Here's how it works. When buyers and vendors sign up for PRIMEtime, ECRM account managers contact the buyers and sellers, who download the MarketGate software. Then buyers and sellers communicate in advance of their meeting. Buyers can download all the necessary catalogs and forms they need to prepare for the PRIMEtime sessions, while vendors can ask buyers what product areas they want to discuss.

At the live meeting, ECRM staff is on site, working the hallways to make sure appointments are on schedule and everyone knows where they are going. Staff also provide participants with a tablet PC, which includes appointment schedules and can be pre-loaded with product information, brochures, and past e-mails between buyers and vendors.

Participants are allowed to keep the PCs, so when PRIMEtime ends, communication between parties continues. "Most people will tell you one of the hardest things about trade shows is, once it's over, within a week you almost have to start over because people see so much and they recall so little," Waymire says. "This software allows them to recall everything they saw, everything they did, and everyone they met."

The View from Vendors and Buyers

Since PRIMEtime launched, it has earned high marks from both vendors and buyers. James McCollough, national sales manager at J.America Sportswear, Webbersville, Mich., calls it his favorite meeting of the year. In the two PRIMEtimes McCollough has participated in, J.America has landed 40 new customers — some for just one order, others for an entire clothing line. J.America exhibited at ICBA before PRIMEtime and was impressed with the quality of attendees the show attracted. But this format is superior, McCollough says, because it puts him in front of decision-makers for 20 minutes, uninterrupted.

The room set-up is simple, basically just McCollough and an assistant on one side of a table, with the buyer sitting on the other side. The ECRM software enables him to tailor his presentation to each individual buyer. He knows in advance what lines they are interested in, so he doesn't have to waste time going through his entire pitch.

As the head of sales, McCollough takes the leads gathered at PRIME-time and sends them out to the various sales reps across the country.

McCollough says the cost of PRIMEtime is worth it. He pays about $15,000 and sees about 30 buyers, so the cost per buyer is $500. He would have to spend much more than that to have face-to-face meetings with 30 clients if he had to travel to each of their offices. Plus, the price is less than half of what it costs him for a booth at the largest show in the industry.

"The other shows are a necessary evil," McCollough says. "You have to be at them for brand awareness, but there isn't another show that's as effective at building relationships."

J.America shows at about 10 exhibitions each year and has cut back on some regional shows. But this is "by far my favorite format and the one we get the best return from."

Heading into his third year of participating in PRIMEtime, McCollough now views the event differently. Having met most of the buyers in the past, he says PRIMEtime will be an opportunity to strengthen relationships with buyers who are now customers and show them new products, review lines, and answer any questions. "We basically just sit and talk about how we can do things better."

When does PRIMEtime no longer become necessary for a vendor? "I really don't know the answer to that question," McCollough says. He is committed to PRIMEtime for the next three years and says the event is valuable even if it's only a place to strengthen relationships with existing clients.

Relationship-building is what Diane Wirth, apparel buyer at The Duck Store at the University of Oregon in Eugene, likes best about PRIMEtime. Wirth has participated in PRIMEtime for the last four years; she meets with vendors she's already doing business with to review new lines and have a dialogue about prices. And each year there are a few new vendors to meet. "ICBA definitely has become a very important part of our buying plan."

The fact that ICBA pays for transportation and registration is critical, especially in this economy, Wirth says. "It makes it much more accessible and easier to put into your travel plans, because you are looking at every expense right now to try and decide whether it's necessary."