How To Be The Life And Soul At A Trade Show

Trade shows can be big for businesses, but they can also be a big waste of time. What’s the point spending all that time and energy setting up, designing a stand and spending hours on your feet if it does nothing for your business?
So what do you need to become a trade show sensation? A game plan. With the right approach, you can make a trade show work for you and deliver some great returns for your business. Find out how it’s done below.

Why are you going?

There’s no point of going to a trade show if you don’t have an objective, so what’s yours? Are you trying to drum up some interest in your business or sell some products? Make your objective clear. If you can’t think of a clear, strategic reason to go – perhaps it’s not the right move this time.

Make a splash

Let’s face it; trade shows aren’t always the most exciting of events. After visiting booth after booth, they can soon start blending into one. With that in mind, you need to make sure that yours is the one that stands out. With a stand-out trade show booth, you can be sure of making an impression as people walk by and try to discover more about your business. Enlist a good graphic designer and get to work on building a top stand.

Get your basics in order

Whatever your objective, make sure you’ve got your basics in order to ensure you can deliver what you need to. From having enough literature to making sure your technology works – it’s important that you get the basics elements in place
If you’re going to be selling something from your stand, taking bookings or deposits, then you’re going to need to offer flexible payments. Get a credit card machine to take payments, as cash-only could lose you a lot of business, especially if your competitors are willing to accept plastic. It’s more affordable than ever and will be worth it to get the sales you need.

Pick a great giveaway

What draws you to a trade show? Top of the list has to be the freebies. Don’t underestimate the power of trade show giveaways. The right giveaway can draw people in, get the conversation going and give them something to take away with them to remember you buy. The better the giveaway, the better the impression, go get your thinking cap on to start brainstorming top giveaway ideas to boost your trade show presence.

Enjoy it!

Use a trade show as an opportunity to have fun – people will remember you far more than if you were to just sit there and wish the day away. Be chatty, be friendly and show your company off in the best light. If you want to be the life and soul of the party, you need to bring your A-game. Sure, you might need to learn to keep your sanity when dealing with customer service, but if you embrace the day it’ll fly by – and you might even enjoy yourself!