The Disconnect Ep. 4 | How to Win at Trade Shows | Alianza Navigate 2026 #marketingstrategy

Trade-show success isn’t determined when the doors open. It is usually decided months earlier. In Episode 4 of The Disconnect, Ken Adams⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Peter Radizeski⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠John Wigboldus⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Geoff Hultin ⁠⁠⁠revisit their trade-show strategy—this time with real-world results from Alianza Navigate 2026. John and Geoff explain how Datagate prepared for the event by studying the agenda, identifying the conference’s major themes, aligning its messaging, booking meetings in advance, and creating collateral specifically for the audience. The result was meaningful conversations, new opportunities, and a much stronger return from the show. The conversation then turns to Alianza Crux, AI orchestration, specialized voice agents, and the opportunity for CSPs and MSPs to connect emerging AI experiences with telecom infrastructure. In this episode: • Why successful trade shows begin months before the event • How to align booth messaging with the conference agenda • Why pre-booked meetings make such a difference • What unprepared exhibitors consistently get wrong • How Alianza managed its Crux product announcement • The opportunity around AI orchestration and specialized voice agents • Why commercialization, billing, compliance, and channel compensation still matter • What CSPs and MSPs should begin preparing for now CHAPTERS 00:00 Did the trade-show plan actually work? 00:59 Matching your message to the event 01:41 Meetings, research, and tailored collateral 03:35 Why unprepared exhibitors struggle 04:40 Alianza’s product-launch execution 06:12 Turning good ideas into commercial products 07:14 The Alianza Crux announcement 07:50 Specialized AI agents and CSP opportunities 09:11 Who owns the orchestration layer? 10:09 Start planning months before the show ABOUT THE DISCONNECT The Disconnect brings together four technology-industry veterans for candid conversations about telecom, CSPs, MSPs, sales, marketing, operations, M&A, AI, and the decisions that look much better in a presentation than they do in the real world. CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS Ken Adams:   / xaasken   Peter Radizeski:   / radinfo   John Wigboldus:   / johnwigboldus   Geoff Hultin:   / ghultin   FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE Follow Alianza:   / alianza   Learn more about Alianza Crux: https://www.alianza.com/products/alia... 🌐 Website and host bios: https://thedisconnect.net 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4cDxq8h... ▶️ More episodes:    / @thedisconnectpod   📩 Contact: connect@thedisconnect.net #tradeshows #telecom #csp #msp #aiorchestration #b2bsales