Trade Show Booth Tips:
Increasing Leads and Sales

Having a trade show booth at key industry events can be one of the most effective ways to market your products or services -- and increase awareness of your business to interested buyers. The chance to meet face-to-face with a multitude of decision makers from different companies can propel the sales process in a condensed time-frame.

For both established businesses and start-up companies, trade show participation can be a highly opportunistic marketing vehicle to enhance brand awareness, increase lead generation and drive revenue.

"Although people's eyes should be drawn to your display, it shouldn’t be because it is simply flashier or louder than the others," according to Mat Kelly, president of ExhibitDEAL, an exhibit wholesaler specializing in a wide range of high-impact pop-up and custom displays.

Mr. Kelly added, "Flashy or loud may be good for sales if your business is video games or music, but if your business is selling gourmet foods to restaurants you probably don’t want to advertise your booth with a flashing neon light or loud ear-splitting music."

Your trade show booth should clearly reflect your company’s brand and market, while still offering something unique that makes it stand out.

Event visitors must be able to quickly ascertain (in a matter of seconds) what your business is all about and clearly understand why your company is worthwhile to consider.

Since it is likely your competition will also be exhibiting at the show, the way you design and appoint your trade show display must strongly portray your competitive advantages. In other words, it should be readily apparent why someone would want to buy from you vs. your competition.

This can be accomplished through high-impact signage, product demonstrations, marketing materials, displays with customer testimonials, talking points by your booth team, and/or high-visibility comparison charts.

The expertise and professionalism of your booth team is essential to establishing rapor with show attendees. It is imperative that each staff member is well trained and fully rehearsed on the key talking points you want delivered to booth visitors.

Team members must consistently show enthusiasm for your company and its offering. Every interaction is a chance to create relationships... that generate leads... that turn into sales and repeat customers.

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