Making the most of Exhibitions

We’ve all had the experience of being at an exhibition and watching people walk quickly by without looking up. Or perhaps you’ve been one of those people who go to gather information but don’t want to talk to anyone? Exhibitions are an expensive investment unless you put in place an effective strategy for making them work for you. Here are some ideas that should help you maximise sales opportunities, improve conversion rates and ultimately win you more business.

Preparation
Make sure you have a clear strategy before you go and do all of the necessary preparation to make life as easy as possible once you are there.
• How are you going to attract people to your stand? Is there a prize or free trial that you can offer to people that will help you to collect business cards? Have a neatly laminated sign with your SIMPLE prize draw offer and a vase for people to put business cards in.
• Tell your existing prospects and customers that you are going to be at the exhibition. It’s a good reason to get in touch with them and can be an opportunity for you to develop some of your existing relationships.
• Make sure you’ve got enough business cards and invest in some holders to display them clearly on your stand.
• How are you going to follow-up people who you have spoken to? Writing notes on the back of a card is never enough. Take along a laptop and create a simple spreadsheet so that you can enter the details of who you have spoken to straight away with a summary of your conversation and agreed actions. If you can’t do that, produce a simple form which you can fill in with details of the conversation. Don’t leave it to chance or a scribbled word on the back of the card!
• Make sure you know the obvious stuff – size of stand space, electricity supply, timings for set up etc. It can be stressful setting up for an exhibition and preparation will make it run much smoother!

Appearance
• What kind of impression do you want to make? Find out what the typical dress code will be and make sure you are dressed appropriately. People will judge your credibility and professionalism based upon what you are wearing.
• How do you appear to other people? How often do you see people sat behind a table at an exhibition not engaging with the people who are walking by? Stand at the front of your stand where people can see you, smile and look interested in having a conversation. It may sound obvious but lots of people don’t do it.

Engaging with people
• Have you thought about how to engage people in conversation? Stopping people at an exhibition is often the biggest challenge. As people walk by say hello to them. Say it again if they don’t answer! If someone looks at you, ask them how they are and how they are finding the exhibition. It takes determination and a thick skin, but it does work.
• Do you know what you are going to say if someone stops to talk? Remember that people don’t like to be sold to. Think of some general questions that will allow you to gauge what type of visitor they are. ‘Are you looking for anything in particular today?’ can be a great way to open a conversation.
• How do you describe what you do? It’s all too easy to talk in language that doesn’t engage people. Think about how you can describe your offering in a way that is compelling, interesting and brief.
• Do you prefer to talk or listen? The more you can get people talking, the more you can tailor what you are selling to their needs. Think of a list of questions that you can ask that will show people that you are interested in them.
• How will you agree next steps? One of the most common mistakes that people make is not asking for the business. The exhibition might not be the right place to close a deal but be prepared just in case someone wants to buy. At the very least gain commitment that it is ok for you to follow-up with a call or to book a meeting. These are your hot leads and you need to capitalise on them while they are in front of you.

Knowing when to move on
• Be aware of people’s body language. If they aren’t interested, move on. Many people get stuck in conversations that they don’t want to have because they don’t know how to exit the discussion.
• Are you happy to finish a conversation? If someone is trying to sell to you or waste your time it’s ok to finish the conversation. It’s often good to practice saying ‘I need to finish our conversation now because there are a number of people who I need to speak to. Thank you for coming to say hello.’

Follow Up
• Be prepared. Create template emails to send to all of the people who have visited your stand and send them out within 24 hours of meeting them. You may decide to categorise the people you have spoken to into general emails and specific enquiries. Most people don’t follow up quickly after an exhibition so this will make you stand out from the crowd. Once you’ve emailed, set aside time to call anyone who had a specific enquiry. This all adds to your professionalism and credibility as it demonstrates that you are motivated and organised.
• Don’t stop following up. Keep in contact with people so that when they are ready to buy, they buy from you.

If you make exhibitions work for you they can be a really cost-effective way of winning new business. The key is to approach it as you would any other sales meeting and be fully prepared. Good luck!

Farscape Development is a learning and development company. We specialises in delivering results driven learning and development programmes. Our training is experiential and has a foundation in emotional intelligence and behavioural change. For more information visit our website at www.farscapedevelopment.co.uk or call Ruth on 0117 370 1800.