Trade shows and business expos can be an effective sales and marketing tool if everyone involved understands how to promote the show before the event, attract at the show, and follow-up after the show.

The first question to ask yourself is what are your goals in doing the show. Develop your goals and plans for the show around that answer. Perhaps it is a new product promotion; or maybe your business is new to the area; is it to promote name recognition? These are just a few good reasons to invest the time and money into a trade show or business expo.

Promote Before the Show

Don't depend on the organization running the show to do all your pre-show promotion. Get the word out by sending invitations to current clients and prospects to your booth before the show date arrives. This can be done in many ways: direct mail, email, phone calls, word-of-mouth or a combination of all. Be a little creative with your announcement. Include an incentive to visit your booth in your invitation.

Attract at the Show

The Booth Your booth should be professionally created. Signage and displays need to be eye catching and able to be seen well from a distance. Don't try to tell the whole story in print on your displays. A few well- chosen graphics, product examples, or pictures speak a thousand words. Be sure to bring your own lighting. The facility lighting will not be enough; you will need additional lighting for your backdrops and displays.

Promotional Items There are so many clever promotional items available. Give-aways are a lot of fun and can be effective promotional tools. The purpose of promotional items is to create branding and logo recognition, to entice prospective customers to your booth, and to collect contact information. Pens, calculators, note pads, gift certificates, tickets to events, fun "gismos", candy, food, water, the list is endless. Target your audience. Make your promotion relate to your business. For example, if you sell sporting equipment and you want to know who likes sports, then give away sporting event tickets. Be sure, however, that your team is focused on selling your products and services rather than caught up in "selling" the give-away.

Create a Positive First Impression Your personal image should be consistent with and reflect your company's image. Ask yourself, does my appearance draw people to me or turn them away? If you are not sure, ask someone you can trust to give you an honest answer.

What to wear In most cases, a suit is required for both men and women. Logo apparel may be appropriate for your industry. Shoes should be professional and comfortable. Keep accessories to a minimum, they are distracting. Regardless of what you wear, be sure it is clean, neat, fits well, and shows no sign of wear and tear.

Theme costumes are fun but often not a success. It may seem like a clever idea to your team but your audience may not get it and perceive the wrong message.

Hygiene Use small breath mints or breath spray. Hair should be clean and cut every 3 weeks. Deodorant is important. Check your hands for their appearance. Fingernails should be clean; if you wear polish it should be subtle and with no chipped.

Name badge Have name badges professionally printed with individual names, company name and logo. A tagline or simple statement pertinent to your business, service, or product may be appropriate. Be sure the entire name badge can be seen from 5 feet away. Wear it on your right shoulder, close to your face so people can read it as you are shaking hands and greeting them.

Stand tall; step out from behind the table It will be much easier to have an engaging conversation with a prospect if you are standing next to them rather than sitting behind a display table.

Refrain from eating and drinking at the booth. A discrete bottle of water is acceptable.

Take a break Schedule breaks for each member of the team. Taking a break will be refreshing and allow time to eat.

What to say Introduce yourself. Loosen things up with light conversation but get to the reason everyone is there, to do business.

Keep a positive attitude, no matter what has gone wrong Never complain or talk about others. Leave the office situations back at the office. Have fun, people want to be around people who are having fun.

Ask questions Ask open-ended, qualifying questions; who, what, where, when and why. Use lead cards with crucial questions and information to help keep conversation on track. Ask for your customers' business card then make notes on it pertinent to your conversation and their needs. This will be helpful for follow-up calls. Your prospect will be impressed you remembered the conversation and their specific needs.

Do more listening than talking ask a question then listen for the answer Listening skills are very important. Ask a question then wait for the entire answer. It is very important not to interrupt or think about your response while others are talking.

Ask for an appointment You may not be able to close a sale that day but you can close the follow- up meeting or phone call.

Follow-up After the Show

Follow-up is very important. If you want quick results from your show efforts, plan to make follow-up phone calls immediately after the event. Blanket mailings to every business card collected are not as effective. Targeted mailings and sales appointments after a phone call will get much more profitable results.

With your goals identified and a plan in place to promote, present, and follow-up, you will have a successful and profitable Expo experience.

We are busy for the month of October. Three very unique organizations have invited Lori to guest speak for their group.

October 3 - The South Shore Chamber of commerce (SSCC) is hosting a workshop to "Help You Have a Profitable Expo Experience." Lori will team with Phil Hickey from Design knowhow at their showroom in Canton, MA. Get the details and register on the SSCC web site.

October 15 - Lori will be at the Burlington, MA Lord and Taylor with Asian Women's Connection teaching them how to project a positive professional image. Sara Vinier from Lord and Taylor personal shopping service will also be available for the evening. Get more details and register on their site http://www.awconn ect.org/

October 23 - Lori will be "Updating Your Appearance for Business and Pleasure" at the Wellesley Women's Business Network Business Forum with Dorothy Mitchell of Laser Skin Care Solutions and Femina Ali of Wellesley Dental Group. Call Joanne Neale for more details and registration 781.444.4614

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