HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Pastor Paul Jordan outlines his online "SendOutCards" business to a potential customer. HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Advanced Chiropractic featured, all in blue, Xandi Espirt, Isabel Colzean and Sheila Schmidt to take care of some aches and pains. Advertisement

You've got to have a gimmick. That's part of the training in Salesmanship 101.

The different marketing lures were definitely on display during the 10th annual BizExpo at the Pahrump Nugget Saturday. Thousands of attendees wandered through the expo to check out Pahrump businesses selling everything from funerals to solar panels.

Mark Plagge from Pahrump Rentals and Hardware said, "We keep running out," as he handed out more catalogues, pens and coupon books along with sample products like fertilizer, solar lights and pest control devices.

The salesmanship started before even entering the banquet room, as some of the vendors spilled into the hallway. Workers for Pahrump Bakery, a new business in the Edward Homes Professional Plaza, were handing out free food samples.

Attendees could fill out a form for the upcoming First International Bank and receive a $2 bill in one promotion. Across the aisle Wells Fargo Bank was handing out free popcorn.

Mildred Jensen, from Pahrump Family Mortuary, had keepsake urns on display, in which mourners could keep some ashes from their loved ones, or get their fingerprint on a medallion.

The two Pahrump television stations had different booths almost across from each other. Channel 41 had a large screen television replaying the newscast, while Channel 30/62 was showing the vintage TV show "Get Smart" on a portable DVD player.

Then there was a video of an overweight man snoring. Rebecca Marteney, respiratory care practitioner for the CPAP Center of Nevada, said one in five people has sleep apnea.

Jennifer Wade, an agent for American Family Insurance, had Frisbees, mugs and water bottles stacked up behind her. Next door, Joan Lewis, a member of Friends of the Library, had a book case set up and was giving away free books.

"We're introducing ourselves to people who don't know about Friends of the Library," Lewis said.

If the browsing was tiring, two masseuses were giving free massages to a line of customers. Anita Kangas, from A Healthy Touch, said she normally charges $1.50 per minute for a chair massage, while a table massage usually lasts a half hour and costs up to $55.

Acme General Store typically has the largest exhibit at the annual show. This year was no exception as the general store took up four booths just outside the banquet room. It's a visible location for a business located off a main thoroughfare, on West Street, offering a lot of products.

"It's a very good event for us. It's very, very beneficial. A lot of people come through. We will probably have 3,000 people through here this weekend, there are already over two (thousand)," Acme Feed Co-owner Vince Tucker said early Saturday afternoon.

"So many people from the community come through, not all of them are necessarily familiar with what we have. It's a good way to expose ourselves and our product to them without having to drive them into our store," Tucker said.

Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Kari Frilot said vendors were doing a better job every year of setting up their booths and luring in prospective customers.

"I'm finding them really all engaged. They're not just walking through, they're stopping and talking. So I think the businesses have done a really good job of pulling them in to explain what they have to offer," Frilot said.

Tom Vehe had a large display for his new business, American Wind and Solar Inc. Solar panels were installed for the show and a photovoltaic module.

He said a solar hot water system can be installed for $6,000, and there's a 30 percent rebate.

"People are excited about this," Vehe said. "We've had a number of people make appointments for in-home consultations."

Larry Young, with Pahrump Steel, had a shade frame building set up in the yard at his business and trucked it out to the expo.

Next door, Bob Barber, the new co-owner of the local Chem Dry franchise, dragged a rug through the parking lot to soil it with asphalt, grease and tar, then demonstrated how he cleaned it.

"You don't use sticky residue. It's like carbonated water," Barber said.

Expo attendees were busy filling out forms and filling up bags with all the free pens, business cards, product samples and even candy bars.

Chamber board member Keith Froehling urged vendors during a chamber business mixer last week to follow up within two days to written inquiries for information on their product.