Posts Tagged ‘Booth staff’
Written by Ken Newman on 16 December 2011
You’re driving down the highway. You see a billboard. You glance at it. Then, your eyes are back on the road. You don’t slow down and read the fine print. You don’t pull over and climb the ladder to get a closer look. You just glance at it and it’s gone. Those advertisers know what they’re doing. They KNOW their audience is a moving target with a very small window for impact and success. So, that message has a powerful graphic. It’s simple, with a memorable message. It brands the company and it’s evocative. It’s the classic example of effective high-speed advertising.
And your booth better be the best damn billboard you’ve ever seen!
Imagine your trade show attendees weren’t just fast-walking down the trade show aisles; they’re traveling at 65 mph right past your booth—that booth where you’ve invested so much time and money. The reality is, you don’t have to IMAGINE it. If you’ve ever witnessed that staring-at-the-carpet, “don’t-even-TRY-to-talk-to-me-I’m-busy,” look, they might as well be going 65 mph, ’cause they sure ain’t stopping to talk to YOU!
So what do you do? What can you put on a sign? What single message will make people slam on the brakes and cause a nice little pileup right in front of your booth? It has to convey: The most incredible thing in the world, THIS exit! But how in the world do you come up with THAT?
You want a showstopping billboard? Lead!
PUSH your marketing people. PUSH your sign designers. PUSH for something that’s not like everything else. Evoke unusual graphics. Demand a distinct style. Reinforce that your brand is more than just a marketing message with a large typeface and some clip art … Then, trust your team to execute without feeling like the Sword of Damocles is hanging by a thread over their heads, ready to drop if something doesn’t match the typical exec-approved aesthetic. If they don’t truly believe they have the latitude to create outside the box without getting smacked down, they’ll simply recycle the type of nondescript signage that soars through approvals.
There are really only two criteria: Does it favorably reflect your brand? And … does it make people STOP?
Those attendees are whizzing by at 65 mph. Make them pull off at your exit.
Author’s note: What’s worked for you at past trade shows? What’s been your signage showstopper? Let’s put together an awesome list for everyone to leverage in their next brainstorming session!
Tags: Booth design, Booth staff, brainstorming, building trust, signage
Posted in Booth design, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 28 November 2011
A few weeks ago at the Supercomputing ’11 trade show in Seattle, I decided to conduct an experiment. I took off my headset microphone, borrowed an attendee badge and started cruising the show floor. And unlike many trade show attendees, I actually walked into most of the booths.
And what I experienced could very well have served as a crash course on “The Top Ten Ways to Get People To Run Away From You.”
Okay, here’s today’s point and it’s a simple one: It is absolutely critical to your success to know what to say when someone comes into your booth.
Let’s face it, if you’ve got a great booth design, solid branding, a compelling message, maybe even a world-class trade show presenter, it’s very likely that there will be a whole lot of potential leads standing right in front of you. The key to keeping them there is to have an arsenal of excellent open-ended conversation starters. (If the question you’re asking will elicit a yes/no response, it’s a conversation ender!) The initial questions should always be light and friendly, and then go deeper from there. But the underlying question-asking principal still holds.
Your Cheat Sheet of Effective Questions
These will get you started (not necessary to ask in this order):
Look at their badge and say: “So ___________, what do you do at [company name]?
“How did you get started in this field?”
“What would you say is the biggest challenge you’re facing?”
“How have you addressed that issue in the past?”
“How did THAT work for you?”
“What kinds of things are you looking for at this show?”
“Great show so far. What have you seen that you’ve really liked?”
“How have you been dealing with challenge of _______________?” (online security, identity theft, etc.)
Listen, then follow up: “That’s interesting. One of our customers had the same issue. Let me show you what we did for THEM. …”)
“How familiar are you with our company’s product / service / etc.?”
“You’ve heard about some of the features in our live demo. Which one makes the most sense for what YOU’RE doing?”
“What feature DIDN’T you hear about that might be something you’d be interested in?”
“What is your timeline for implementing this type of solution?”
Trade Show Exhibits Are Intended to Serve a Purpose …
… and that purpose, when you boil it all down, is new customers/more revenue/success. Why build a booth … why book the travel … why even rent the space, if you’re not willing to engage with the people you’re paying to attract? If you can’t get a good conversation started, all the booth whiz-bang in the world isn’t going to help.
So, start with the some of the “openers” above, customize them, make them yours and I promise, you WILL get better results at your next trade show.
Author’s note: I’m sure a lot of my readers already know how to ask a great opening question. In fact, I’m counting on you to help me. So, for the benefit of everyone, please comment and share your best conversation starters and let’s put together the most powerful list possible!
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, conversation starters, leads, trade show results
Posted in Booth staff, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 19 July 2011
I sat down with Andy Saks, Chief Sparkler at the presentation design and delivery agency Spark Presentations, to discuss booth staff performance. From our conversation came the Top 10 Ways to Radically Transform Booth Staff Effectiveness, and last week we presented Nos. 1-5. The conclusion includes some incredibly valuable and concrete ways to get more out of your staffers and get better results:
6. Build trust: The relationship between a potential customer and a booth staffer revolves around trust. If you do nothing else during your five-minute conversation, just simply create a rapport with the attendee. No one is going to actually make the decision to “buy” while in the booth; it’s going to be a multi-step process. All you’re really doing is initiating that process and building trust. So, what two traits earn trust? Warmth and strength.
7a. Exude warmth: It’s essential that booth staffers understand that on the trade show floor, warmth always comes first. You must give the attendee ample reason to think that this conversation (and potentially working with this company) “is going to be a good experience.” That’s accomplished through humor and empathy and showing genuine interest. Help that person to feel relaxed and open up. Once you’ve established that you’ll have a fun experience together, you can move to the next natural question: Are you the right company for the job?
7b. Show strength: Once you’ve established rapport, the attendee is going to need to figure out if you know your stuff and if you can handle his or her needs. At this early stage in the process, it’s more about building confidence and having the command of language necessary to articulate all the amazing, life-altering ways this product or technology can improve that person’s life. Deliver answers to the customer’s questions with confidence. Stand confidently. Dress confidently. Again, it’s about the benefits for the customer; not the technology itself. When a staffer leads with warmth and follows with strength, it primes the customer to move to the next logical step in the acquisition process.
8. During training, ask for a volunteer: When it’s time to role-play, Rather than waiting for a reluctant volunteer to raise their hand, ask for the senior-most employee in your pre-show staff training to come up to the front and participate. Everyone else will want to see how the person in charge does it, and you’ll instantly have a rapt audience. And the person can’t say “no” and expect everyone else to participate. If you happen to get an upper-level executive on stage, you’ll have a riveting few minutes of training that staffers will remember and discuss long afterward. There’s very little you can do as a presenter or trainer that’s as interesting to staffers as watching one of their own in action.
9. Practice an exit strategy: When following the previous eight steps across these two blog posts, oftentimes the results of interactions with attendees will be dramatically different. In fact, it’s not uncommon to engage someone in your booth and then not be able to get rid of that person! Sometimes they get so comfortable and feel so cared for that they don’t want to stop talking and don’t want to leave. That’s nice and all, but as a booth staffer the time will come when you need to move on.
The key is for the staffer to engage in a directed discussion with a purpose, a goal and a rough time limit. It’s about efficiency of conversation without being curt. You simply can’t allow one conversation to go on for 20 minutes. So what do you do when that customer wants to tell you all about his last fishing trip? Ask wrap-up questions that would naturally flow into the end of a conversation: I’ve told you a lot, where are you with all of this? … Do you have any concerns at this point that I can alleviate? … Listen, I’d love to talk to you more in another forum when not on the floor. Do you have an hour next week to chat with me? Thanks so much for your time. Without an exit strategy, success can be a dangerous trade-show curse.
10. Pull new people into the conversation: When a 1-to-1 interaction is going well, oftentimes two or three others will begin to hover and listen in. Those hovering people attract more people who notice the crowd forming, and so on. The key is to pull those on the “outside” into the conversation where they feel a part of the interaction. That one moment of “I see you and I’ll be right with you” could literally be the difference between a million-dollar sale and someone walking away. People want to feel noticed and feel in control of the situation. When they’re ignored, they don’t feel in control.
Ideally, staffers should be mic’d so that attendees aren’t straining to hear. But more importantly, why repeat the same thing to five or 10 different people when you can tell them all at the same time! It’s about efficiency and conservation of voice and effort … and you might as well get 10 leads out of a single conversation.
This is all just logical stuff. Staffers know this from real life and regular human interaction. It’s just about bringing it onto the trade show floor. If you can do just a little bit more than the next guy in the booth one over—if you can just make a little more effort—you’ll really stand out. Then, your company stands out, too.
“Make sure the human beings you put in your booth who will speak on your behalf and represent your company with potential multimillion dollar accounts know what they’re doing, know the environment and are willing and eager to do their job well. If you do that, you could have an empty booth with nothing else in it but the carpeting, and you will sell.” —Andy Saks, Spark Presentations
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, building trust, human behavior, performance training
Posted in Booth staff, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 07 July 2011
So they’re in your booth … now what?
So much money and time and creativity is spent getting trade show attendees into a booth. Yet a shockingly large percentage of those same exhibitors fail to put equal thought and resources behind what staff should do when people get there. It’s enough of a problem that there are expert consultants to fix it. My friend and colleague Andy Saks, Chief Sparkler at the presentation design and delivery agency Spark Presentations, is one of the finest. I sat down with Andy to discuss his booth staff performance training program, “Booth Brush-Up: How to Stand Out, Sell More, and Have Fun on the Show Floor.” From our conversation came the Top 10 Ways to Radically Transform Booth Staff Effectiveness, and I’m thrilled he ok’d publishing it for all of our benefit:
1. Tell Your Staff “WIIFM”: The most effective way to motivate your staff to adopt new behaviors that improve your booth is to answer the key question they’re silently asking: “What’s in it for me?” So start your training by teasing the instant, tangible benefits they’ll personally enjoy by following your suggestions. For example: “Show of hands: Who here would like your time in the booth to go by faster? Who wants to have more fun along the way? Who’d like to get better leads by talking less? Who’d like the chance to dramatically improve their prospects at this company in just a few days? Well, listen up folks, because if you follow a few simple suggestions, you’ll enjoy all those benefits.” Now that they like where you’re going, they’ll march eagerly in formation behind you.
2. Attract them with body language: This goes beyond basics like don’t talk on your phone” and “don’t stare at the floor.” It’s about understanding the dollar value of every single customer that walks (or doesn’t walk) into that booth and how your body language will impact that customer’s decision to approach you. What are you communicating with your facial expression, your posture, your location in the booth? How will that stranger perceive you from 30 feet away … and up close? Any customer could be a lifetime customer. Any account could be a multimillion-dollar account. You’ll never know if your body language deflects the attendee before he or she steps into your booth.
3. Shift your focus: Trade shows are about the prospects; not the products. This is your opportunity to learn about your prospects and leads to decide if it’s a good match for you and for them. It’s always about the customer—and how your products may help that customer get where they want to go. So where do they want to go? It’s much more useful to spend your time asking questions of a prospect and finding out about their challenges, needs and budget than to talk about your technology (which may not be a good fit). It shows you care more about your prospect than pitching your product. That generates trust, so it’s useful in both directions.
4. Stop showing off: Often when booth staff do demos, they’re very eager to show off their product and own level of knowledge of that product. The result is a dense, technical monologue. It’s almost certain that the person you’re talking to doesn’t know as much about the product and might not be as familiar with industry terms, so it’s very easy to talk over that person’s head by accident. They won’t tell you they don’t understand because it’s embarrassing to them. But inside they’re either panicking or mulling an exit strategy. Use the simplest language possible. Define terms and ask what needs to be defined. What do the letters in that acronym stand for? Care about making sure that person is “with you.” If they’re not with you, the conversation isn’t going anywhere.
5. Walk your staff up the “Benefit Ladder”: Customers buy benefits; not features. They’re in it for themselves. So the job of booth staff is to find the best and biggest benefits—life-changing benefits—and express them clearly and thoughtfully. They need to easily walk the attendee up that “Benefit Ladder.”
If your product has a feature that will save a customer time, that’s not the ultimate benefit, is it? What’s the benefit of saving time? More time for other projects. What the benefit of that? Getting more projects done quicker. And then? They’ll get noticed by their boss. Which results in what? They get a job promotion, leading to more money. Ultimately the top rung of this particular ladder is: “Better quality of life, overall satisfaction, more time with the family … happiness!” It’s not what this product will do for them tomorrow; it’s about what it means “in the big picture.” And in order for the prospect to really “get” that larger benefit, your booth staff must first understand the benefit of describing things in this way.
Next week, we’ll present the rest of our Top 10 Ways to Radically Transform Booth Staff Effectiveness. Until then, I leave you with this quote from Andy:
“The single most important element of any trade show booth is its people. Not the company name. Not the product. Not the signs. It’s the human beings. For any trade show presenter, it’s heartbreaking to make all that effort to bring in a large crowd, only to have them vanish moments later. It’s like running the ball 98 yards down the field and then sitting down to have a sandwich. Run those other 2 yards and spike the ball.” —Andy Saks, Spark Presentations
Tags: big benefits, body language, Booth staff, booth traffic, performance training
Posted in Booth staff, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 03 June 2011
Today I have a question for all the smaller companies and startups I see on this endless trade show journey: If you were the biggest name in your field, how would you handle yourself?
I’ve talked before about timid exhibitors cowering in a small booth, spending most of their time staring at a bowl of Junior Mints. To a certain extent, it’s understandable. There’s a player to your left in a 70 x 70 with a putting green. There’s a big dog to your right, with more crowd gatherers than you have employees.
And then there’s you, in your pop-up booth. Small. New-ish. Unproven … as both a trade show presence and a technology. But what if you were the baddest company on the trade show block? What if you were a super-heavyweight among heavyweights. In the immortal words of Cheers, what if everybody knew your name, and they were always glad you came?
If you were truly the most important company on the trade show floor (and everybody knew it), you would walk differently. You would talk differently. There’d be a certain swagger and authority you’d bring to every interaction. Even contemplating that notion and conjuring the mental image creates a bit of a shift. It just feels different. And if carried through to the exhibit hall, it’ll look different to everyone around you.
It’s really no different than what you’d tell a socially awkward junior high student about that dreaded walk through the cafeteria: Just act like you belong, and soon enough, you will. In fact, act like a rock star, and soon you’ll have groupies of your own.
We spend so much time worrying about all the nitty-gritty elements that go into a trade-show presence—building the booth, selecting the signage and messaging, showcasing the product—that it’s easy to overlook the importance of attitude. The truth is, a good head game is often more important than a strong trade show ground game.
So, at your next trade show, when those attendees come tearing through the aisles, act like they’re there to see YOU. Act like you OWN the joint. Don’t worry, those Junior Mints aren’t going anywhere.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: attitude, Booth staff, booth traffic, connection, startups
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 01 April 2011
We all want a better trade show booth. We all want to be the hit of the show—the booth that has otherworldly magnetic pull and Gorilla Glue on the carpet keeping those attendees stuck in your space. And we all wish there was an easy way to make that happen.
Well, in some ways, there is! Although it might mean having to be a bit brutal with your booth.
The trade show floor gives you the best possible opportunity to see what works and what you can change. It’s a virtual Petri dish of booth experiments taking place—and someone has just discovered that trade show booth breakthrough. You just have to step far enough out of your own booth to find out what it is. That’s the beauty of it: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; you just have to cruise the floor and see if there’s a better one out there.
Here’s what to do at your next trade show:
1) Get away from your booth. Literally back yourself against a wall if you have to, but get far enough away to be able to objectively observe attendees interacting with (or walking away from) your booth space. I know you spent a fortune on that booth or at least put a lot of love into it. But for a moment, disconnect yourself from your own brand. Imagine you’re just a random person walking the floor. Look at your booth. Do you have a clear idea what these guys do? Would you want to go in there? What are the people around you doing? Why?
2) Now walk around. But walk around differently than ever before: You’re not cruising for clients and prospects; you’re just an attendee strolling the grounds. Again, look objectively. Which booth looks most inviting? Where do you want to go? What’s pulling you? Is it interesting or entertaining? Is it a catchy message or flashy graphics? Is it a magician submerged in a water tank? What is grabbing you?
3) Keep walking. You’ll likely blow past lots of small booths with dispirited folks staring at their smartphones. No problem. Channel your inner tradeshow attendee. Imagine you’re on a quest for the ultimate giveaway. But, in this case, the “giveaway” you’re looking for may be the one brilliant idea that will make your next booth better.
4) Return to your booth, reflecting on your experience. On the way back, pay special attention to traffic flow and location. Now, granted, you may not have your choice of the prime real estate at the show, but you should still do some reconnaissance. Does the booth by the main entrance get the most traffic, or do people blow right past it to get deeper into the hall? Check out the booths near the bathrooms or Food Court. How are they doing? Is it worth considering positioning yourself next to some of the biggest players at the show? Or just to get as close to the Starbucks as you can??
5) Review this checklist, circling anything that really leapt out at you during your journey:
• Visual appeal (circle all that apply): The booth was eye catching. The lighting was visually stimulating. The activity drew me in. The live presentation was captivating.
• Flow: It was as if I accidentally strolled right into the booth and stayed there … or once I was in, something about the booth kept me there.
• Personnel: The booth staff members were engaging, smiling at me from afar, were interested in what I was saying and asked interesting, open-ended questions that kept me talking and learning.
• Location: I ended up in the booth because of what it was near. What was it near?
• Clarity & power of messaging/signage: The message made me stop in my tracks. It was as effective and memorable as a great highway billboard.
Go through this exercise. Pay attention. And you just might walk away with something that will make your next trade show the best one you’ve ever done.
I’m going to end this post with asking something of you: Post comments with your booth observations here. What did you see that worked? What can you change next time? What have you changed already that made a difference?
It could be after trying this exercise or just based on past experience. My goal is to compile a list of your responses and post it for everyone’s benefit. With your help, we’ll create a magical list of specific ways to improve your next booth.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: booth buzz, Booth design, Booth staff, booth traffic, trade show opportunities
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | 5 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 17 November 2010
No trade show booth is an island. You will always have neighbors, and they will be on every side of you. And your relationship with those neighbors can make or break your trade show experience. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a 70×70 and they’re in a 10×10, they can still be a valuable ally or a mortal three-day enemy.
We’ve all seen or experienced booths playing “can you top this” with the volume knobs on their PA system. We’ve all seen or experienced presentations ruined by pyrotechnics, blaring rock and roll, or screams of “HEY !! WHO WANTS TO WIN AN iPAD??”
If you do a trade show, it’s either happened to you or it will happen to you. But whether you wage all-out war or have a peaceful and mutually beneficial negotiation is YOUR choice.
Waging Trade Show War
The situation: Day One of the Trade Show. Your neighbor’s first presentation of the morning is deafening. The sales reps in your booth can’t have a conversation. Something has to be done or it’s going to be a long three days.
Your response: Those jerks are too damn loud. I’m going straight to Show Management. They’ll come over with one of those dB meters and get those clowns to TURN IT DOWN. If they don’t, I’ll just turn mine UP !
Their response: Oh yeah!? Well, TWO can play at that game. I’m going to keep my dBs right at the legal limit all day long. We’re going to do four … no SIX, 10 minute presentations an hour. Yeah, That’ll show ‘em. Maybe throw in a little feedback to REALLY make their day. By the end of this show, they’ll wish they never messed with me.
Conclusion: OK, this is obviously a lose-lose approach. Not unlike making the decision to call the police instead of just asking your neighbor not to play their new Metallica box set at 2 in the morning. Use this “call the cops” approach at a trade show and the three days will be hell for both of you.
Peaceful Trade Show Negotiation
The situation: You’re at the Convention Center on the set-in day. You’re rehearsing. Running through your presentation. Checking your sound system. The guy at the next booth is doing the same. And he’s got MUCH bigger speakers than you do. So in the “volume knob wars,” you’re gonna go down. What do you do?
Your response: Hey! How’s it going? Looks like we’re both going to be doing live shows here. What kind of presentation are you doing? (Really listen.) Well, I’d like to introduce myself to see if we can coordinate our schedules so we’re not fighting each other for three days. Are you presenting on the hour and the half hour? Great. What if I go at 15 and 45? Just know that when I do have my presentations, there may be pretty big crowds and it might get kind of loud. But, just know that if it DOES get too loud, you can give me a signal and I’ll turn it down.
In fact, since it looks like we’re not competitors, how about if I mention you guys at the end of the presentation and see if I can send some of that traffic your way?
Their response: Hmm. Nice guy. I should try to stay on schedule and make sure my volume doesn’t go to “11.” I wonder, if I send some of my crowds to their booth, if I can score one of those cool blinky balls they’re giving away … or two …
Conclusion: Compromise. Wage Peace. Establish a relationship. I guarantee you, you’ll have a better show. You’ll have more fun. And you might just pick up some more business.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, happy exhibitors, live presentations, negotiation
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | 2 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 20 July 2010
Hey Newman: I just got back from attending a trade show in Vegas and from the look of things, it seemed that most of the people staffing the booths just didn’t want to be there. Don’t you think there’s a much cheaper way to have a lousy time? —Gail from New York
This is a message for trade show vendors: At your next show, sneak up on your own booth. That’s right, pop out from around a corner about 10 yards back and take a good, honest look at your investment.
Do your booth staffers look like sad little wallflowers?
Do they look like kids at a high school social afraid to ask someone to dance?
Is there a guy sitting expressionless in front of a glass bowl of Hershey’s Kisses, wondering why no one is coming up to talk to him?
This “condition” is more common then you might think, especially with the smaller booths. At one recent show, I walked around and paid particular attention to the 5 x10 and 10 x10 booths. Often they’re manned by just two or three people who are so uncomfortable they’re burying their heads in books or dabbling with smartphones — just sitting there waiting for it all to be over.
I looked at these people and found myself thinking about Neil Strauss, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone best known for penning a book called, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. This was the inside story of guys who despite NOT being the most attractive males out there, pick up women with absolute ease. Strauss not only researched this “secret society,” he became arguably one of the top pickup artists in the world and actually started conducting workshops for the undesirable and uninitiated.
At the heart of this book is a philosophy about “how to engage people.” He argues that if you’re going to try to pick up a woman in a bar, you don’t say, “Can I buy you a drink?” You don’t ask anything that could elicit a “no” response. Instead, you “engage” her. You contrive a story seemingly playing out before her eyes and ask, “What do you think?” Yes, it’s an opening line. But it’s an opening line that’s not clichéd or overwrought; it’s a question that pulls this woman into a story with you through her advice or involvement.
Strauss’ philosophy is hardly limited to the world of pickup artists. “Engagement” is something that most certainly can be applied to trade show marketing. I was observing the booth staff at this recent trade show, and they weren’t engaging anyone. First of all, they’re sitting. Rule No. 1: No sitting! Secondly, even when standing, they look positively miserable. If you’re spending that kind of money at a trade show and you’re planning to go there with the attitude that you’d rather be anywhere else, then don’t go! And before you say a couple of staffers don’t represent the “enthusiasm of the company,” remember that these faces are your company for the purposes of these crucial three trade show days. They are the representative image of you and the images that attendees will remember.
Honestly, if I had some sort of magisterial banishment power, King Newman would have sent home half the people working this particular trade show. If you’re going to look bored — if you’re going to feel miserable — find another way to market your services.
Here’s the ironic thing: A lot of these same people will spend a fortune on search engine optimization, which is designed to drive traffic to their site. But they don’t spend any energy driving traffic into their booth. And that doesn’t necessarily mean hiring a trade show presenter like me but perhaps a crowd gatherer — at least someone with people skills! If the person in your booth is not the type who can go up to a perfect stranger and strike up a conversation, then they’re the wrong person to be at the show.
You need to find someone who is not just a technical expert; you also need your company’s best pickup artist.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, engagement, passion, pickup artists
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | 2 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 07 May 2010
1) Realize smaller can be better
When selecting your booth size, keep in mind that investing in a 20×40 might not guarantee you a more successful show. A smaller booth that is constantly packed is a lot less expensive than a large half-empty booth and will generate much more excitement. Think of your last dinner party. Doesn’t everyone seem to congregate in the smallest room in the house?
2) Make sure your booth staff is ready to talk to attendees
That means don’t sit down. Avoid standing in groups of two or more fellow staffers. Stand near the aisles. Look out at the crowd and make eye contact. Smile. Don’t say, “Can I help you?” They’ll say, “NO.” Instead, look at their name tags. Use their name. Ask them what their company does. Invite them into the booth. Now you’re getting somewhere.
3) Quickly follow up on leads
Three-quarters of the leads generated at trade shows are never followed up on … and when they are followed up, it tends to be way too late. Those 2,000 leads you got don’t mean anything if you don’t do something with them. You need a way to categorize your leads as “HOT,” “warm” and “cold” — and with hot leads, there’s no such thing as getting in touch too soon. First contact should come within days of the trade show’s end. When weeks or months go by, you just end up lumped together with all the other SPAM.
4) Use giveaways to build booth traffic
BUT, don’t just give stuff away. USE that giveaway item to quiz the audience on what they’ve just heard. Use it to get them to ask questions. You can also use higher-priced giveaways (from thumb drives to HD TVs to wads of cash) as an incentive to get people to the demo stations and get them into the booth. And consider “green” giveaways. Cheaply made swag just ends up in the trash and then in landfills. You want your giveaways to last … so that attendees hold onto your branded item as long as possible.
5) Keep product demos short
Seven minutes is ideal. Ten minutes is the limit. Fifteen minutes … Get the hook! Trade show attendees have a lot of real estate to cover. Don’t feel you have to tell them your entire story. Pique their interest. Get them to want to know more. Get them into the booth.
6) Limit your seating
A seating area with 50 chairs is intimidating. Few people want to be the first to sit down. Also, if you have an audience of 25 people, it still looks half empty. But with a dozen or so seats, you’re looking at a standing-room-only crowd. People walking by will be more interested in what’s going on if all the seats are full. It’s only natural to wonder what could be going on over there.
7) Have at least one crowd gatherer
We are not talking about scantily clad eye candy for your booth. We’re talking about warm, engaging, gregarious greeters. We’re talking about men and women who know how to chat up people in the aisles, ask them questions, invite them into your booth, introduce them to your knowledgeable (and well-trained) staff. These crowd gatherers will continue to invite people to stop and listen even after the presentation has begun. If you skip the crowd gatherers because of the stereotypes, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
8 ) Insist on an “open” booth design
Think about the lines. Think about the traffic flow. And think about how much you enjoyed the last time you couldn’t find your car in a parking garage. Try to design your booth in a way where there are virtually no impediments in any direction for someone coming in or someone going out. Make the booth’s architecture as open as possible to create maximum flow. You want people to just stroll through and almost accidentally find themselves in the booth. Booth layout and thoughtfulness has much more to do with success than booth size and “impressiveness.”
9) Do your pre-show work!
Promote in advance using social media. Send e-blasts to prospective attendees. Offer up a promotional tease to get people into the booth before the show even starts. Tweet from the trade show floor with your latest news and special offers. Utilize video. Do a “Live from the Trade Show Floor” spot and a daily wrap-up. Announce news and promotions with all the fanfare a live recording can offer. Make it short, interesting and something to get people excited in anticipation of your event.
10) Utilize a professional presenter
Bippy the Mime making a workstation out of balloons may be impressive, but it’s not likely to ensure you qualified leads. Have someone represent your company who is engaging, knowledgeable and will interact with the audience. Most trade show demos seem to be staged readings of marketing white papers. Whether you hire a professional presenter or not, don’t do this … under any circumstances. Everyone talks about “24/7, valued-added solutions.” Your audience will tune out. Say it in layman’s terms, and say it with passion. Find a reason to truly care about your subject matter.
This article originally appeared as a guest contribution on the ChoiceVendor.com blog. We’ll return next week to the usual Q&A format. If you have an industry-related question, send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth design, Booth staff, crowd gathering, lead follow up, targeted giveaways
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Going green at trade shows, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 30 March 2010
Hey Newman, we’re in the midst of scripting our next trade show presentation. It’s coming in at 21 minutes. Is that too long? –Walter in Las Vegas
No problem, Walter. As long as you can talk three times faster than normal and bring it in at SEVEN.
Seriously, here’s a question for you: If you only had that seven minutes to tell your product or brand story, what would you say?
Imagine you’re the point person at a big trade show presentation. You’ve set up a small theater in your booth. You don’t have a professional presenter, so it falls on you to entertain, stimulate and inspire this throng of attendees that’s formed around you. The microphone has just been placed in your hand and you have to go … now! You have only seven minutes and then the mic goes dead. That’s it. You take a deep breath and step in front of the crowd. With such limited time and so much on the line, what do you say?
This is the essence of a compelling trade show presentation. It’s not how much you can say; it’s how little. What actually is your message when you’re “forced” to distill it down? The reality is those people in your audience are visiting 25-30 booths a day. They will only walk away remembering two or three key points, along with the “feeling” they got from the message and from your energy and enthusiasm. So, what are those two or three points they cannot leave without?
If you’re finding it difficult to answer that question, there’s an approach that can help: If you had to offer up all your messaging on just one piece of paper, what would you say? Many of my clients have 200 products and a worldwide audience. They deserve at least 10 pages, right? It doesn’t matter. No one is going to listen to that. It has to be ONE page — and not 2pt type!
Try to challenge yourself on that single page. Make a list of all the corporate jargon you’ve ever heard, read it over carefully, and then toss it. There are immense benefits in brevity, and even greater benefits in originality.
Now it gets even harder. Cut that in half, and give it to your booth staff as a guide for talking with attendees. Condense it even further and give it to the crowd gatherers as an elevator speech. For them, it’s perhaps one great phrase that encapsulates what you do and what your presentation will be about.
Many years ago when I began producing trade show presentations, I would have my client tell me their story. Their WHOLE story. That typically ran 45 minutes or so. Armed with that and a FedEx package filled with white papers and product brochures, I would craft what I believed was a tight, entertaining seven-minute draft. I’d present it over the phone and await my client’s response. Often they would rave about the comic framework, tell me that it really “moved well,” but then mention that unfortunately, I had extracted the “wrong” seven minutes. My heart would sink and they would say, “What we really want to talk about is ‘this.’” It was one of the things they’d mentioned, but there was no way for me to know that this was where the emphasis was supposed to be. The client didn’t know at the time, either. It proved to be a clarifying exercise, but not a particularly efficient one.
Now, I work with every client to first find out what they care about. And then I keep at them until we can fit that on a single page. We talk about the big deliverables. We talk about the key messages. We talk about how this product/service/brand will make people’s lives better. With this, I can begin structuring the routine and build the “right” seven minutes. I add in the entertaining elements, and this time, when I do the read-through, it’s 95 percent of the way there.
This may be more work up front, but it pays off in fewer iterations and a much better (and tighter) script.
Oh, and on the off chance you think it’s impossible to get your message across in only seven minutes, take a look at what professional trade show presenter, William Hall is able to do in just a One Minute Presentation.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth staff, crowd gathering, live presentations, storytelling
Posted in Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | 5 Comments »
