A Novice s Guide to Working a Tradeshow Floor

Transcription

1 A Novice s Guide to Working a Tradeshow Floor Attending a tradeshow can be a daunting experience, especially for a newbie. Time is money and no more so than now when many companies have reduced the time they allot for their employees to spend at a tradeshow. Here are ten tips for maximizing that time and effort. 1. Plan ahead. Tradeshows are an assault on your senses and can be a brain drain for the novice attendee. Before you go to the show, look up the event website and review the list of exhibitors. Make a list of the companies that offer the products, services and information you are after. Go to each company s website for more information. Make a list of the company names, booth numbers and aisle numbers. Compile a list of questions you want to ask them at each booth. 2. Check out the activities taking place at the expo and affiliated convention. Are there educational sessions, demonstrations of products, celebrities in the industry appearing at the show? Are there any social mixers or first-timer events where you could mix and mingle with other attendees who might be new to the tradeshow experience? By researching in advance, you are better prepared to get the most out of the show and you won t miss out on any once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet and learn from the industry pros. 3. Print out the show floor plan, take your list of must see exhibitors and map out your game plan. Design your route to each booth that maximizes your time and schedule. More importantly, bring along information to give to the company representative that will help them help you. Your needs in writing with a description of your budget, delivery deadlines, quantity or other requirements and your contact information with a date by which to reply to you. This will be very helpful to the company and expedite the follow up process. 4. Arrive the moment the doors open. Use your map to visit each of the exhibiting companies on your list in the order you planned. Ask your pressing questions, capture the information you need and leave them with your request sheet. 5. Keep track of the timeline for the extra activities, seminars, appearances and demonstrations so you don't miss a thing.

2 A Novice s Guide to Working a Tradeshow Floor, page 2 6. If you can attend two days, go back the second day and walk the entire show floor. If not, do this after your first round. Look at all the exhibits and take literature on any programs, products or services that interest you. If the exhibitors are using an electronic lead capturing machine, let them send you their information instead of carting it around all day. Take advantage of some of the super giveaways, games and contests that make tradeshows so much fun. 7. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring a camera because you never know who you might get your picture next to or what fascinating things you will see. Be sure to check if there are any restrictions on photography from show management. Carry plenty of business cards for the drawings and for networking. Bring more than you think you will need. Carry a pen so you can write notes on the business cards you pick up and a notepad for extra details. 8. By the end of your visit you will have bags of stuff. Much of it you won't need. Dump it out on your hotel bed, review what you have, then toss what you don t want. Consider packing an extra fold up tote in case you really want to bring it all home. Some events or venues offer shipping services so you can package it all up and mail it to yourself. 9. Plan to have some fun. Be pro-active, smile a lot, ask questions, soak it all up. Make a note of what you liked and didn't like about the show and if you would return next year. 10. Follow up on hot leads within three days of your return. Make a folder for the event with your notes and the event program. You can refer to it next year to determine whether to attend again and what changes you would make or additions you would include. For more tips on maximizing your tradeshow experience as either an exhibitor or an attendee, contact Susan Ratliff, The Exhibit Expert at Susan@susanratliff.com. For further information, check out my website at

3 Bling My Booth Twenty tips to Trick-Out your tradeshow display or customize your consumer show exhibit: 1. Exude Professionalism: Image is everything. Don t go cheap on any element of design. 2. Project a Personality: Conservative, trendy, cutting edge? Show off your style in your space. 3. Make It Memorable: Be clever, funny, bold or intriguing in your design and in your message. 4. Capture Attention With Color: Don t be afraid to go bright and bold. Accent the décor with the corporate colors. Contrast colors, use light text on dark backgrounds or go monochrome for impact. 5. Incorporate a Theme: Create a clever, memorable theme to reinforce your marketing message, company slogan or tagline. Tie into a current event or holiday. Have fun with sports, movies, music themes. 6. Get Your Name Noticed: It should only take seconds to understand who you are and what you do. 7. Give Graphics the Wow Factor: Use large, attention grabbing photos and striking images. 8. Make the Message Clear: Keep signs simple. More pictures less text. Say it succinctly. 9. Give Benefits First: Feel their pain. Make the message about benefits to them and less about the features you offer. How you will solve their most pressing problems is the most important message. 10. Light Things Up: Lighting techniques can illuminate, spotlight, highlight or add motion to your display. 11. Master Effective Merchandising: Showcase an impressive variety of colors, sizes, prices, qualities and styles of your product. Less is more. Keep excess stock out of sight. 12. Cut the Clutter: Keep it clean and simple. There s no need to show everything you sell.

4 Bling My Booth, cont. 13. Elevate Your Offerings: Use decorative containers, risers, boxes or unusual props to bring products and literature closer to eye level and add threedimensional impact to your space. 14. Add Punch With Props: Illustrate an intangible service or promote your product line with a variety of creative and interesting items that help to decorate, illustrate the message and bring your booth to life. 15. Dress Up the Staff: Whether it s a costume, company uniform or casual clothes, wear something that makes your team stand out from attendees or enhance your theme. If it works, wear what you sell. 16. Build Your Image: Display awards, community connections and company spirit. Share your company s personal side in order to connect with attendees and help them find a common bond. 17. Make Sure It Matches: Every element of the display should be cohesive, coordinated and complementary. That includes the carpet, counters, backdrop, graphics, props colors and theme. 18. Look Over Your Layout: Step back and observe your display like a customer. Would you do business with your company? Does the display match the hype and exemplify the company image? 19. Train the Staff: Brainstorm with the team to script a sales presentation that will accomplish your goals. Memorize the presentation, use it consistently and reward positive results. 20. Project Professionalism: People will be watching. Be approachable. Practice good exhibitor etiquette. Take out the chairs, no eating at the booth, put away the cell phone and greet everyone with a smile. Exude enthusiasm for your company. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

5 Capturing Quality Leads at Tradeshows and Consumer Events Trade shows and consumer expositions provide the opportunity to meet and speak with hundreds of potential customers. Some are qualified prospects that could become sales in the near future. Others will require some time to capitalize on their value and many others will be uninterested in your offerings. Instead of making long sales presentations to a small number of potential customers, you should evaluate and qualify as many people as possible for detailed follow-up later on. There are many effective ways to acquire a name, address, phone number and address. You can hold a drawing, have a contest or take a survey. You can also have attendees sign a guest book or be put on a list to receive your newsletter. Another option is to rent an electronic lead-capturing machine from show services. This is an easy and sophisticated way to obtain attendee information. Your list of prospects will become a valuable database and marketing tool for the future. The wise sales manager will establish written quotas for the sales team and offer incentives and a reward system to motivate the staff toward collecting a higher number of qualified leads. At a tradeshow most attendees will have business cards to drop into a bowl. Writing notes on the back of the business card works fine in the USA, but remember that it will be viewed as an insult in Europe or Asia. Other options are to design a lead slip or survey card for gathering contact information. This is especially important for exhibitors selling at a consumer show where attendees are not likely to have a business card handy. A lead slip is better than a business card because you can include a few questions that help you qualify the lead and determine what product or service is desired, when the prospect plans to buy, budget considerations and how and when to follow up with them. At the bottom of your lead slip leave a place for the staffer s initials and develop a code to identify what leads came from which show. This will help when tracking the lead s value and will help identify the most productive shows. If you use the lead slip approach instead of taking business cards, then place the lead slip on a clipboard and require staff to approach prospects to gather the information. Leaving the slips on the table expecting anyone to pick them up and fill them out will leave you disappointed. After you acquire a lead go one step further than your competitor probably will and rank the lead. A simple ranking system will help evaluate and prioritize the leads. Your ranking system can be as simple as ABC. On the back of the lead slip, survey sheet or business card, mark a letter A for any prospect that has an immediate need. B leads will be those that will probably buy within six to twelve months warranting regular follow-up, while a C lead is not a good lead and probably just wanted your promotional products.

6 Capturing Quality Leads, cont. Lead follow-up traditionally happens in the days following the close of a show, although there are some exhibitors who actually fax or leads back to the office each day for immediate follow up. If you are not one of those companies, then you may not be looking at those leads for several days, maybe even a week. You will never remember the conversation you had with the prospect by the time you get around to making the contact. The leads may also be distributed to other staff members, office help or sales representatives in other departments for follow-up. If you are gathering business cards or your lead slip doesn t offer all the answers to your important questions, just jot down a note on the back about the conversation you had. What question did the customer want answered? What product or service are they interested in? What information do you need to get back to them with? Go one step further and add a personal comment that will help to jog the person s memory about what was discussed. The note might say they were from your home-town, you talked about the local sports team or she just had a baby. This reference, along with the sales dialog, will make the call more personal even when you are not doing the follow-up yourself. Why not skip the follow-up call completely? When you can t close the sale on the spot you can increase your chances for a post-show sale by scheduling an appointment for a future sales call, booking an in-home demonstration, an office presentation, or consultation right there on the spot. Be ready to respond quickly by having your appointment book and calendar handy. Don t forget that it s all about the numbers. The more qualified leads you capture the more chances you have to make a sale. Prepare for every event well in advance. Order show services and schedule shipping early. Evaluate display properties for damage. Attention to details will eliminate headaches and save you time and money Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

7 Creating Booth Graphics that Pop Clients often ask me why they can t use pictures from their website or photographs from their personal camera to create the eight foot mural graphic on their tradeshow display. They don t understand why the images they used on their brochure can t be blown up on their banner stand. If you are not versed in the art of graphic design it is difficult to figure out what artwork and images have the correct resolution to be blown up large enough to look great on a 10 foot display. The other concept that is difficult to grasp is the fact that having the properly formatted artwork is not enough. When you work with an exhibit company to create graphics for your tradeshow display it will require four steps before a designer can get the final, finished display graphics delivered to you. First, you must provide the company logo, pictures and text messages you want to use on the design. You can also request the specific font styles and background colors you desire. The more information about your concept or desires that you provide to the designer, the easier and faster it will be to transfer those ideas from your head into a fabulous graphic. The designer must then sit at the computer and create, size, format, crop, edit, composite, color match, assemble, layout and finish all the elements of your artwork to make it look professional and ready to print. Then a proof is sent to you by for approval or you can request a test strip. This is an actual slice of the printed graphic you can color match and check for resolution quality. Lastly, the artwork must be produced by enlarging, printing and mounting it. Production time usually requires 3-7 days from your approval of a proof, but can be expedited for an additional fee. The key to a fabulous result is realizing that your final artwork will be only as good as the files and photos it was created from. In this age of the digital camera, everyone assumes that the gorgeous photograph you took on vacation, that great graphic you have on your website or those wonderful images on your brochure can be magically enlarged for use as the eight foot background picture on your exhibit. There is a huge learning curve associated with understanding how digital graphics are designed and how artwork resolution impacts the appearance of the final image. The simple truth is, unless you have pictures, logos, fonts or illustrations originally created in a format that can be properly scanned or digitally manipulated, you will not be able to turn a 3 x 4 picture from your brochure into a 6 mural for your tradeshow booth. There is something called DPI, (dots per inch), that determines the resolution of an image. The closer the dots are the clearer the image. The resolution determines whether your words and pictures will look crisp and beautiful or a blurry, jagged mess. To ensure perfection your photos must be taken with a high resolution camera and the images you select for use on your display should be originally created for large format reproduction in design programs like Illustrator or Photoshop by someone with graphic art and design knowledge who understands that your goal is to enlarge them for use on your tradeshow display. Remember that graphic artists charge by the hour and the clock starts ticking the moment the designer sits down at the computer. Make a plan to brainstorm with your sales and marketing teams about the graphic images and sales messaging you want to convey at the booth. Request assistance from your exhibit consultant, as

8 Creating Booth Graphics that Pop, cont. they have the expertise and insight on what will look the best and attract your target audience. They will save you time and money by helping you conceptualize a preliminary layout and marketing message before it goes to the designer. Gather useable artwork from the printer who printed your business cards and letterhead or have pictures scanned into the correct resolution. You can also purchase large format stock photos on the internet. Whether you hire the designer to create your display graphics or use the graphic design services provided by your exhibit house, expect to pay from $80-$150- per hour for this service. This may seem expensive, but a professional can do the work quickly and upon completion the artwork will be yours to use on your website, flyers, brochures and advertising. It is an unfortunate, but true, fact that tradeshows are places of extreme excess. Multiple resources, hundreds of man-hours and millions of dollars are wasted on show floors across the country every day. You are paying for plenty of it. Maybe it s the pressure of too many deadlines, shrinking budgets or an overworked staff that causes exhibit marketing professionals to neglect or forget important processes and procedures that are required for a show to run smoothly and stay on budget. There certainly are an overwhelming number of tiny details to oversee before, during and after the show. When multiple departments share in the planning and execution of the program, there is ample room for error if good communication procedures are not practiced. Below is a list of the most common budget busting habits that, if immediately eliminated from your tradeshow program, will save you money and reduce waste. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

9 Design a Dynamic Display If you ve ever attended a tradeshow, you know they are often an overwhelming assault on your senses. The atmosphere is hectic, filled with an array of activities and solicitations from every angle. As an exhibitor, you have the difficult task of capturing the attention of a few qualified prospects from the hundreds that will stroll past your booth. You must deal with enormous competition, not only from rival companies, but from every other exhibitor around you. The most important thing to remember is that your biggest competitor is time. You have only seconds to attract a prospect. A well designed display in your booth is your key to getting noticed. Your display is your traveling store, your portable office, your mobile showroom. At a glance, attendees must quickly comprehend who you are, what you do and why they should do business with you. There are three elements that compose your display. They are the hardware, the merchandising method and the marketing message. When selecting your display hardware, consider the needs of your sales staff. Items such as counters with storage, podiums for computers, or demonstration areas might be needed to facilitate a sale or presentation. Make the purchase even more practical and cost effective by selecting a display you can use beyond the tradeshow. An attractive exhibit looks great in the lobby of your office or a conference room. Use it for recruiting or set it up at a seminar, fundraiser or sales meeting. The next consideration is the merchandising method. How should you showcase your products or service? The common mistake many exhibitors make is filling the booth with too much product. You can t show it all or say it all so go with the theory of less is more. Include an assortment of styles, colors, flavors, sizes and prices a prospect can examine for quality and workmanship. Consider selecting a clever theme that will coordinate all aspects of your exhibit together. Themes can come from your tag line, marketing slogan or from current events like a blockbuster movie or holiday. They can reinforce your sales statements and create a humorous or memorable way to get your messages across. Add unusual props to enhance the theme and create three-dimensional impact. Unique items can be used to elevate your products at various heights or hold your company brochures. Coordinate all aspects of your booth to reinforce your corporate colors and enhance your corporate branding and important marketing messages. The final and most critical element of your display is the marketing message. Attendees pass by each exhibit so quickly, they have very little time to absorb what you have to tell them. The graphics, which are your pictures and text messages, must succinctly communicate your ideas and visually explain your intent. Remember, the primary purpose of your display is to catch the prospect s attention so they will pause long enough for the sales staff to engage them. With this in mind, design your artwork using large, eye-catching visuals and composite your messages within them. Many exhibitors make the mistake of listing all the features and services they provide instead of concentrating the message on customer benefits. You want to touch an emotion that will prompt them to stop and inquire about what you do. Tell

10 Design a Dynamic Display, cont. them how you will solve their problem, remove their pain, or reduce their fear. No one will read your long, wordy text messages so concentrate on short statements that declare how you can make them healthier, safer, happier, richer or save them money or time. Show with pictures and tell them with words how different you are from the competition. Before the day of the show, set up your display and ask the staff to take a critical look at it. Is the message you wish to convey immediately clear? Does everything come together in a cohesive manner? Can attendees tell who you are and what you do, at a glance? Is the display as professional as your company claims to be? You will have succeeded in creating a dynamic display when every element exemplifies your company image and offers value to attendees. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

11 Don t Waste that Free Attendee List Most exhibitors believe that it is the show organizers responsibility to attract attendees to the venue with marketing and advertising to assure the event is packed with potential customers. Any successful producer will have a game plan for doing so. There is also an obligation on the part of every exhibitor to share in that responsibility. Exhibitors can contribute to their own successful show results by taking an active part in driving target customers to their company s booth. One of the easiest ways to do that is by taking advantage of the complimentary list of attendees that show producers often provide exhibitors. Funny thing is, many producers complain that exhibitors don t use the lists they so generously offer free of charge. If you are given permission to use the contact information of thousands of prospects that are already familiar with the event, know where it is located and have experienced its offerings, you have a potential gold mine at your fingertips. Lists like that can sell for hundreds of dollars, so don t squander this valuable marketing opportunity. Make a plan with your sales team and tradeshow departments to use the list for pre-show marketing. There are many ways you can invite or entice customers to visit your booth at the show and having a list of people who already love to attend is a great place to start. The most time-consuming option is also the quickest and most effective making a personal connection through a phone call. If you have the staff available to make the calls, you will establish rapport and familiarity with the prospect before they even get to the show. The most economical way to reach everyone on the list is by . You can also make a good impression and put something physical in their hand by actually mailing something out. Before you do anything, you have to create the offer. Encouraging attendees to stop by your booth is the goal, but what you ask them to do when they get there will determine the success of the program. Have a clear plan with objectives that are understood by your entire booth staff. If you are going to spend the time and money to develop a pre-show marketing campaign, you want to make sure you get the best results. Start by determining what you want the visitors to do when they get to your booth. Rewarding their participation with a gift or a chance to win a prize will increase the possibility they will stop by. Here are a few ways to use that attendee list. Don t forget to add your own personal client list to the effort to generate even more traffic to your booth.

12 Don t Waste that Free Attendee List, cont. 1. A PERSONAL INVITATION: Send a personal letter inviting them to stop by your booth. A formal handaddressed letter in the mail gives a recipient a tactile reminder of the event. You can create your own custom invitation through any one of a variety of marketing programs like Constant Contact, Vertical Response or ACT. Write an enticing . Let prospects know that you know they have attended before and that you recognize they are loyal fans of the show. The invitation can be clever and fun or more formal. The design should be congruent with the theme, merchandising, and messaging used at your booth. With either option, be sure to include a call to action. Ask them to do something. Direct them to bring the letter to the booth to view a demonstration, meet a celebrity or attend a seminar your company is presenting. 2. POSTCARDS: Postcards are a great way to get bodies in the booth. You have less space for a message than with a letter, but the post card is attention-grabbing and easy for attendees to save and bring to the show. Post cards are most effective when they include a game or contest offering. Include the instructions to bring the card to the booth to enter a contest or to register to win a great prize. 3. COMPANION GIFT: If you have a generous budget, then the companion gift campaign is proven to provide a high rate of return. This involves sending out one item in advance, with the promise of receiving a companion item when they visit the booth. For example, you send out a coaster with your logo and website on one side and the call to action along with your booth number on the other side. They bring the coaster to the booth and receive a wine glass or coffee mug as a reward. Both items have your contact information on it. Send out a USB drive with a message and instructions, they get a wireless mouse. Send a CD with a recorded message, bring it back for ear buds; glass cleaning cloths get sunglasses; a recipe card gets a cook book; and so on. 4. CREATE A CONTEST: Any ad specialty company can help you put together an effective contest. Two very effective ideas involve a key or a puzzle piece. Send a postcard with a key attached that could open a box of surprises at your booth. Mail a puzzle piece they bring to see if it fits the puzzle at your booth. Yes wins a big prize, no gets a small token of appreciation. Either way they are there for you to engage.

13 Don t Waste that Free Attendee List, cont. 5. COMPARE THE COMPETITION: This is one of the least expensive, most effective promotions I have encountered. You already know your prospects will be comparing you to your competition at the show. Why not encourage them to visit you last so you can discuss their findings and bolster your benefits? Create a simple comparison matrix and print it on an 8.5 x 11 paper with your company information and instructions on the reverse side. The matrix will include a list of all the services and value you both offer down the left side with you and your competitors across the top. Ask the prospect to check out all the competitors first, then return to your booth with the form to get a gift. Of course you will make sure you stack up as the best option and make your company shine. Don t forget to add a few competitors that won t be at the show (shame on them). Take your pick from any one of these easy to execute ideas or think of a few of your own. Craft a clever program to engage and entice traffic to your booth. The most important thing to remember is not to waste a great opportunity to make a connection with attendees before the show starts or after it is over. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

14 Exhibit Like An Expert: Tradeshow Tactics That Guarantee More Profits & Prospects Set Goals for Better Results Get the most out of your exhibiting experience by starting with the right agenda. Know what you want to accomplish. Tell the staff what s expected of them. Select your agenda from the following goals: 1. Sell something. 6. Gather market research. 2. Get leads. 7. Introduce important people. 3. Investigate the competition. 8. Reinforce existing client relationships. 4. Network with other exhibitors. 9. Feature something new. 5. Build your company image. 10. Prepare to get publicity. Sharpen Your Sales Strategy 80% of show attendees base their opinion of your company on the actions of your employees at the booth. A well-trained staff is a critical requirement for success. 1. Prepare a benefit list. 2. Anticipate objections. 3. Write a script using the 5 E s formula: Engage-Excite-Educate-Encourage-Exit. 4. Use the presentation consistently. 5. Make lead collection a priority. Create a Dynamic Display In a tradeshow perception is everything. Your display is a reflection of your company s image and professionalism. Take care to craft an attractive, eyecatching, memorable showcase that draws in your audience. 1. Match your display to your image. 2. Select a clever theme. 3. Incorporate interesting props. 4. Dress-up the staff to promote the theme. 5. Merchandise your exhibit properly. 6. Create a message with impact.

15 Exhibit Like An Expert, cont. Increase Profits with Promotions When your display is complete, add promotions to your plan that build excitement, draw attention and increase traffic to your booth. 1. Use a pre-show program. 5. Offer samples. 2. Hold a demonstration. 6. Hold a drawing. 3. Feature a personality. 7. Offer a give-a-way. 4. Get interactive. 8. Customize a flyer for the show. Plan an Effective Follow-Up System When the show is over, your work is just beginning. 73% of companies collect leads, but 80% of all leads are never followed up. Don t wait too long to contact your prospects. 1. Say thank you. 4. Ask for referrals. 2. Make an announcement. 5. Share publicity. 3. Take a survey. 6. Include a call to action. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

16 Five Money Saving Secrets For Tradeshow Exhibitors It is an unfortunate, but true, fact that tradeshows are places of extreme excess. Multiple resources, hundreds of man-hours and millions of dollars are wasted on show floors across the country every day. You are paying for plenty of it. Maybe it s the pressure of too many deadlines, shrinking budgets or an overworked staff that causes exhibit marketing professionals to neglect or forget important processes and procedures that are required for a show to run smoothly and stay on budget. There certainly are an overwhelming number of tiny details to oversee before, during and after the show. When multiple departments share in the planning and execution of the program, there is ample room for error if good communication procedures are not practiced. Below is a list of the most common budget busting habits that, if immediately eliminated from your tradeshow program, will save you money and reduce waste. Secret # 1: Inventory exhibit properties before the show. Believe me when I tell you, you don t want to get to the show and find out that your counter is missing one leg, three lights are burned out and there s a huge wine stain on your white carpet. Not setting up your exhibit before it ships to the show can cause huge headaches and trigger extra expenses when surprises are discovered during installation. Getting any help from the show decorator for last minute emergencies will cost you dearly. Rushing around looking for a quick fix at the closest hardware store will not be cheap. By taking a critical look at your display, graphics and accessories a few months before the booth ships to the show, you will have plenty of time to order what s missing, fix what s broken and clean what s dirty. Set up your display before the show. Take a critical look at your graphics. Are the messages relevant and the current products you offer? Get up to speed on the timelines required by your suppliers for creating new graphics. Waiting until the last minute to design and produce the new panels for your display or the banner for your retractable stand can add expensive rush charges to the cost. It never fails that rushing to meet a tight deadline usually results in mistakes that you are unable to correct in time. Give your design team ample time to be creative and deliver quality ideas. Don t forget that you will need at least one extra day to review a proof by and maybe two days if you want a test strip delivered to you for color matching. A good policy is to count backwards the number of days you need for design, proofing, production and shipping, add two, then give those deadline dates to your staff and service providers as a guide.

17 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 2 When is the last time you updated your display structure? It might be time to purchase a new exhibit. Enormous advances have been made in display design and construction materials. Converting an aging structure to a more modern or sustainable option can reduce exhibiting costs substantially. The latest styles use aluminum extrusions, retractable panels and fabric graphics that will save you money in a variety of ways. New, innovative engineering allows for compact shipping. The lighter shipping weight of the latest substrates, the collapsibility of the new designs and the small sized shipping containers combine to reduce costly freight and drayage fees. In addition, it takes less time to install and dismantle these new exhibits, so your labor expenses could be cut in half. Since we re talking about cost cutting, have you ever considered reducing the size of your booth space? If you book a peninsula space instead of an island or take a 10x20 inline booth instead of a 10x30 you will save thousands of dollars. If you are concerned that your image may be tarnished if you scale down, try it every other show for half the savings. Put the money you save by reducing your booth size into a high profile sponsorship at the show. If you aren t concerned with saving money, but would like to increase your visibility, consider spreading three 10x10 booths around the floor with three different themes. That way you hit your targets three times instead of one.

18 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 3 Secret # 2: Order services early. Nothing will drive costs up or wreck your budget like forgetting to order services or shipping properties late. These common blunders can easily be eliminated by assigning someone to open and read the exhibit kit as soon as it is received. Convention decorators and show services charge a premium for ordering late. Here are ways to avoid extra expenses. Take advantage of all early-bird discounts and call to confirm fax orders were received. This will save you up to 15%. Don t miss the notification requirements if you are hiring an outside contractor for I & D. Failing to file the necessary form 30 days prior to the set up date will prevent your crew from working the show and require you to use the show labor at a much higher cost. Send a drawing of your electrical floor plan along with your electric order for clarification. The electrical lines must be laid before the carpet can go down, so if the electrical installation is delayed your labor will be standing around with nothing to do. Don t forget to order the pad with the carpet. Consider buying plants locally, bringing your own portable vacuum and cleaning supplies, or buying carpet you can throw away after the show, because ordering these from show services is ridiculously expensive. Plan your shipping strategies well in advance to avoid last minute overnight rush charges. Ship all properties advance to the warehouse so your cases and crates will be in the booth ready to install. That way you can pinpoint your labor start time for maximum efficiency. Confirm the weight of everything you ship. Without confirmation you have no leverage to dispute overcharges on your shipping and drayage bill. Don t forget to budget for lift gates, forklifts, driver wait times and special deliver extras. Assign someone to file the bill of lading at the service desk before leaving the show and wait for acknowledgement that it was received and correct. This oversight can trigger huge expenses when your freight is forced. Errors here will cause your shipper to be turned away and the decorators preferred freight company will take your properties instead. You will be stuck paying for the services of both shippers.

19 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 4 Secret # 3: Assign someone to meet the installers at the booth before they begin. You probably have no idea how this one omission in your exhibit plan can add thousands of dollars in extra fees to your labor bill. Here is a hypothetical scenario that illustrates how this vicious money wasting cycle unfolds: Your installers arrive on time and begin to unpack your crates. They cannot find the set-up instructions. Every case is emptied, but no instructions, pictures or drawings are found to tell them how you want the display configured. There is no company representative in sight and no one answers the cell phone number they were given. Four guys, each getting paid $75 an hour, stand around for 30 minutes waiting for instructions. The electrical lines are laid so they decide to install the carpet. No pad is listed on the work order and your representative is not there to notice that mistake. They begin erecting the display as best they can. They are not sure where the counters should go so they take a guess. It s too bad that your computer monitors will not reach the electric outlets. There are multiple sets of graphics with no indication as to which set should be used for this particular show. They try the cell phone again. No luck. Four hours later, as the installers are putting the finishing touches on the booth your representative finally arrives. She proceeds to loudly complain that the display is set up wrong and the graphics are not correct. She demands that the graphics be changed and the display be taken apart and put up correctly. Too bad the empty crates were sent to the warehouse and this crew has another booth to erect. Here is a recap outlining how this one oversight could cost your company an estimated $2, more than you budgeted for. 30 minutes of labor time lost when four guys waited around for instructions. Representative locates a set of instructions and pays to have them faxed to the show. Labor must pull the carpet so the electrician can move the lines. The electrician is busy. One hour later he moves the lines. Cha ching! The carpet pad, which was never ordered, is now purchased at the day-ofshow pricing. Labor installs pad and re-tapes carpet. The display is disassembled, moved and reconfigured. The counters are moved and the monitors relocated. There will be another drayage fee to retrieve the crates containing the other set of graphics that were already taken back to the warehouse. Another 4 hour minimum is required for the labor crew to make the changes. It is now 5:15 so overtime pay kicks in. You are now charged time and a half times four.

20 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 5 Reduce your stress and preserve your budget (and maybe your job) by assigning a representative to meet the foreman at the booth before your hired installation labor crew starts the job. Here are a few other tips for saving time and money: Send a copy of the assembly instructions and floor plan to the installers two weeks ahead of the show. Include photos showing the booth exactly as you wish it to be erected and how the graphics should look when installed. Put a duplicate copy of the assembly drawings and instructions in your crates. Provide an additional copy to your representative to bring to the show. Put all your graphic artwork files on a disc and bring it to the show in case any graphics are lost or damaged so you can quickly get them reprinted. Double check all booth service orders for errors a week before the show.

21 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 6 Secret # 4: Establish rules of conduct for the booth staff. What would you do if your top salesperson arrived at the booth one hour after the show opened? Would you be upset if that person was drunk? Would it matter to you if the entire staff left the booth before the show closed even though customers were still on the floor? Unfortunately these scenarios can be witnesses every day at shows all across the country. These unacceptable behaviors inconvenience customers, frustrate prospects and tarnish your company image. When you send your staff off to an exciting city to work a show for three days, the night life is tempting, the boutiques are beckoning and the lure of the golf course is strong. It would be a good idea to outline some company policies for your team that cover behavior both during work hours and on personal time. They are, after all, getting paid and representing you the entire time they are at the show, so reinforce their purpose by dictating specific work hours, adding a curfew and reminding them that their actions both day and night, reflect back on the company. A little bit of sales training wouldn t hurt either. Give your staff a clear purpose for being there by establishing a list of goals to accomplish at the show. Inject a little competition into their duties and offer incentives for exceptional performance. Develop a concise sales presentation for each person to use. By scripting your marketing message and selling propositions you will guarantee that every attendee who enters your booth will leave with consistent information about your company, products and services. Make lead generation a priority.

22 Five Money Saving Secrets, page 7 Secret # 5: Limit your give-aways and literature. It is difficult to calculate how many brochures, flyers, sales slicks and give-a-ways you should bring to the show. Most exhibitors have a tendency to over-estimate the number needed. When it comes to collateral it makes sense to create an inexpensive marketing flyer that includes a show special on one-side and company contact information on the other. You can cheaply print up hundreds of these and save your expensive full color brochures for high quality prospects. Packing two hundred pieces for every one thousand attendees is a good rule of thumb. You can increase that number if your sales staff has been trained to include the distribution of collateral to every prospect they engage on the show floor, otherwise expect them to set on the table until someone happens to pick one up. In addition, boxes of literature take up a lot of space in the booth and are often stacked unattractively in view of attendees. Be aware that it is not uncommon for booth staff to conveniently forget boxes full of color catalogs and company brochures at the show. When they neglect to pass them out they don t want to ship home the tell-tale evidence. Using a cheap-to-print flyer gets the word out and allows you to toss away the leftovers without guilt instead of shipping them back. There are similar issues when dealing with give-a-ways. They require more boxes to contend with. You could rent an accessible storage space which allows you to retrieve your boxes when you need them, but this will cost you $150-$200 per day. The sheer volume of T-shirts, pens, calculators, bags or post it notes exhibitors ship to the show is usually excessive. The other problem is that the distribution methods are faulty and wasteful. If you ve ever seen enthusiastic salespeople mindlessly handing out trinkets at the edge of their booth without even one qualifying question asked, then you ve experienced this phenomenon. Companies seem to have forgotten that the purpose of a premium gift is to reward the prospect for giving you something you want. When attendees give you a lead, watch a video, participate in a demonstration or take a survey the give-away serves as a small token of thanks. Use them; don t waste them. Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert. An author, professional speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company, Susan shares thirty-five years of experience providing seminars and products guaranteed to turn any exhibit booth into a powerful profit center. Contact Susan for exhibiting services or to speak to your group: Susan@SusanRatliff.com or visit Copyright 2011 Susan Ratliff Presents LLC. All Rights Reserved.

23 The Exhibit Experts Guide to Professional Booth Etiquette I bet nobody told you there are rules of etiquette that govern the show floor. Sometimes we have to go back to the basics and take inventory of our presentation and attitude when we exhibit. Adhering to these simple dos and don ts will result in a better impression of your exhibit staff by the attendees. Statistics show that 80% of attendees base their opinion of your company on the actions of your employees at the booth. Upon reviewing this list of suggestions, they may seem like common sense considerations everyone should be familiar with. Unfortunately, you will find numerous infractions at every event. Think about how many times you have witnessed them, or worse yet, committed these blunders. The overall image of your company and staff will benefit greatly if you avoid these infractions at your next tradeshow, consumer show or event. Share these suggestions with your booth staff and use them as a guide for making the best possible impression. Don t sit down. Be approachable, alert and ready to greet every prospect. Take the chairs out of the booth altogether. Plan your staff schedule to allow for occasional breaks away from the booth. Don t leave the booth unattended. If you must leave on a break and you are alone at the exhibit, put a note on the table stating the exact time you will return. Don t talk excessively to colleagues. A prospect is not likely to interrupt your conversation to ask for information. Stop talking to your booth mates when prospects are in view. Don t eat or drink at the booth. Glasses of soda and plates of food on the front counter look tacky and unprofessional. Munching on food, chewing gum or drinking in the booth is worse. Step away for a few minutes to enjoy your snack and hide drinks from customers. Don t get caught on your cell phone. Cell phones are a business necessity, but talking on them while in the booth is a guaranteed turn-off to customers. Move out of the booth to make or answer calls.

24 Professional Booth Etiquette, page 2 Don t knock the competition. Refrain from making negative comments about other companies in the show. Always sell your product or service on its own merits. Today s savvy consumers resent negative attacks on competition and want you to sell them on your benefits. Don t speak negatively about the show. When a show is going poorly we look for something to blame. Negative comments and grumpy attitudes are always unproductive. Evaluate the possible reasons your products or services are not selling, then make changes where you can. Take some responsibility for your own success. Don t monopolize your neighbor. Sharing ideas and meeting new people is part of the fun of exhibiting, but the first priority is to sell your business. Remember to excuse yourself from conversations with your booth neighbor when a client approaches. Do set up early. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare to meet the public. Check your booth supplies and presentation. Arriving early gives you the opportunity to check out the other exhibits before the show opens. If you hired the installation crew meet them at the booth before they begin. Confirming they have clear instructions for erecting and positioning your display and graphics will prevent costly mistakes. Do dress the part. Your appearance has an impact on an attendee s perception of you and your company. Dress to enhance your booth theme. Dress to stand out from the audience. Wear what you sell. Do wear comfortable shoes. Prevent hours of pain on your feet and back. Wear flats. Do inventory nightly. Save yourself the panic of running out of important items. At the end of each day make a list of what products, selling supplies, hand-outs and give-a-ways you will need to restock for the next day. Never run out of business cards and important selling tools. Do train your staff. Set goals for your sales team. Train them on how to collect leads and close sales. Prepare them with superior product knowledge, updated pricing information and competitive intelligence. Give them the tools they need to succeed.