Posts Tagged ‘booth traffic’
Written by Ken Newman on 11 January 2012
Frustrated on a customer service call that’s going nowhere? Shout as loud as you want. Only the intractable rep can hear you. Say the same thing on Twitter with an @reply to the company and mountains will move. Your message may be the same, but now there’s an army of observers looking over your shoulder. The company doesn’t care about the quality of your experience; it cares about the public perception of your experience.
At a trade show, does the perception of your company matter more than your message?
Tags: attendees, booth traffic, message, perception, Twitter
Posted in Booth staff, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | 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 15 February 2011
This is Part II of a guest post by “Nominated” director/writer Dan Pavlik. If you haven’t read Part I, click here.
Soon after, I was in a shuttle with an Australian reporter whose wife had a documentary in the festival. We struck up a conversation, and when I mentioned Nominated, he said, “Man, I’ve heard a lot about that.”
It was definitely the soft sell. We weren’t shoving swag or DVDs in people’s faces. It was a grassroots effort where the attendees became the advocates of our concept. And as the festival went on, the time we had to put into “selling” was reduced every day. It began to feed on itself, so after four or five days, our people were getting recognized for wearing the “Has-Been” logo and people were stopping us and asking if we had any more of those “Has-Been” t-shirts.
We felt our way through it as we learned the ins and outs of Park City, but it was definitely working. The “Has-Been” logo didn’t even have the name of our movie on it, but proved to be a successful icebreaker. And once in conversation, people would ask us, “What’s that about?” We just led with a provoking question rather than pushing our film. Ken said he felt absolutely fearless going up to anyone. And it was because he wasn’t desperately trying to sell; he was hanging out and having a good time. We talked to Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Greg Kinnear, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Cheryl Hines, Julia Ormond, Andie MacDowell, Elijah Wood, Ed Helms and James Franco, and at least half walked away with “Has-Been” buttons pinned to them.
Coldest Rock Band Session Ever
I did a corporate event a week and a half before Sundance. At that event, we played Rock Band. It was a fun sendoff for the group, and those people had a blast. So, we decided: That’s what we’ll do. We’ll set up Rock Band and invite people to play and never even mention the movie. We found a spot outside in the 14-degree temperatures, did our best to look like we belonged there and set up a 9-foot screen projecting the hit rhythm video game.
Two things happened:
(1) We got tons of foot traffic, and we’d just give people buttons and t-shirts as they left. We had this incredible stream of people coming to play and have fun—and we weren’t selling anything at all.
(2) As they left, they were going out into the city telling people about what was going on. So, as the night went on we continued to get more and more people, who in turn became our button- and shirt-wearing marketing team throughout the grounds.
We were able to make our audience active participants as well as the entertainment itself! And because we were asking nothing of them, there was no resistance. It just worked.
Dan Pavlik is the director/writer of Nominated, which also co-stars Ken Newman of “Hey Newman” fame. For more information about the film and director, click here.
Tags: booth traffic, crowd gathering, Nominated, Rock Band, swag
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 09 February 2011
This is a guest post by “Nominated” director/writer Dan Pavlik.
If I could only offer one piece of advice to a trade show exhibitor, it would be: Figure out a way to get people leaving your booth to tell other people on the floor about you. You only have a finite amount of floor space. If you’re depending on foot traffic into your booth alone, it’s not going to work. You need to figure out how to get that one person who leaves and walks to the complete other side of the trade show to talk to a friend and say, “You’ve got to go over there!”
That’s what we did at Sundance.
Let me back up and start from the beginning. When our film, Nominated, didn’t get into Sundance, we decided we’d go anyway and just act like we were in. We came armed with swag, but we agreed from the outset that if we “pushed” our movie, we’d be viewed as irritating outsiders. So, we decided instead to push a concept: “Has-Been.” Our film is about a former childhood TV star who has become a has-been. So, we decided we’d create commotion, attract people to us and give them “Has-Been” buttons and t-shirts before they left. If it worked, the Sundance attendees would become our sales force.
It did work, because it was something fun that flew in the face of what was expected. We were literally handing “Has-Been” buttons to amazing actors like Paul Rudd. And what could be more mortifying for an actor at Sundance than to consider the moment when he crosses into the category of “has-been”? It’s the last thing they want to be. But it was playful, and people got a kick out of wearing them. And it created an opportunity to give our 30-second pitch about our movie as we created context for the “Has-Been” button or shirt. We never led with the movie; we led with humor … and it caught on. Soon people started recognizing the logo and began conversations with us, which inevitably led to discussion of the film the swag was for.
Location, Location, Location
We also took our concept to the locations everyone hung out at. We realized: Why try to hand out this stuff to one person at a time? It was much more efficient to give buttons and shirts to the bartenders of the local hotspots, to the doormen of the popular clubs, to the shuttle drivers and coffee house baristas. Soon, they were all playfully declaring themselves as “Has-Been’s” and in doing so, promoting us. It was the equivalent of going up to support staff at a major trade show and having them put on our buttons and shirts. All over Sundance, people were seeing our stuff and our logo and then would come up to us and ask us about it. And in each of those locations, we just made sure our group was the life of the party. After about three days, I looked at Ken and Brian and said, “You know what? This is catching on!”
Note from ‘Newman’: Dan had so much good stuff that we had to break it up into two parts. Part II will go live Tuesday morning.
Dan Pavlik is the director/writer of Nominated, which also co-stars Ken Newman of “Hey Newman” fame. For more information about the film and director, click here.
Tags: booth traffic, humor, Nominated, Sundance Film Festival, swag
Posted in Booth staff, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | No 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 25 August 2010
Hey Newman, I attended my first major trade show recently, and I have to say, it wasn’t exactly a “family-friendly” event. Do these shows always have so much skin on display?” –Bob in New York
The year is 1985: I’m presenting at one of my first trade shows: Comdex. Strolling around the Sands Convention Center, I see more women falling out of their clothes than I’d seen at Caesar’s Palace the night before. I turn a corner and actually see one booth offering lap dances with women cooing high-tech features of products to highly “attentive” attendees.
But, of course, that was then and this is NOW, right? We’ve progressed WAY beyond that kind of thing. (Insert ironic smirk, here.)
Several months ago, I attended a very large and respected annual event in Las Vegas. There were “stewardesses” in micro-miniskirts and skin-tight Spandex everywhere I looked. Attendees were getting whiplash walking from one booth to the next — and senior executives of some of the same companies exhibiting the questionable practices, were taking offense. (Senior executives of both sexes, mind you.) It became such a cause for concern that I understand Show Management will now be enforcing a booth staff dress code for future events.
This conduct is precisely why it can be so difficult to articulate the value of a legitimate, professional crowd gatherer to an exhibitor; they’re lumped in with all the rest of this “eye candy.”
As I have written about before, qualified, savvy crowd gatherers can be a huge help on the trade show floor. But these women and men are doing much more than selling sex and taking photos with attendees; they’re delivering a pitch, stratifying prospects and bringing target attendees to the booth staff capable of following up. It’s important, meaningful work.
All this sex appeal raises a very important question: What do these companies think they’re getting for their money? Sure, attendees are stopping by the booth for a “closer look,” but who are these people and what are they looking at? Sex sells … but what does it sell? What’s the takeaway? When calls are later made to follow up on these leads, the people picking up the phone aren’t real prospects. They just wanted a photo between two bikini-clad models. A guy in a suit might be less attractive, but he’s attracting serious prospects. And by that, I mean “serious” in demeanor and interest in your product.
Companies need to keep in mind that when they run their trade show presence like the Vegas strip, they don’t get the benefit of “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” These attendees have smartphones with 5 megapixel cameras and 1080p video. Now it’s more like “What happens in your booth is on YouTube in 30 seconds.” And if what’s happening there is not consistent with your company image, or potentially offensive, THAT can be some risky business.
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Tags: booth assistants, booth buzz, booth traffic, crowd gathering, trade show trends
Posted in Booth staff, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends | 1 Comment »
