You have a wonderful trade show booth, well-trained personnel, and professionally-done collateral and it is the day of the show. What can you do now to make it a success?
First of all, smile and relax – nothing is a worse detractor to booth traffic than frowning nervous Marketing Managers! Don’t chit-chat with your fellow booth members, and keep your attention focused on your visitors.
Next, invite people into your booth. Smile, and make eye contact, then ask them if they are enjoying the show. When they come in, make sure you have an “elevator pitch” ready – a two minute description of your company’s products and why they are necessary. This should be very clear and succinct, they should clearly understand your value proposition when you are finished.
Not everyone will be a fit for your products. If they are clearly not interested, don’t try to hard sell them. Just thank them for their time, and turn your attention to the next prospect.
Be sure to either scan their badge, get their business card, or have them sign a guest book if they express interest in your product. Ask key questions, like what they plan to use it for, and what special needs they have. Write notes down on the back of their business card after they have left the booth – you will meet many people during these several days and it is best not to trust these details to memory.
If you have others manning the booth through a shift schedule, which is best, but not always possible for small companies – take some time to visit other booths and invite the participants to visit your booth as well. Some key partnerships can be developed through your “evangelical” work.
At the end of each day, take the time to recap the events of the day with your team. Discuss clear marching orders as to who is going to follow up with whom, and when. Speed is the name of the game, so if you get answers to questions asked during the show before the show ends, you come out ahead.
