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How to make sure your exhibition team sees success

The day of the exhibition has arrived, your stand looks great and it all rests on you and your team on the ground. Here’s 15 quick, sure-fire ways to make your exhibition experience successful.

1. Arrive early and dress appropriately

Run through the final checks, get your pitch perfect and look the part. You’ll feel ready for the day. Don’t forget working an exhibition and talking all day can be tough. Make sure you can maintain motivation, the last visitor of the day may be worth more than all the others put together!

2. Check out the competition

Arriving early gives you the chance to have a sneaky look at the competition before the crowds arrive. Where are they? What are they doing? Why are you better? It pays to be prepared and know what makes you different.

3. Get social!

Jump on twitter handles and hashtags to let people know you’re around and up for a chat. Keep it fun and lively and those en route to the show will make their way to your stand first.

4. Save friendly chats for breaks

It might seem like a good idea to chat to partners and current customers during the event, but it only uses up valuable time that could be spent making new connections and finding potential leads.

5. Engage don’t pounce

Talk to as many people face-to-face as possible, but don’t jump on them the minute they step close. Show that you are available to chat, but don’t launch into their path.

6. Make time for press

Have a quick chat with the press office and make sure they know you are available for interviews. These often get turned into promo videos for future events and can increase brand reach further.

7. Positive body language

Smile! Look out from the stand to catch people’s eyes. An impressive visual display will help with this as it will give you conversation starters without being too formal. Top tip: avoid lengthy conversations between staff on your stand – visitors won’t want to break up the party.

8. Provide reasons for people to come and chat!

Trials, product demonstrations and prize draws will attract visitors to your stand and give your team a platform to get conversations started.

9. Keep questions open and informal

Don’t give visitors the option to brush you off too soon by giving them the hard sell from the start. Keep it informal and give people the option to come back for more information. “Hello, how familiar are you with our organisation?” is a great conversation starter as it encourages a two-way conversation with learning and understanding at its core.

10. Talk about the benefits

Provide evidence of success rather than just list out the features, people will need persuading as to why your product or service will improve their life or business.

11. Don’t make assumptions!

Ask questions and get people talking. They may not look like a person you’d want to chat with but they could be your key decision maker! And if they aren’t the person you need to talk to, a good impression might get you a chat with the person who is.

12. Don’t waste time with timewasters

Politely cut short the conversations that won’t lead to a sale. Spending time chatting to those who will never buy from you stops you from making connections that count!

13. Keep a note of leads

Collecting business cards and noting key bits of information will help you keep track of who is worth a priority follow up.

14. Collateral – make sure you have enough!

Make sure you have plenty of brochures and giveaways available A stand with no literature is a stand less likely to attract visitors. Top tip: keep some brochures within easy reach for those in too much of a rush to chat.

15. Be ready to follow up the leads

This can be via email or phone, but be sure to follow up quick. The last thing you want is for your competition to beat you to it. Take a look at our recommended follow-up tactics here.

Following these 15 easy rules to exhibiting should stand you and your team in good stead for a successful show.

Looking for a partner to help design and install your latest exhibition stand? Get in touch today.