Making the trade show experience work

By Richard Duda
Contributing Writer
to Syracuse News

The red bits are our comments!

With the CenterState Business Showcase coming up Thursday Oct. 25 at the Oncenter (OOPS! You missed it already), here are a few ideas to make it a more successful trade show experience for those who are exhibiting. Even if you will only be attending the show, these tips will help make the next trade show you do exhibit at a more rewarding and profitable selling experience.
First, make sure that everyone in your network and all of your clients and potential clients know you will be exhibiting at the show. The Trade Show Bureau reports that 45 percent of trade show attendees are drawn to a company’s exhibit as the direct result of a personal invitation. Think about the best way for you to communicate this to your most valuable customers or potential customers — email blast?  Mail? Telemarketing effort? However communicated, the personal invitation will definitely increase the traffic from buyers.
One of the most successful shows I ever exhibited at was when I was opening a new hotel and trying to increase visibility among conference and meeting planners that we would need to make the hotel successful. We mailed each attendee we considered a potential buyer half of an oversized $100 bill (play money) cut with a jagged edge. Meeting planners were invited to bring their half to our booth and if the jagged edge matched up with the master copy in our booth, they would win the grand prize we were bringing to the show. (Ah, the incomplete gift mixed with a prize draw, targetted only to prime prospects. That's a strategy we have used successfully too!)
The result was that we got quality face time with potential buyers and were able to achieve our goal of increased awareness for this about-to-open property. Even though there was only one grand prize winner (who showed up and made the match) we awarded a number of valuable consolation prizes (you should always have plenty of '2nd' or 'consolation' prizes - they increase the chances of another appointment) and everyone left happy. Booked a lot of business from that show.
This preplanning is very important, but appropriate follow-up is critical. The vast majority of exhibitors do not engage in any form of organized follow-up (leaving the field wide open for those who do). Have your trade show sales staff collect leads and sort them with the hottest leads marked for immediate follow-up. Ideally, you should follow up on leads obtained at the show within one to two weeks. (Our clients will tell you we harp on about this ad nauseam. But if you don't follow up fast - preferably in days not weeks - you won't do any business!)
Other things to consider: Ditch the chair they include with booth furniture. You shouldn’t be sitting, anyway. Consider placing the booth table at the side or back of the booth, removing that physical barrier between you and the potential customer who approaches the booth. If the table will be holding handouts, always keep a few in your hand. (In fact, ditch the table and the handouts too! Call us if you can't figure out why.)
Hope this helps with your future trade show opportunities.
Richard Duda is the marketing manager for Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center and for five years served as an adjunct professor of hospitality marketing at Syracuse University.