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Before you purchase booth space at a trade show, there are some important considerations.

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1. Who is your target audience?

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Several years ago, I went to the annual Azalea Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. This event features booths containing artwork, local trades people, and lots of fried foods, fun and games. The event attracts individuals and families of all ages and income levels. Needless to say, I was surprised to see a booth focused on marketing senior-oriented insurance products. I don’t know how much they paid for the space, but it was too much. To be successful at trade show selling, you must attend events that are focused on your target audience. You should seek out events that are cost effective and that attract people who are focused on gathering information. People at the Azalea Festival were not in the market to obtain information — they were there for fun!

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2. What is your goal?

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The only two reasons to have an exhibit booth are to generate prospects or to develop your business identity. While you will certainly accomplish both with a well-chosen event, knowing your primary objective will help you decide what material to have available at your booth. If my goal is to generate prospects for future appointments, I need material that will create interest. If I am in the group insurance business, I might have a brochure available that uses the heading, “Benefit planning mistakes that are costing you thousands.” On the other hand, if I am primarily focused on identity branding, I will have material available about my company and our products and services.

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3: Should I have an exhibit display?

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You cannot succeed in trade show selling without a professional-looking exhibit display. That does not mean it must be big and expensive. Today, you can get a great display that opens like a window shade and is easy to travel with for less than $500. You can also purchase a nice desktop display for under $1500. This is not the place to try to save pennies, because an attendee’s first impression is what they see while approaching your booth.

It is also important to remember that your goal is to get the attendee to approach your booth, not to inform everyone of your company name. While having “ABC Insurance” in bold lettering might appeal to your ego, it will not help attract people to your booth. Your heading should focus on a benefit, not on your identity. For example, a senior market specialist might use the heading, “Helping seniors avoid the probate trap.”

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4: Is it necessary to have a giveaway?

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I personally avoid trash and trinkets. There is no doubt that giving away pens and sticky notes will attract people to your booth and secure a lot of names. But these trinkets are expensive and do not get you high-quality prospects. I would rather get a few names from people who are interested in what I am offering than a lot of names from people that merely submitted their name for a drawing. You do want to provide information such as product and service brochures that contribute to your goal. If you do provide a gift drawing as part of your booth, make sure that you have a form to fill out that asks for important information such as an interest in being contacted.

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5: Follow-up is critical

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Gathering the names of prospects will do no good if you don’t follow up quickly. I suggest that you follow up within 72 hours of the event. If you have focused on high quality prospects, you should have notes about the original conversation you had with the prospect. Too often, exhibitors simply use the names from the drawing and open with: “Hello Mr. Attendee, this is Fred with ABC Insurance. Last week you attended the Senior Living Expo and stopped by our booth. I was just following-up and wanted to ask if you had any questions that we may be able to answer.” The only possible answer to this query is, “Who are you and what booth was that?”

The follow-up from a trade show is really no different than a direct mail letter. You open with a reminder of the event and then share an idea. Your conversation may sound like this: “Hello Mr. Attendee, this is Fred Barnes and we met at the Senior Living Expo last week. You stopped by our booth and we shared a couple of ideas on bypassing probate. I just wanted to see if getting more of your assets to your children was important to you.” The focus becomes the idea rather than the event, and is much more likely to get you an appointment.

Other considerations should include the lighting, the location of the booth, size of the booth and the number of potential attendees. You will also want to consider the cost of exhibiting at the event. While trade show selling can be an excellent adjunct to your marketing plan, the results must justify the cost. The overall costs include booth space rental, investment in the display and the cost of materials. You must decide what an acceptable cost-per-lead is for your products and services. If you judge that there is sufficient opportunity, then make this an active piece of your integrated marketing campaign.

By Mel Schlesinger