In our first article we discussed the importance of preparing a strategy for your trade show visit. Coming to the trade show prepared with goals and specific questions in mind, your work will be halfway done already. However, you still must be able to implement and execute on your strategy.
Now we'll focus on the best way to put your preparation to use. With attention to a few guidelines, even the most challenging conversation will soon seem like a breeze.
First you need to make sure you cover the basics. No matter how well you present yourself, if at the end of the day no one remembers your name or worse yet the name of your business you'll have missed out on innumerable possibilities. Make sure your name tag is correct and able to be seen at all times. Many trade show attendees may forget they're wearing a name tag and inadvertently cover it up by putting on a jacket.
Your name tag is not just your visual business card, it is also a conversational aid. While you may feel completely at ease meeting new people and remembering their names, not everyone has such a talent. For people who are not good at remembering names being able to glance at a name tag can be comforting. Some people may only be able to feel truly conversational after overcoming the panic of forgetting someone's name. You don't want to miss out on a fruitful chat with a new colleague just because he or she is too shy to ask for your name again. Believe it or not, shy people will actually steer away from people without name tags - preferring instead to talk to people who do have them!
Make sure you have all the appropriate promotional materials for your business on hand all the time. This is another suggestion that seems like a no-brainer, but in the hectic atmosphere of the exhibition floor, it is one of the basic things many attendees easily forget. You never know when you might meet someone you'd like to give a business card to - maybe on a stroll across the floor, or on line at the concession booth. Whenever you find yourself confronted with a prospect, the last thing you want not have on you is a business card. Sure, people may say they'll stop by the booth later to see you, or that they'll wait for the five minutes it will take you to go and come back, but in the frenetic reality of a trade show, such promises may be difficult to keep. In most instances you'll have one chance to make an impression - and it won't always be made at your company's http://www.smashhitdisplays.com/displays/ : convention display. Networking occurs just as much in the hallways and lobbies of big conventions as it does at the booth - don't let opportunities pass you by just because you left your materials behind when you went out for coffee!
Most businesses don't send just one employee http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/tradeshowtips.htm : to a trade show. If you are teamed with one or more partners, make sure you make the best use of your time by splitting up as often as possible. It may be more comfortable to be paired with a familiar co-worker as you navigate previously unexplored business avenues and make new contacts, but it is not the most efficient way to network your business. Two attendees can cover twice as much convention 'ground' as one attendee - but only if they aren't attached at the hip. If one of you needs to be responsible for the trade show booth, the other should be out canvassing for new prospects. These roles can be reversed numerous times throughout a day. To that point, don't be afraid of covering areas and meeting with contacts already covered by others from your company, if time permits there is no harm in seeing the same displays with a fresh set of eyes. After all, how many times have you noticed something on the convention floor after having passed it a dozen times while your mind was on something else? There is strength in numbers, but in networking that strength is meant to be spread wide - not grouped together.
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