Top Tips to Get the Best Out of Expos & Tradeshows.
Attending Expos stimulates your creativity in an environment conducive open networking, sharing with, and learning from, others.
What a great way to market your business and build your network of contacts. Whether you’re selling your expertise or a product, if you follow some simple tips before you attend, during and after the event, you’ll really make the effort worthwhile.
- Register (of course) … early enough to get the best rate.
- Go through the list of exhibitors and contact those you already know or would like to introduce yourself to for a time to meet. Social Media can play a large role in this aspect too.
- Get a map of the placement of exhibitors and design a strategic visit plan for each day to visit new companies and where they are located.
- Research all new companies you want to meet – their products, website, key personnel, so you bring relevant current knowledge to the conversation when you meet.
- Advertise on Social Media of your attendance and where you can be found.
- Ensure that your marketing material is up to date, including contact information on business cards.
- Compile a list of key personnel who may be attending. This will help you remember names when you are there.
- Try and make appointments before attending so you can plan your visits around these. It is of equal importance to engage with current contacts as well as forging new links.
By preparing well in advance you can make the most of your time during your visit.
- Attend with a purpose. Follow your prepared plan of who you aim to meet and where they are located for best use of your time.
- Be on time for appointments you’ve made. In such a relaxed, and yet busy, environment it is easy for the time to fly by in conversations with previous colleagues and friends.
- Arrive early as exhibitors are more accessible to talk in the early hours of each day.
- Visit exhibitors displaying new products and find out as much as you can about these.
- Ask good open questions about their companies, listen well and speak with some knowledge of the company. Conversations in this situation are important in building credibility as much as rapport. Future work is at stake and can come from a single conversation.
- Share marketing information and business cards with new contacts.
- Content is King: gather information and resources. Exhibitors Show Guide is an invaluable document for future use.
After your attendance:
- Follow up: contact those you met, both current and new contacts. Begin a meaningful information exchange to help your business and theirs.
- Evaluate the resources you collected and make a list to follow up on relevant companies you didn’t get a chance to meet this time.
- Make a note of the things you learnt from new products and new contacts for future reference.
- Follow through on any promises you made. Every opportunity is a golden one.
Attending Tradeshows and Expos can power up your earning and learning curve. Your attendance, if prepared and purposeful, will be an excellent leverage of your time.
