Engage or Exit!

So many visitors to a Trade Show or Expo have on their mind "Engage or Exit".

It's not a conscious thought, but they know if you don't pay them attention or at the very least acknowledge their presence, they are out of there.  How do you do that?  It's easy when there are only one or two people per staff member in your booth, but what about peak hour?  You MUST have a strategy to deal with the busy times.  Even if you have one of your team nominated as the "Preview Person".

The Preview Person will quickly move among the people, get their contact details and what they are interested in.  They do not have to be as knowledgable as your key staff members but they can quickly engage, comment on how busy it is and get someone to get back to them.  It is a way that everyone gets engaged and your can then follow up later in the show by calling their mobile phone or follow up after the show.

How do you deal with peak hour?

You gotta Stand in the Stand!

One of the things that annoys me, but more importantly, costs exhibitors money, is sitting in your stand.

Let me explain.

If you were an exhibitor at a Trade Show or Expo, you would have paid thousands of dollars for the privilege. Dollars for the space, dollars for the stand, dollars for the promotion, dollars for the travel to get there and back, dollars for accomodation and meals and dollars for emergency sundry things that you forgot about and needed to get last minute. So after spending all of these dolllars, what do you get?

Anyone who has worked at a Trade Show knows that the biggest thing that you get is the pain in your feet! The show floor is concrete with a "film" of carpet if you are lucky. No matter how good your shoes are, the feet hurt. If only I could just sit down!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Nothing will scare a prospect away quicker that someone sitting in the stand. Think about you own reaction when you walk up to someone who is sitting in their stand. Because it starts with the sitting, then the person sitting says to themselves, "I'll just relax a little". When the prospect comes over, they say to themselves, "I'll get up if they are interested".
The person coming over thinks, "They are not that interested so I'll move on."
The seated person thinks, "Yay, I don't have to get up because my feet hurt!"

Prospect, potential sale, potential lifelong value of customer GONE! The thousands (if not tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands) invested in the show WASTED all because you have sore feet.

The Trade Show or Expo may be on for one, three or maybe eight days. That's only eight days of your life that you have to have sore feet. As wifey says to me when I am whining, "Suck it up princess!!" This is why they call it a Stand. You have to stand there. You have to be on full alert. You have to make your guest feel welcomed when they come over and not feel uncomfortable. Standing at the edge of your booth welcoming guests, being friendly, engaging with prospects will do this so much better than sitting at the back of the Stand thinking about your sore feet.

Each prospect visiting will be visiting your stand for the first time, so for you it has to be the first time. With all the enthusiasm and vigour of the first time.

You Gotta Stand in the Stand!!

Enjoy

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

Don't be a Vulture!

I was at an Expo recently and saw some Vultures. I strongly encourage you to NOT be a Trade Show or Expo Vulture. Watch the video and see what I mean!



So what about you? Are you a Vulture? What can you do differently so that you add value to your visitor and not be a Vulture?

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy