A client asked how he could be more successful when working his company’s booth at an upcoming industry tradeshow. Here are my 7 strategies for successfully working a tradeshow:
1) Set
realistic expectations
Popular tradeshows are attended by thousands of people and
can be noisy, crowded and exhausting (for both attendees and exhibitors). As a tradeshow team, set expectations for
what you want to achieve and how you will measure success. For example, collecting email addresses may
be all you can do during busy, peak hours while during quieter hours, you may
be able to have more in-depth conversations with people who stop by your booth.
2) At
your booth, smile and make eye contact
Greet people who pass by your booth with a smile and make
eye contact. If they don’t want to stop
or aren’t interested in your product or service, they can look away or keep
walking. If they are interested in your
company or even merely curious, your welcoming smile will encourage them to
stop at the booth. Even if you’re
wearing a face mask, if you smile behind the mask, the rest of your face and
eyes will light up and communicate that you’re smiling.
3) Use
good questions to customize your conversation
Rather than launching into a sales pitch or product demo
with every person who comes to your booth, some of whom are just walking
aimless by or just want to pick up your free stuff, have a few questions ready
to elicit information to help you tailor your conversation. For example: what made you stop by? How do
you currently handle [insert whatever your product/service is]?
4) Know
what points you want to make
Tradeshows can be similar to networking events since you may
not have a lot of time to talk with people.
So think about how you will briefly introduce yourself and talk about
your company’s product or service.
Prepare a few key points that will be relevant to the expected audience
and then customize as needed based on their answers to your questions.
5) Have
a clear call to action
Given the nature of the environment and schedule, it may not
be possible to have in-depth conversations with many people, which makes it
even more important for you to have a clear call to action for what you’d like people
to do. For example, you could collect
business cards or have the person sign up or register using a mobile device in
exchange for something free – like a trial period of a product, a white paper,
to be entered into a drawing, etc. In
addition to signs announcing this offer, also ask, “May I invite you
to…[receive our free newsletter, schedule a free demo at your office, etc.]?”
6) Plan
your exit strategy
As with networking events, one of the most challenging parts
of tradeshow communication is figuring out to how end a conversation
respectfully so you can talk to other people.
I favor the direct approach for both networking and tradeshows. Make a definitive closing statement such as,
“Thank you for visiting our booth and signing up for our newsletter. I enjoyed speaking with you about [x product
or service]. Please let me know if you
have any questions about it once you look at the additional information.”
Then provide them with some means of contacting you (or
someone else at your company who is the more appropriate contact), such as a
business card. Review any agreements you
made; for example, “I will call you next week to schedule a full product demo
with your team.” Smile, make eye contact
and then simply move on to the next person.
7) Don’t
forget to follow up
Immediately after you meet someone, if possible, or at the
end of the day, make notes on whatever relevant information you remember,
especially if he or she is someone who could become a warm lead or
customer.
Once the tradeshow is over, be sure to follow up in a timely
manner with anyone you promised additional information to. Call, email or make a connection on social
media. Be strategic with your time and
customize the level of follow up based on your notes about the person and their
potential as a customer, contact, etc.
Spend time individually and as a team to reflect on the
experience: what worked well? What didn’t? What would you change for next time?
Then use this information in preparation for the next tradeshow, even if it’s
many months away.
The next time you have to work a booth at an industry
tradeshow, follow these 7 strategies so you can successfully make a connection
to people and communicate your company’s value.