20 Sep Excel – Fair – Trade Show

 

EXCEL AT A FAIR OR TRADE SHOW

It is known that participating in fairs or tradeshows can be exhausting. To enjoy this type of events instead of surviving it, there’s only one secret; be well prepared.

Once your company has selected the show in which you will participate based on criteria such as the clientele you want to acquire, the market to develop and the product to promote, your preparation can begin.

 

Promote

First, you must promote your presence at the event through social networks. Plan several posts to announce your participation in the event, to publish your booth number and to give any news or promotions you offer on site. Any information that may be interesting to your prospects and customers will be used as an excuse for a relevant post on LinkedIn and/or Facebook, both personal and your company’s. Be creative with the content!

Participating in a show aims to find new customers and to strengthen current business relationships as well.

 

Be attractive

If you are not visible, visitors might pass you by even if you are the best in your field.  Your trade show booth must attract eyes from far since the first judgement of visitors will be on your image, therefore an investment is necessary. In addition, think of a prize draw related to your company. Too often, we see draws of tablets, baskets of products or other unrelated items, which generates an insignificant collection of business cards. If you want visitors who participate in your draw to be qualified, give a REAL gift for them to discover you well. For example, if you are a trainer, offer a mini-conference; if you are in the IT sector, get a security diagnosis of IT installations; if you are in the hotel business, you can offer an accommodation for a night with a visit to the establishment.

During a draw, take the opportunity to qualify participants by completing a participation coupon with 3 quick questions. It will give you more information than a simple business card.

 

Have a winning attitude

To be successful during this type of events, as in any networking or customer meeting, your attitude is the key. Being welcoming, dynamic and smiling will make you likeable to the visitor. By crossing your brilliant look, he can not hold back his smile and you can then engage in a discussion.

If for you soliciting in events can be hard, even if you have all these qualities, you can benefit from the services of a sales representative for rent, who can create the first interaction with clients for you. Once the contact is established, they can pass it on to you for a more specific exchange with the prospect.

While you are in your comfort zone and discussing with clients who are surely interested in your products or services, the sales rep for rent will continue his work to find you new prospects.

During the first contact, ask the prospect an open question he can not answer by yes or no. Thanks to his answer, you will be able to establish a real conversation.

 

Qualify fast

Your presence in a fair is for business purposes, not social or recruitment ones.

Differentiating the potential prospect from the curious visitor must be done quickly since your participation in the event depends on it. Prepare 2 or 3 key questions that will help you identify them. You could ask questions like: what brings you here today? What attracted you to our booth? Tell me about your advancement in the trade fair so far.

Also, jobs seekers who are present can be sometimes mixed with visitors. Thus, it is important to identify them and invite them to send you their CV. If you have an opportunity for them, you will contact them.

Each person you meet at an event deserves your attention. You never know who they are or who they know.

 

Plan your follow-ups

Before the event, plan a day on the week following the show to do your follow-ups. If you do not plan it in your agenda, it is almost guaranteed that you will forget about it, since the whirlwind of everyday life will catch up to you.

Start with an email follow-up, thanking your new contacts for stopping at your booth, and start making phone calls afterwards. A prospect is interested, but you did not have the reflex to propose a meeting? Remember it the following week or write to him to propose a date for a meeting!

To increase your contacts after an event, do not let your file sleep. If your schedule does not allow you to do your follow ups on time, entrust this step to an external resource, which will perform adequately with professionalism and will be able to turn your prospects into leads or appointments.

 

Isabelle Champagne

Senior Project Manager, Sales, Communication, Marketing