Visual Communication mostly, while one sense is being on demand, this eclipses the other senses.

Aromatherapy has been part of a millenary wisdom and it is very much linked to the
Connection with Nature, using this wisdom to identify healing plants and flowers and different methods of healing. Natural Aromatherapy is defined by the use of Natural Raw Materials, not synthetic fragrances. The best Natural Aromatherapy starts by going out to a Garden, the Bush or Countryside. Experiencing the smell of the actual plants and flowers makes Olfaction a powerful tool, as the aromatic molecules will go to the Olfactory system in our brain and Limbic system, but also will act on our Sympathetic and Para-Sympathetic Nervous Systems in our body.

There are various methods of Natural Aromatherapy applications like:
aerial diffusions, baths, oil applications through massage, food, patches, creams or lotions, shampoos, and clay compresses. The scent and properties of each raw material,  plant or essential oil will manifest in their own healing language.
By using the different parts of the plant, sometimes the roots, sometimes the leaves, and sometimes the flowers, the healing therapeutic properties and methods may change.

Understanding the use of essential oils, their potency, contra-indications and application methods is paramount for producing synergies that will act on specific area of our body, organ, or enhancing mood and emotional wellbeing. Plant maceration is also a method for creating oils that are not that potent as essential oils, but provide therapeutic synergies. Essential oils have to be treated carefully, always dilute before application, otherwise, only smell from the bottle. Essential oils are not meant to be drunk; they can irritate our throat and internal organs. Only specialised oil capsules can be used for internal use.  Always consult your medical practitioner.

Another aspect of Natural Aromatherapy is the use of reputable quality of essential oils
that are neither adulterated, nor mixed with other blends or fragrances without indication for the guarantee of high degree of healing properties.
Nowadays, we are blending the experience of Natural Aromatherapy with Natural Perfumes. In the last century, the focus of Perfume was aesthetic, was part of fashion and was no longer made of natural raw materials, but with synthetics and isolates.

Natural Perfumery plays two roles:
1. Expressing beauty, transporting you to a place or emotion; and,
2. Bringing the therapeutic role of each accord of the Perfume construction.
This blend of these two disciplines and Olfaction Training is called Natural Perfumotherapy, a new way to go in Perfumery bringing Scents to Emotions, Wellbeing and aligning us to Re-Connect with Nature.

More info about Perfumotherapy