Plan your exhibition in advance.
Setting up an exhibition or demonstration booth at a trade show can be very expensive. Make sure that you get the most marketing bang for your buck by organizing your display and your demo and practicing your routine before the actual show. Remember that the money you spend on your demonstration is an investment in your business. Once you cover the initial expenses of things like an exhibition stand or marketing materials, your costs will be significantly lower when you participate in future shows.
Instructions
1. Reserve your space at the trade show or conference you want to participate in. Pay a deposit and sign a contract as soon as you can; do not wait until the last minute to indicate your interest. Sometimes shows have more prospective vendors than space, so you want to make sure that you get a spot.
2. Write a budget for how much you can afford to spend on your exhibition or demonstration. Include the price of your entry, a stand, marketing materials and staff. You may also need to include travel costs if this conference is out of town and you need to stay in a hotel to participate. Calculate how much product you'll need to sell to break even on your demonstration.
3. Set specific objectives for your participation in the exhibition. Study the demographic that will be present at the show you want to attend. Establish whether the other participants will be new customers you are trying to attract or whether you will be cementing your reputation with customers you already have. You might be meeting current customers in person for the first time. Make sure that you recognize their names immediately and let them know that you're grateful for their business.
4. Hire a graphic designer to create a custom-made exhibition stand and marketing materials for you. A professional custom display will make you stand out from your competitors and make your business look established and successful. Have your designer create something that displays your business's name clearly. This will inspire confidence in new and old customers. Make sure that your marketing materials, including brochures, order forms and product descriptions, have excellent images of your product, descriptions of what your product does and contact information. Increase business by printing special offers or coupons for customers that you hand out only during the exhibition.
5. Hire staff to help you man your booth at the exhibition. You cannot leave the booth unattended. While you will probably want to spend as much time as possible selling your own product, you will also need to schedule breaks for yourself. You may need helpers if your booth is very popular and many customers want to speak to sales associates at once. At some point, you'll also want to walk around the entire exhibition introducing yourself to other vendors, sizing up the competition and making new business contacts. You need staff to stand in for you while you are away.
6. Write a sales pitch for your product and draft a script for your demonstration. Do not expect to show up at the exhibition and stand there while your product sells itself. You are a salesman and you need to put on an impressive show for your customers. Once you are happy with your scripts, make your staff practice them over and over until they can deliver sales pitches and perform demonstrations effortlessly. You don't want to get nervous and have to refer to your notes while explaining your own product.
7. Show up at the event as early as possible to set up your stand. You want your stand to be ready for customers the second the exhibition opens its doors. Make sure that you have everything you need and bring more marketing materials than you think you'll need.
