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Meeting & Event Guide

Maximize Your Exhibiting Power
by Pat Perry

So your company has signed up for the upcoming Business Expo to be held in your town next month and you now have thirty days or less to prepare.  What steps should you follow to make your experience successful?  After taking a deep breathe, gathering your thoughts and putting on your running shoes to meet this challenge, read on.  The tips and suggestions below will offer a helping hand to assure your time is well spent and your return on investment, fruitful. 

Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan and Plan Some More.
Exhibiting is a powerful extension to your company’s marketing, advertising, public relations and sales functions.  You need to take your involvement seriously.  It is not only show time which is important when exhibiting.  You must consider the before, during and after the show time to get the most out of your experience.

Prior to the show focus on the purpose and positioning of your marketing efforts for the day’s event.  A trade show should not be a stand-alone venture, but rather a key component of your marketing strategy designed to contribute to your specific marketing goals.  Decide if you are setting out to increase existing sales or introduce a new product or provide a broad company snapshot of services. 

Define what you are trying to achieve with your participation.  Knowing what you want to accomplish at a show helps you plan your theme, booth design, product display, printed materials and giveaways.  You may be working towards increased sales, introducing a new product, providing a corporate image, educating customers, or possibly recruiting employees.

Communicate Your Message.
Your on-site show presence (exhibit booth) should attract prospects to your exhibit, send a clear message, and encourage conversation.  The main reason people attend shows is to discover what is new.  If you don’t have a new product or service, promote what you are offering in a new way.  Attendees also look for guidance and recommendations, education and personal development, assistance with challenges and solutions to work problems.

The most important aspect of your exhibit is the people who staff it.  The well-designed booth and beautiful literature are great but it is your people who sell your company.  Knowledge, verbal skills, body language, and appearance all help to create a positive image in the minds of the attendees.  Encourage your staff to set their own goals for the day.  Goals provide a way to measure individual and event success.