Trade shows are one of the best investments any company can make to help with relationships, marketing, and acquiring new leads. If you take the time to prepare properly, attending a trade show will be invaluable and could lead to many new opportunities – but without preparing, you may simply be losing money with little return.
A trade show is an event put on to bring companies and people together with a particular industry. They are often very specific, and regardless of what industry you are in, it is highly likely that there will be at least one event that you can attend each year. The great thing about these events is that they bring together everyone together under one roof, from experts in the field to those looking to learn more. With all these people together, you can use it as an opportunity to get your brand noticed and speak to people that could be new clients or attend talks on the latest technology or techniques being used. Unfortunately, everyone is thinking the same thing, so it can be easy to get lost in the noise. We’ve put together our best tips to help you fully take advantage of your next trade show and get noticed.
Find a list of attendees.
One of the best things about trade shows is that you can usually access a list of the companies and people attending, which is always worth checking out to identify the best ones to focus on while you are there. A useful strategy is to reach out to these people before the event and see if you can arrange a meeting in advance not to try to pin them down while they are busy on the day. Try to make this a soft sell and be aware that you do not spam their LinkedIn or inbox, which will likely do more harm than good. If you can arrange a few meetings before the event starts, you will be in an excellent position to have a productive day.
Bring your team.
The people you bring to a trade show can significantly impact how well the event goes. It would help if you got people that are comfortable with introducing themselves and having conversations with strangers. If you have a sales team, these are often made for the job, as they spend all of their time making connections and are experts at soft-selling your products and services. Ideally, they need to be friendly, and hard selling at events rarely works, as people are being sold to all day every day at a trade show. It is also worth bringing a mix of people with different skills and expertise with you, so if you meet someone that wants technical advice, for example, you have someone that can answer their questions.
Prepare your staff.
Before the event, take some time to get the team going and prepare for questions that you are likely to be asked. If you have a booth, make sure that you have assets like brochures and flyers ready for them to hand out and refer to. You can also create a list of difficult questions that you are sometimes asked and make sure that you have answers prepared. It is also essential to ask people walking past your booth questions rather than just trying to sell all day. Creating a rapport with people walking past so that they are more inclined to ask what your services are will lead to better leads than trying to push your product on them from the start. You want every person leaving your booth to go with a positive experience, even if they are not a good fit for you.
Give demos of your product.
If you sell a product, then trade shows are a fantastic opportunity to demo them. When people are searching for you online, they have to make do with images and written information, but if you can show your product and its advantages in person, it is far easier to make a sale. Have an interactive booth and train your team to give demos professionally to not make it up on the day.
Prepare for a long day.
Trade shows are draining both physically and mentally, and if you have not done a trade show before, this can catch you off guard. If you are an extroverted person, then talking to people all day may not be an issue, but if you are more introverted, speaking to people and ‘being on’ can be a drain. You will also likely be on your feet all day, either standing at your booth or walking around the venue, which can also be tiring work.
Ensure that you and your team get a good night’s sleep the day before and invest in a hotel near the event rather than traveling in the morning if the event is more than an hour or two away. Also, ensure that you have plenty of water available and that everyone takes time to eat good food throughout the day to keep them from burning out. If you have a booth, then have a rota prepared so that different people can rotate through the day and take breaks, which will also help keep the energy high for those on the stand.
Bring seating for your booth.
As we now know, constantly walking around an event is tiring work, so having some seating for your staff and those visiting your booth is a great idea. Bring some comfortable seating with you so that speaking to your team has somewhere appealing to sit, which will also likely convince them to stay longer and have more time to find out about what you are selling.
Make your booth interactive.
Buying a booth for a trade event can be expensive, and there will be a lot of competition around you, so standing out is important. Making your booth interactive will help convince people to come and see what is going on, and at all trade events, there are one or two booths that everyone is talking about because they are particularly creative. Partnering with a company like Craftsmen that specializes in interactive exhibitions can be a great investment.
Give stuff away for free.
When going to a trade show, people expect to leave with a bag full of freebies. Most companies focus on the standard swag like pens, bags, and bottles, but getting creative will help draw people to your booth. Something like freshly baked cookies or cocktail-themed ice pops will make people actively look for your booth and is a great conversation starter.
Get proactive.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when attending trade events is standing at their booth and expecting people to come to them. It can be intimidating approaching a booth as an event attendee, especially if there is no one already there. Rather than waiting for people to come to you, go to the people. Get out from behind your booth and see if you can strike up conversations with people walking past. If you are not used to it, this can be difficult at first, but know that most people will probably not be interested but do not be bothered about the rejection and keep going until you find someone ready to talk.
Take a speaking slot.
Most trade shows will have talks though the day delivered by experts in the industry, and taking a speaker slot is one of the best ways to get your company noticed. There will be quite a lot of work involved using this strategy, but a good talk will position you as a thought leader and make people far more likely to come to you with questions and inquiries. If you get a speaking opportunity, take as much time as you can to prepare an informative talk that delivers as much value as possible, as there is nothing worse than someone that spends their whole slot promoting themselves. Have professional slides prepared and designed, and do as many dry runs as possible to make your presentation slick. Being prepared will also help reduce any nerves on the day of the talk and make your presentation seem more natural.
Bring printed assets.
At the end of a trade show, you will likely be leaving with a stack of business cards and flyers from people you have spoken to though the day. Having a stack of business cards and flyers is necessary, as this is what most people will go through the next day to get your contact information and reach out if they are interested. Ensure everyone has new business cards and flyers with up-to-date information ready to hand out throughout the day.
Follow up after the event.
Another strategy to maximize the usefulness of attending a trade show is to follow up shortly after the event with anyone you had a good conversation with. The main goal of a trade show is to turn the leads into long-term relationships, and to do this; you need to keep the conversation going. Reach out a day or two after the event and look to arrange a follow-up meeting or send them something worthwhile to keep giving them value.