I wanted to touch base on trade shows and there value, in our industry trade shows have been a massive part of our business.They can deliver a great ROI or be a complete bust.
Are most companies utilizing the shows to there potential, In my past experiences I find that a lot companies that exhibit at these shows don’t get a lot done by exhibiting at there booths, while most deals take place socially, at late night events, and one on one meetings after the exhibit hall is closed, what are you actually getting out of having a booth at a trade show.
Don’t get me wrong we have had booth’s at several trade shows,it does help build your brand, I have had people come up to me and say “Hey I saw your booth at the show” love the logo or sign or swag.
I found that when I have had individual meetings where I can spend some quality time with that client we actually get a lot more accomplished and we ended up building a long lasting relationship between both companies and we felt a lot more comfortable working with each other.
Exhibiting at a booth is very tiring, and a lot of it is just collecting cards and giving your thirty second pitch about your company and listening to another thirty second pitch from the client, then giving them some swag…. with so many people passing by the booth’s and not having the proper time to get to know each of them, how much did you accomplished. All that I see was a quick reach out.
How can you possibly build a personal and business relationship that fast, oh wait I forgot, it’s all about the follow up’s over email or IM when you get back to the office,while this is key, I thought it was about people, guess I was wrong.
I am in no way knocking trade shows in our industry or exhibitors, I am just saying there may be a better way to spend your time at the booth so you can get more out of your exhibiting experience.
Here are some tips that will help you have a successful show.
1) Set your goals, what do you want to get out of this show?
2) Incorporate your target with your time.
3) Spend more than 30 seconds with the client on the other end, don’t rush them off this is not a assembly line.
4) Gauge the client to see if they are a good fit for your company, if so set up a meeting with them for after the exhibit hall is closed, you will then get to learn who the person is and what they and there company is about.
5) Have a flyer or brochure about what your company does, I did not see this with a lot of exhibitors.
Just a few helpful tips that I thought I would share with you all.
