Your company has invested a great deal of money into a beautiful tradeshow exhibit and you've been selected to work the booth. How do you prepare yourself to make the most of this opportunity?
Here are some helpful tips:
Create a preshow plan. Profile the type of prospect you wish to attract to better focus your efforts. Get a preregistration attendee list and contact as many of the suitable prospects as possible before the show. Extend a personal invitation to your tradeshow booth and give the attendee a reason to stop by - something new for them to see works well. You should contact any very important prospects to try to set up an appointment at the tradeshow.
business man working trade show boothFamiliarize yourself with the entire convention agenda. Be aware of keynote speakers, educational sessions and social events. Prioritize them and make sure to attend. Be prepared to discuss these sessions with prospects who come to the booth.
Study the design of your exhibit. Read and understand the graphics. Have a plan for giving the prospects a quick tour of the booth and recording lead information for follow-up.
Develop a plan to deal with current customers efficiently so that they do not monopolize precious prospecting time.
Memorize a few greetings. Try not to ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Your goal should be to encourage the prospect to talk about themselves or their company, so that you can tailor your presentation to their interests.
Be approachable. Refrain from eating in the tradeshow booth, checking your Blackberry, or holding extended conversations with coworkers. It is human nature not to be rude and interrupt people and it will make your tradeshow exhibit seem uninviting.
Be sure to have a disengagement line or two. The best one is "thanks for stopping by", but if you are talking to an important prospect it might be better to say "where do we go from here?" or "how would you like me to follow up?"
Take notes. There are so many people and so little time. Brief notes will help you to be more effective with your follow-up.
Try to schedule breaks throughout the day to deal with voicemail, email, and just catch your breath. Remember, quality is more important than quantity.
Follow up in a timely manner, meaning the next day. Don't risk letting your prospect forget you.
