Exhibitor Tips
to Make Your Expo Experience Successful
Tip #1 - Meet & Greet Don't
sit behind your Table or Booth and wait for people to come and buy
something. Get out front, talk and joke with people. I can't tell you
how many sales I've gotten by standing and greeting people. And
remember, they may not purchase today, but who knows about tomorrow.
Tip #2 - Do Your Own Promotional
Campaign No
single thing can guarantee a profitable show. Do not turn your chance
of success over to the promoters of the show to bring in your
prospects. To increase the chances for success you need to have a
promotional campaign to get optimum traffic to your booth by sending
out announcements before the show inviting your customers and prospects
to stop by your booth. Call those whom you have mailed prior to the
event and set appointments to meet with them at the show.
Tip #3 - Give-Aways I
like to give away samples. People like free things and this is an
opportunity for me to get my product in their hands to "try before
buying". Choose an item(s) that is low cost. And, most importantly
don't forget to get their contact information so you can do the follow
up.
Tip
#4 - Drawings Have
a drawing in your booth. Pick an item or put together a basket that
will draw people to want to fill out your drawing slip. It's all about
getting new leads to your business and this will do it. Have one big
winner and then offer all the other leads a smaller prize.
Tip #5 - Honor Your Commitment Remember,
when you signed on to do the show you made a commitment to the show's
organizer that you would be there during the hours specified in the
show's promotional materials. NEVER, EVER tear your display down before
the end of that time. It is tacky and makes you look very bad to the
other exhibitors. In addition, by tearing down your display early it
keeps potential customers from shopping as they think the show is over
and that they need to rush off so everyone can get packed up and leave.
Please have the courtesy to honor your commitment to the show, and to
the other exhibitors by staying the course till the time for it to
officially end.
Many
of my best sales or leads have been obtained in the last few minutes of
the show. Not only does each attendee deserve to see each booth, but,
you deserve to see them. Many show-goers are looking for that exhibitor
to help them with their next project, whether it be a home improvement,
a family vacation, getting in shape, or their daughter's wedding
preparation. So, keep your booth setup for the entire duration of the
show.
Tip #6 - Exhibitors are Potential Customers, too Don't overlook the importance of selling your product or service BEFORE the show is officially opened and AFTER
it is officially closed.
Some
of the best sales will happen before and after the show's scheduled
hours. Don't overlook the fact that other exhibitors are often your
best customers. They will be attracted to your booth if you are set up
early and are ready to go.
Other exhibitors will also come and see your booth AFTER they have torn their display
down.
Customers
who are just there to stroll around and look at what is being sold
often linger on past the time for the show to be over. Never forget
that they are often your best customers. Don't rush them, and don't
begin to tear down your displays until they are gone. I like to keep my
display up long after everyone else has closed, whenever possible. I
have made many good sales that way.
Tip #7 - Dress the Part If
you want new clientele to take you seriously, put your best foot
forward. We have just one opportunity to make that first impression.
Business casual is always a safe bet when greeting new customers.
Tip #8 - Come with Business Cards Have
your business card available. Often times people are "shopping for
ideas" today. So be sure that they have something to take with them. So
they can contact you later. You may want to team your card up with a
promotional flyer.
Tip #9 - Follow Up for Success Now
that you have all those leads, do the follow up! Do you know that
statistically only 1% do the follow up? Wow! Just remember - If you
don't call them someone else will.
The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective Trade Shows
Steven
R. Covey has helped millions of people in their business and
professional lives with his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People. The Seven Habits, first written 17 years ago, has proven to be
an effective guide for personal and professional development. And these
principles, when applied to your trade show experience, can
dramatically improve your experience at the event and your results.
Treating
your portable trade show display like your portable office is the key
to maximizing your effectiveness at each and every event. The purpose
of a trade show is connecting with people, and portable trade show
displays enable you to create a space for educating prospects about
what your company has to offer and qualifying leads to pitch them for a
sale or follow up with them later.
Here’s how to apply Covey’s “7
Habits.”
Habit 1: Be Proactive Planning
is the key to maximizing your trade show experience. Weeks preceding
the show, you should exercise your marketing muscles. Let your existing
customers and prospects know you will be in attendance. If you have a
new product on the horizon, this may be an opportunity to generate some
buzz by talking about an unveiling or first-time demonstration at the
show.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind What
type of return on investment (ROI) are you shooting for? Do you want to
inform prospects about your industry and how your product will help
them, or will your prospect likely be familiar with your industry
already? What are your leads and sales goals for the event? What is
your follow-up strategy, and how soon will you be following up with
your prospects?
Habit 3: Put First
Things First Before
you even get to the show, how is the morale of your sales team who will
be face-to-face with prospects? Your sales team is a reflection of the
company – if they aren’t enthused about the show, you’re wasting their
time and the company’s money by sending them.
If
you sense that your trade show staff is dreading the event, try
something spontaneous to get them hyped about the company and your
products. Ideas as simple as attending a sporting event, a concert or a
day at the amusement park on the company’s dime could boost morale.
And
when it’s time for the show to begin, what is your plan of action to
best utilize everyone’s strengths? How will you most efficiently
distribute use of their time?
Habit
4: Think Win/Win It’s
a very, very old marketing principle that is too often overlooked. Very
fundamental to any marketing effort is finding a win/win balance where
the customer gets what they need and you get what you need.
Because
time is of the essence at a trade show, you must figure out how to get
the customer to stop at your portable trade show display, quickly
qualify them, and assess: whether or not they are your target market,
whether they are immediately ready to buy or need more information
before they buy or, if they are not a prospect now, could they be one
in the future?
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood What
is the customer’s need? How can you fulfill that need/solve their
problem? Clearly, if the customer has stopped at your portable trade
show display, they are interested in your product. But the first step
in qualifying is figuring out what need attracted them to your portable
trade show display. Phrases such as “What brings you by here today,” or
“What may I do to help you?” are good ice breakers to ease the
conversation from generalities and politely get to the point.
Habit 6: Synergize Principles of Creative
Communication The
saying goes, “You were given two ears and one mouth,” and this was done
for a reason. Listen more than you speak and you will learn a lot more
about what the customer is telling you. Listen to their words,
translate their body language. When you think you’ve figured it out,
feed the information back to the customer in their own words and
language. From there, use qualifying questions to build mutual trust
and understanding to overcome any objections.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Now
this is where it gets personal. A day or a few at a trade show requires
peak performance and lots of energy – it can be quite grueling if
you’re not prepared. What are you doing to make sure you’re able to
give your best before the trade show, and recharge after? In addition,
a post-mortem after the show is a great way to identify mistakes, holes
in planning and preparation and efficiency drains – not to browbeat you
and your team so you can feel sorry for yourselves, but so you can
brainstorm and discuss a better strategy for next time.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
turned the tide of the American mindset about work and life –
empowering professionals everywhere to expect more of themselves at
work and at home. The “principles” of this extraordinary work have been
duplicated all over the world. Apply them not only to your prospects’
experience in your portable trade show displays, but at every level of
your marketing strategy, and you will leap ahead of the competition and
create the potential to dramatically improve the results at your next
trade show event.
