Trade shows are still the best venue to meet people that you probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. Most experienced trade show exhibitors know that nothing beats the personal interaction with potential suppliers and customers. It adds the personal touch that many people are still looking for.

People still want to interact and see for themselves what your company is all about. The personal touch that you can have during a trade show builds confidence in people about your company and its image. A trade show allows people to see that you are more than just a web page on the Internet.

A trade show is also a place to meet people who otherwise might have not known your company existed. It gives you the chance to tell your story about your product and company in a personal way. Trade shows are still the best way to interact personally with your target audience.

There will always be different methods and ways to reach out to others in the new Digital Age. However, a trade show exhibit is still a very powerful marketing tool and gives your company an edge over virtual trade shows.

You have to stay attentive at all times and a person working a trade show exhibit has to have plenty of physical and mental stamina. The clothes you wear should be appropriate but also comfortable to move around in. Your shoes should be very comfortable and it is never a good idea to wear new shoes when you are doing a trade show exhibit.

To keep your energy level up it is a good idea to arrange it so your staff gets to take a break every couple of hours. You should make sure you eat something throughout the day to keep a high energy level. Short breaks throughout the event will keep you and your staff on their toes.

It is also important to stay hydrated during a show. Make sure plenty of water is available to you and your staff. Plan ahead and be prepared by bring along a survival kit. You should include items like, eye drops, Band-Aids, antacids, and safety pins.

Trade shows can be rewarding, on the other hand, they can also be grueling if you are not prepared. The key to success it to plan ahead and to make sure you are ready to spend hours working the trade show floor.

There isn’t one particular item or thing that will guarantee a successful trade show. It is a combination of things that will give you the advantage over others who did not plan ahead. The first thing is to check out the trade show you are interested in attending and making sure it is one that your target market would attend.

You don’t have to have a big flashy display to attract potential customers. You will want to have a display that depicts your products and services in an attractive and professional manner. You also want to make sure that you have plenty of marketing materials to take to the trade show. To get the most out of the trade show you should send out mailings and fliers to customers and vendors before the show inviting them to come see you there. You should also make sure you promote the trade show on your website.

You can use promotional gifts or giveaways to attract people to your exhibit. You can also use drawings or prizes to lure in potential customers. One of the main keys to a successful show is to have informed and professional looking staff on the floor in your exhibit. You want people who are friendly and knowledgeable about your products to be able to close the deal. After the show is over you want to make sure you are following up on leads as soon as possible while the person is still interested.

As you can see there are many things that have to be done to help you have a successful trade show exhibit.

You can help save costs by using, used displays and items from last year’s exhibit if you update them for your current shows. To get the most out of your display you want to create an impact using your message and product. It is best to keep your trade show exhibit simple. Another benefit of keeping your exhibit simple it is easier to alter to give you different looks at different trade shows.

To design an exhibit that will grab your target audience’s attention you need to have an effective way to get your message seen. First you need to decide what is the main message or theme of your trade show exhibit. Once you have the theme you incorporate it into every aspect of your exhibit and marketing efforts.

You want your concept to grab the trade show visitor’s attention. A good choice is one that stirs an emotional response in the trade show visitor, such as patriotism or nostalgia. You don’t have to have an extreme concept or a flashy exhibit to attract potential prospects. Some of the most successful trade show exhibits are subtle, pleasantly surprising or clever.

You want to stand out from the rest of the exhibitors and have your message shown loud and clear. Trade shows can be a way to successfully get your product or services recognized and build your customer base. You can have an attractive exhibit if you plan ahead and follow a theme or concept in all parts of your trade show exhibit. Just remember when it comes to your exhibit sometimes less is more.

You have to plan way ahead of time for a major trade show. Preparations can take up to a year to complete. Since this is a time consuming endeavor you want to research the trade show to make sure it is the right one for your product or services. You are going to spend a lot of time and effort so you want to make sure you will be reaching a large number of people who fit into your target market.

You want to make sure all of your team members including management are involved in the planning and preparing process. You want to make sure everyone is on the same page and know what the goals and objectives for the trade show are. You should make sure that you have adequate staff that will be on the trade show floor.

You also will want to make sure that each person is given specific roles or duties and the requirements are clearly known. The last thing you need on the opening day of the trade show is your staff being unprepared and confused about their specific roles.

Your staff is the key to having a successful show. Your trade show booth is important to draw in your prospective customers. However, it is the people on the floor who will have to actually convince a visitor why they need your product or service. To have a successful show you have to have staff that offer friendly greetings, have polite manners, and are knowledgeable about your products. Preparation and your team members are the keying to have a successful exhibit at a trade show.

This means that understanding your buyer is crucial. If you know what your target audience needs, wants and expects; then it is easier for you to be prepare and ready to meet their needs. When you offer special incentives or a discount this will make your prospects even more willing to do business with you.

When you offer special show promotions or deals make sure they are user friendly. A buyer might be willing to pay more to avoid having to do extra work to get the savings. If you make a buyer have to fill out a questionnaire, or go to your website and enter a promotional code they might consider going elsewhere instead of spending extra time.

Another thing that is important to remember is reach out to your clients before the trade show through email and direct mail marketing. That way it will give them incentive to come visit you at the show for special deals. Also remember to keep it simple when promoting discounts. People want to know exactly what the final price will be; they don’t want to spend time doing the math.

You can give your trade show personnel printed sheets that they can use to highlight appropriate discounted prices and write in the total savings. Also make sure that your staff reminds the person of the deadline for the discount prices to give them a push to buy your product quickly before time runs out on the promotion.

All of the things mentioned above will help you to have a more successful trade show and will help to turn prospects into buyers.

The first group is the people who came to buy and are ready to order. These are the type of people you want to spend quality time with. The second group is people who are interested but need more information. By knowing this type you can give them the information they are looking for instead of just handing them some marketing material, hoping they will look at it.

The last group is the not qualified or not interested people. If they seem like they don’t need or want your product, you should move on to other prospects. You shouldn’t spend needless time trying to convince them, just be polite and move on.

Now that you are aware of the different groups of people it is important to draw the first two groups into your booth. Your display should be the key factor to getting the right people into your booth. You want signs and displays to clearly and effectively tell what your company is all about. So people walk into your trade show booth knowing what it is you are selling. It is a waste of time to stand in the aisle dragging people in that are not really interested.

Besides having an appealing signs and displays, product presentations can draw in large crowds. During your presentations sprinkle in trivia about your industry to make people interested in what you do. By the end of your presentation you should be able to tell who genuine prospects are and the people who are not. Keeping the above information in mind will help you to offer your products to people who want to know more about your product and not waste time with the others.

This will never happen – you may have a ton of attendees clamoring to get to your booth but it is not as a result of the trade show advertising and marketing – it is because you have done your promotional and marketing work yourself!

Many companies just do not get it when it comes to promoting themselves but it is basic and essential – just to ram the point home, here are some media resources you can use to get your name and trade show attendance broadcast to the world.

Email and Mailshot Your Clients and Prospects and the Trade Shpow Attendee Listing

The first step you can take is to mail everyone you are doing business with that you are exhibiting at the trade show.  This includes your customers, prospects and suppliers (don’t forget them either) but you can also request from the trade show management for the attendee list and the other exhibitors too – contact them.

Email or snail mail it’s your choice but email is fast and cheap plus it lends itself to some of the other things we are going to cover here when you are promoting yourself at any trade show.

Press Release

The idea of a press release being issued for many businesses is usually greeted with a smile and a shaking of the head.

Forget that attitude – your business is exhibiting at a trade show – that is NEWS!

If you don’t think it’s a big deal don’t bother exhibiting because you attending a trade show is big news and how you get that out is using a press release.

They are short but not so simple documents to prepare so you may need some help from a professional but don’t expect to pay much for the work – $100-$200 will easily cover it.  The press release will get your “news” out to the media at large and you should fax it straight to your local press (and your Chamber of Commerce can help with contacts too).

Social Media

Social media means the web and the Web 2.0 sites – not sure what these are?  You’re going to learn fast!

These sites are free and should form part of a consistent and regular exercise as part of your promotional activities:

Twitter – announce what you are doing to the world as it happens

LinkedIn – the professionals online social networking site and an excellent professional resource

Zimbio – write articles and features on your business and publish them for the world to see

eZine Articles – another article site with millions of eyeballs using it but you may need a professional to help

PRLeap – submit your press releases here and gain access to every major media outlet in the world

You can talk to your current customers about which events they attend. You can ask other people in your network which trade shows have been successful for them. There are also trade show directories available. Another good source of information is your local chamber of commerce or other business organizations.

Once you have found the trade shows you are interested in you can request to see a past list of vendors or attendees if they are available from the show sponsor. Most of these shows have websites where you should be able to gain the information. You can use this information to see if the lists of past vendors are in the same industry as you are. This information will tell you if this is the right show that your potential buyers would be attending.

By looking at trade shows past events you will be able to determine if this show would draw in the type and number of prospects you want. Other key considerations include where the show is located, cost, and the sponsor’s reputation. Once you have determined which shows are right for your product you then sit down and write a detailed plan and checklist. If you are organized from the get go you can make sure the trade show is a success and brings in many prospects and new customers.

Here we go back to basics when it comes to saving money and maximizing the results from your trade show efforts.

Do Your Homework before the Show

Going into a show without proper research into the market and those likely to be attending is a surefire way of throwing money away.

Check the demographics of the trade show attendees from prior shows (management will have this) and look at who is going to be attending for the forthcoming show as well – again trade show management should have this but it is not always straight forward to come by – dig your heels in and insist, you’ve earned the right to this information by renting their space when many others have stopped.

Take the Time to Prepare

An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance but everything is for nothing if you haven’t prepared the way beforehand.

A major trade show will take your team some 12 to 18 months of prior preparation for it to come off as successfully as you intend.  Smaller shows take less time and if you have been around the block a few times you will quickly learn what is and is not important to generating maximum results from the show.

Always set enough time to prepare and train up your team so everyone knows what to expect, what their job is and ultimately who is responsible for delivering results which must be measured and assessed.

Management should be Top Down

The sooner senior management are involved and taking ownership of those parts of the process which are important the better for everyone.  Trade show displays are a great way to generate exposure and sales but they also require thorough planning and appropriate allocation of resources; the sooner senior management authority is brought to bear the easier everyone else’s job becomes and this saves a great deal of time and trouble for no cost.

Pre-Show Marketing

Do not rely on the trade show management to do your marketing for you; make sure you email and mailshot your prospect and client banks with the information and fact that you will be exhibiting as well as inviting them to come see you there.  Don’t hold back in letting the press know you will be there too – exhibiting at a show is usually worth a short piece or two in the local press as well as trade journals – a press release will cost you some paper and fax time.

Post-Show Follow Up

Too often trade show teams breathe a sigh of relief at the end of a show – end up in the hotel bar and celebrate with a party and a few pats on the back about a great time and some great contacts and sales.

Bad move and this costs millions every year to American businesses.

Once the trade show has ended your job has only just begun – now is the time to be getting on top of your team and making sure the follow up calls are initiated and meetings promised during the trade show are actually carried out and take place.  More money is to be made after the trade show than during the event itself but this is commonly ignored or not done well by exhibitors.