"Trade Shows"
Trade Shows are a great way to meet prospective clients. At
first, it seems like a "walk in the park", and they can be a lot
of fun. Many of the visitors to the show are there to see what
is being offered, and to them it is more of a holiday than work.
If you are there to show your wares, it is work. Don't confuse
your role as a vendor with that of the visitor. You must be
there before the exhibits open to ensure your booth is set up
properly, and have coverage at your booth until the exhibits
close for the day. Trying to do it alone, is at best, a
difficult proposition. There will be times when you must leave
the booth, and if it is unattended, you may be missing
prospective clients.
Let's assume you have all the "goodies" you should have such as
business cards, brochures, signs, and free samples. I'm not
going to cover that, as it will be different for each business.
As you walk about the exhibit hall, you will see some booths
where there are crowds of people, and others where the exhibitors
are trying to stay awake. What is drawing the crowds to one
booth while the others are dying on the vine?
Giveaways are nice, but they usually pick them up and are gone.
You want something, which will make them hang around a little, so
you can talk with them.
Let me give you a couple of examples. One vendor puts up a sign
"Free Return Address Labels" in front of his booth, with a
computer and printer. Visitors can enter their information on
the computer for their labels, and they are printed right away.
There is usually a line in front of this booth, waiting to get
their labels. There is also a guest book, which includes their
contact information. This vendor has done two things. First he
got the opportunity to mingle with the people waiting in line to
make his pitch, and secondly got their contact information for
follow up.
Another vendor puts some chairs and a small coffee table in a
conspicuous position. People walking about get tired - their feet
start to hurt, and they will gravitate to an unoccupied chair.
Not only will they see promotional material on the coffee table,
but it also gives you an opportunity to sit and talk with them.
One of the busiest booths I ever saw was at the "Artigras"
Exhibit in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. An artist from Michigan
had her wares displayed in her booth, and was sitting out front
doing free caricatures. She had the line of people waiting,
weave in and about her display in the booth, and many people
bought something while waiting.
Which brings us to the reason you are there. You are there to
promote your business or sell your wares. In order to do this,
you must attract people to your booth.
There are many "attention getting" devices that can be used, but
make sure the one you use allows you to interact with your
visitors.
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