by Gilda Bonanno LLC
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 (these strategies also apply to other opportunities you have to meet people, whether you’re attending a networking event or representing your organization at a sponsor table at a meeting or conference).
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.
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 any
networking conversations, 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 or QR code. 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. If
you’ve collected information electronically, review the data that people have
submitted.
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.
© Gilda Bonanno LLC - Gilda Bonanno serves as a trusted advisor to executives and entrepreneurs to transform their communication, presentation and leadership skills. She has worked with companies on 4 continents, from Chicago to Shanghai and Rio to Rome. The instructional videos on her YouTube channel have received over 1.5 million views and her e-newsletter has reached subscribers in over 45 countries since 2008. For other articles or to receive Gilda's e-newsletter, visit www.gildabonanno.com