Making The Most Of Trade Shows

By Author: Derrick Shaw
Total Articles: 40
Comment this article

When there are dozens of competitors, all with booth hawking their services, how do you ensure that potential clients are drawn to your trade show display? The following tips can help you attract and convert customers:

Sign up for the show early to make sure that you can get a good spot on the floor. You want a high traffic area that also makes your display space easily accessible. Get the largest booth you can afford. A spacious booth impresses potential customers. A large booth also means that people can step inside and spend some time in your booth without causing a traffic problem. This makes them much more likely to be there long enough for you to convey your message and close a sale.

The appearance of your booth matters. It's the first contact you will have with people attending the trade show, and, if it does not catch their attention, they will walk on by. Custom displays that attract attention are a great way to draw people into your booth. Consult with different designers until you find one who you feel can create an attractive display that can best represent your brand.

Another way to get attention ...
... at a trade show is to find a way to make your booth fun. Offer interesting freebies such as snow cones, espressos, or even chair massages. These fun touches draw people to your booth and keep them there long enough for you to tell them about your product. Having fun giveaways is another option. Pick quality promotional items for giveaways. Make it an item that is attractive and useful, so that people will grab and keep them. After the show, they have a reminder of you and your product, and your contact information right at their fingertips.

Find out what rules govern the use of a banner display in your trade show booth. Large, eye-catching banners that can be seen from several aisles away will intrigue visitors, and entice them to make their way over to your booth to see what you are about.

Finally, the most important asset in your trade show booth is the people who are running it. Having warm, engaging booth attendants at the show to personally greet each visitor will have an enormous impact on the success of your trade show appearance. Instead of a 20 minute spiel offered to every customer, work on a two or three sentence description of how your business can help them, and why you are different from the competition. Ask a couple of probing questions to decide whether a person is a potential customer. Then, either make moves toward getting contact information for another day, or, if possible, close the sale at the show.

Trade shows are highly competitive venues, but they give you an unequaled opportunity to get your business in front of hundreds of qualified buyers. Make the most of your booth and your staff to get the most out of your trade show appearance.

Find out more about trade show display. Get more information on banner display and custom display.