How To Succeed At A Trade Show

If you’re trying to get your business off the ground and want to showcase it to others in the same field, going to trade shows can be a very lucrative idea. Trade shows allow you to meet business owners.

Make Your Booth Appealing

To get people to come and look at your booth, you need to put in the time, effort, and even money to make your booth look professional and eye-catching. Design and order a sign or two to put up behind the booth. Use bright, happy colors to attract people to your booth, and decorate with flowers or a potted plant to give the area a fresh, pleasant atmosphere. Candies or mints in an attractive bowl, along with colorful flyers and a gift for the passers-by will ensure that several people will stop at your booth.

Give Out Information, Not Pens

While many businesses give out something small like a pen to the wanderers at trade shows, there’s a better way to keep your company name and message in the minds of others. For example, small flash drives with your name on the side, though slightly more expensive to produce, are very useful to the people you meet at trade shows. They can put it on their keys and use it as a regular USB drive, something everyone uses.

The bonus of a flash drive is that, besides having your company name, website, and phone number on the outside, you can also put some non-removable documents onto the drive with information about what you do and details about your company. Every time they open drive on their computers, your potential customers will be reminded about who you are and what you do.

Mingle

If you want people to remember you and work with you in the future, be affable and talk pleasantly with as many people as you can. Get the word out about what you do and how your company can help them simply by talking to others. Go around and see the other booths, go to any lunches, happy hours, and meet-ups that come up. If people can connect your company to a friendly face, they’re more likely to remember you in the months after the trade show, which is exactly what you want.

Follow Up

In the months after the show, make sure to take some time to reconnect with those you met and talked to. Simple follow-up calls or emails show that you are dedicated and consistent, leaving a good impression on others. It could even be the simple nudge to get those who want to do business with you, but are simply too busy or preoccupied to get into contact with you, to become one of your customers. It’s certainly worth the time and calls if it helps make your business more successful.

A trade show will get your name out to a large number of people connected to your field of business. The key to a trade show is to draw people in and to keep your company in their memory even after everyone goes back to their homes. By giving useful handouts at a bright and welcoming booth, talking to a large number of people, and contacting them after the show is said and done, you’ll find yourself making lasting business connections that will help your business grow and succeed.