Trade Show Exhibit Advice

By: Barry Siskind

Studies have proven that fifty-five percent of your visitors impression of you comes from what they see. It’s your para-verbal behavior, which is made up with such things as gestures, eye contact, posture and what you are wearing.

Dress is always a controversial topic. Exhibitors either dress too formally or too casually. Then there are those who choose to have their staff dressed all the same. It’s hard to know what’s right. The underlying word that should guide your choice of dress is professional. How would a professional in your industry dress? The problem is that the word professional has changed dramatically over the past few years. In some industries it would have been the norm to dress in a suit and tie. Now it seems that sport shirts are quite appropriate. Then there is the issue of culture. In some areas of the world culture demands more or less formal clothes.

The bottom line is that its difficult to find what is the appropriate way to dress. So, here’s a guideline for you to consider. Wear what you would wear if you were visiting a customer at their place of business from Monday to Thursday -we don’t count dress-down Friday’s. If it’s okay to attend at their place of business then it’s probably okay for a trade show.

Then there is the discussion about themed clothing – golf shirts, buttoned down shirts etc. Well chosen themed clothing can look very professional. In addition it provides lots of additional benefits such as when you tie in the color and messaging on your clothes to the display. Then it becomes easy for visitors to know who to approach at the busy show. Your staff also becomes a walking billboard during their breaks as they make their rounds of the trade show.

If you choose the theme clothing option here are some considerations.

1. Don’t limit your choices to shirts. Theme clothing comes in all forms such as ties, arm bands, blazers, hats, bandanas, vests and sweaters. So rather than doing what everyone else is doing make a statement and do something different.

2. Choose clothes that are of good quality. It’s your image that is at stake, Loose threads, wrinkles and arms that are falling off are a direct link to your visitors impression of your company.

3. Tie the coloring and messaging on your clothes to those in the booth. Remember that your staff is walking billboards. Don’t make these messages so subtle that someone has to be standing immediately in front of your staff to get the message.

4. Choose clothes that are gender and physique neutral. You don’t want any one feeling uncomfortable wearing what you choose.

5. Make it mandatory. If you choose theme clothing it is a must for everyone who is working at the trade show booth. Your instruction should also include that cloths to wear in addition for example you provide the shirt and everyone wears black pants.

6. If you show is more than one day long ensure that people have a change of clothing. Or, at least provide overnight laundry service. It’s important to look fresh and eager each day of the show.

Whether you choose a professional look related to how you would visit a client or choose theme clothing you need to understand the consequences of that decision. Make sure your staff are on board and understand how important how they look can be.

By: Barry Siskind

For some strange and mysterious reason exhibitors at consumer shows (B2C), don’t follow the same guidelines that those who chose business to business trade shows (B2B). While there are some obvious differences, there is no reason that many of the same rules shouldn’t apply. Here are some of the basics for the consumer show exhibitor.

1. Get focused – One of the mistakes both trade and consumer show exhibitors have in common is the lack of clear, measurable and realistic goals. For the consumer show exhibitor these may include such things as selling products, setting up meetings for future business, branding, samplings and so on. What is important is to put a value on these activities ahead of time and then ensure that your results fall within these guidelines. For example, if it would normally cost you $50.00 to realize a sale of $1,000.00 in your normal activities, then use this as your baseline. Your cost for a sale at the show needs to fall below the baseline or you are not moving forward. However, one mistake consumer show exhibitors make is focusing all their attention on immediate sales. Studies have proven that you can expect to achieve between 30% and 60% more business post-show. These money-making contacts should also be equated into your calculations.

2. It’s not retail – A consumer show exhibit is different from a retail store for three reasons: time, space and choices. Consumer show visitors spread their visit among hundreds of exhibitors which eliminates the luxury of relaxed browsing. A typical trade show booth is 10 X 10: a fraction of the size of a normal retail store. In addition visitors have lots and lots of choices to make in a very harried environment. All this means that your display, the number of products you bring and the focus of your booth needs to be well thought out so you don’t add confusion to the list of obstacles these visitors face.

3. Provide a meaningful experience – Customers don’t just want to buy products and services they also want an experience. Savvy exhibitors know this and avoid product pitches and flat uninteresting displays. The trick is to bring your presentation to life. Let your visitors feel what it is like to shop with you.

4. Give them options – Some visitors may not be prepared to make a commitment immediately and say something like “I would like to walk around and see what else there is first.” The chances of them coming back are slim. There is too much at the show to remember, too many products to differentiate between. So, rather than pressuring them into a decision, provide some mechanism for staying in touch with them. For example you may want to send them a text message in 2 – 3 hours reminding them to drop back to your trade show booth. Consider putting them on a mailing list or inviting them on a studio tour.

5. Be proactive – I am not suggesting you become overly aggressive, but rather take the approach of welcoming visitors to your trade show display. Get rid of those time-worn questions like, “Can I help you?” Attempt to engage them in a meaningful conversation which will give you clues to what products and services you can direct their attention to.

Participating in a consumer show has its rewards. With some pre-planning and effort you can realize your goals.

Do you have any experience in consumer show exhibiting? I’d love to hear about it!

By: Barry Siskind

One pet peeve of visitors at trade shows is pushy booth staff. These are people who think everyone is interested in hearing about their newest product or service. They wait in their booth with the eye of the tiger for an unsuspecting booth visitor to accidentally make eye contact or ask an innocent question. Then they pounce.

The booth staff, on the other hand have difficulty working in a trade show booth when their manager is demanding so much and giving so little to work with.

The quandary is finding a happy balance between being aggressive enough to produce the desired results and being the kind of person visitors want to do business with. The answer is all a matter of attitude. The right attitude at a booth is not as a hard-core sales person but rather as a host.

Let’s step back from the trade show for a moment and look at another scenario. Assume for a minute that you just moved to a new home. The moving truck has delivered all your furniture and your boxes have been unpacked. Now you quickly realize that you are a stranger in a brand new neighborhood. What can you do?

One technique is to hold an open house where you invite your neighbors over for some wine and cheese or a barbeque as an opportunity to get together.  The invitations have been delivered and its time for your open house to begin. Your home looks perfect: everything is put away and dusted. Your front door has a sign that says, “Welcome”. Your first neighbor walks up the door and enters. What do you do? Do you jump up and immediately tell them all about you, your family and where you work not leaving the neighbor time to interject a word? Hardly. Rather the right approach is to act as a host, introduce your self and begin a conversation where you both have an opportunity to learn a bit about each other.

The role of a host is often easier to assume than the role of sales person. It is the perfect mind-set for anyone working a trade show booth. Your display is your place of business for a few days. When visitors approach, your job is to welcome them, make them feel at home and initiate a conversation where the two of you will learn a bit about each other.  There is no difference between having your open house for neighbors and working a trade show booth.

Here are four steps that will help:

1.    Get rid of the same old, tired greetings like, “How are you doing,” or “Can I help you?” Replace them with questions or statement that show your genuine interest in your visitor such as, “Is this your first visit?” or “”What attracted you to our booth?”

2.    Invite the visitor into your space.
Conversations that stay in the aisle are subject to constant interruptions.

3.    Explain how your booth was developed to help make their visit easier.
Point out the demonstration areas, the section where one-on-one presentations will take place or the location of a new product or service.

4.    Ask about their buying needs.
In the first few minutes of your conversation the emphasis should be on asking rather than telling.

The right frame of mind will make the show experience more productive and fun for both your exhibit staff and your visitors.

By: Barry Siskind

When it comes to networking opportunities, trade shows provide one of the best venues. Here is the one place where everyone in your industry congregates for a few short days and is focused on one thing – business.

Over the last few years we have seen a significant drop in the number of people who attend shows while the quality of those who do come has risen. This is important news for an exhibitor or a visitor who wants to meet and greet those often inaccessible industry people.

These are the same people you have left countless unanswered telephone and e-mail messages for. These may be the same people who will ultimately decide on the purchase of your product or service. There will be the movers and shakers – people who have their finger on the pulse of your industry. All you need to do is be prepared.

Here are a few tips on preparing your networking activities for your next trade show.

1. Define your objective. Be really clear about what you want to accomplish whether it’s meeting decision makers, product experts, industry guru’s, forecasters or people who work for your competitors.  Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with these people?”  If you want to learn more about your industry for example, take this statement a step further and ask, “What specifically?”

2. Make a list of the people you want to meet and the most likely place to meet them. This will include such places as receptions, on the show floor, at participating hotels, during industry events such as meetings, banquets and sporting events or at a lecture.

3. Attempt to reach these people ahead of time to set up a pre-arranged meeting. This is a great idea because the people that you want to meet, just like you, are busy and have full schedules.

4. Develop a list of questions. Rather than leaving the meeting to chance it’s always better to spend a bit of time preparing the questions ahead of time. Questions like the one in Step 1 – “What specifically?”

5. Recording information. Bring a notebook, to record the information you are gathering.

6. Bring your business cards. Its simply good business etiquette to exchange business cards during a business meeting. Having this contact’s card also gives you their vital statistics so you can get in touch with them after the show in case you have additional questions or need some clarification on the information they gave you.

7. Thank them. Not only after the meeting is over but immediately after the show. It’s good business practice to send an e-mail or letter thanking them for the time they spent with you and the value their information had.

8. Look for opportunities to add information of your own. During your face to face meetings you may stumble across bits of information the person you are meeting with may be looking for. Here is a great chance to give something back to the conversation. But, be careful and avoid gossip. Keep the information you are sharing factual and positive.

Sometimes we get so focused on setting up  a trade show exhibit or planning a trip we neglect the power we can cultivate with a strong network. Put these eight simple steps to work at your next show and reap the rewards that come from adding networking to your show schedule.