Closed Loop Selling through Trade Shows

You might not exhibit at trade shows regularly. You might not have a huge, flashy booth. But you can still come home a success.

three ways you and your business can break through the noise at any trade show and make sure you come home a success:

1. Personality counts.

The very nature of trade shows demands that you have personality. From the look and feel of your booth to the people who are working at it--does your booth blend in or stand out? Do you use the same cookie cutter booth for every show, or do you target your booth to the type of show you're attending? Even though it might require more time, energy and money, targeting your booth to the type of show you're at can really help.

2. Be novel.

In the sea of booths at a trade show, a lot can be said for having some novelty to attract folks to your front door. As an attendee, it's easy to get caught in the tangle of people and not want to break away for yet another sales pitch from a desperate and bored exhibitor. Shake things up in your booth with something unexpected, fun and, yes, interactive, to get folks involved and engaged. Ditch the usual swag of free pens and stress balls and give away something memorable. The same booth that had the great staff also had a 7-foot-tall gumball machine right at the front of their booth. When they talked to folks, they encouraged them to turn the crank and out would pop a mini gorilla. People ate it up.

3. Stay engaged.

You never know what will happen even if you're at a show that seems to miss the mark for your company, or that feels slow. Don't fall into the trap of getting bored, starting to do other work and ignoring attendees. It's easy to have happen at a multi-day show when the adrenaline and coffee run out and the people in your booth lose their show mojo. A woman who sells vintage props had a booth next to us and it was super slow for her. She left her booth for a while and guess what? A huge client came to see her! Luckily the client waited for her (This would not usually happen.), and she closed a deal on the spot. She got lucky.

more at http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/3-ways-to-break-through-the-noise-at-a-trade-show.html