A Reality Check for Exhibitors

Another Trade Show Displays Tip:

For many of us who's main occupation or primary focus in our work life is something other than exhibiting at trade shows, this blog post is for you. The reason that I say that is because for many of us, we go to shows 2-4 times a year and  for the most part, they become an interruption in our normal work flow; albeit an important one.

And then there's that pesky little issue of jumping on the leads from the show and contact the list of new prospects before our competitors contact them. It just never ends, and from time to time we realize  that we should be putting more time into the business of being a professional exhibitor, but how do you accomplish that and not lose your focus on your normal every day activities? 

What we all need is a good starting point to get us going in the right direction. Here are several  points to consider:

• First you have to visually represent your brand as effectively as the competition is representing theirs. Essentially this means that visitors walking by your booth, should know within 3 seconds, not only who you are, but more importantly, what you represent such as a product  and/or service. 
• Next, it's mandatory that you effectively communicate your message through non verbal communication such as your trade show display; either through graphics or written communication. 
• One on one verbal communication by your sales staff must be in alignment and support your visual message. 
• The action step that your booth staff intends to take with the prospect, must be clearly communicated to the prospect in the booth to begin the closing process and to correct any incorrect assumptions that might be made about a future course of action.
• Immediate post show follow up must be made which is in alignment with what the booth staff has communicated to the prospect at the show. I would highly recommend assigning someone other than the exhibit staff to handle the execution of this step because sales people more often than not will move onto the next selling task and leave the follow up to a more convenient time.

Here's one last action step that must be taken, which is a serious reality check to your entire process. Go to each of your direct competitors trade show display booths on the show floor, and take a picture of their booth plus one of your own booth. Then at your next sales meeting, show the pictures to each person and ask which company you'd be most likely to buy from if you were a prospect, based upon what you see in the photos. You may  realize that the prospects at the show are in the process of doing just that, based upon what they experienced at the show from you and your competitors. 

What's really scary about all of this is that in over 4 years of selling trade show displays on the internet, I don't think I've heard but once or twice from a new customer that they needed to upgrade their presentation based upon what the competition is doing. Maybe these are some of the reasons that your company isn't as competitive as they once were at trade shows.

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by Lowell Nickens, ShopForExhibits.com, LinkedIn Profile