3 Tips for a Productive Tradeshow Booth Interaction

Posted on by Charli Matthews

tradeshow

Participating in pump industry tradeshows presents you with an opportunity to meet individuals with whom you may not have otherwise become connected. Exhibitors can put a great amount of time and effort into preparing for a show, but somehow diminish the amount of leads they can generate while AT the show. I am sharing these tips below to help revitalize unproductive booth behavior so you can improve the quality of your tradeshow interactions.

Have a Plan for Your Time in the Booth.

We have all seen exhibitors sitting in their tradeshow booths looking completely bored out of their minds. If you are exhibiting, have a plan for your time in the booth. Eye contact and a BIG smile is your first connection with a passerby. If you are not trying to make eye contact with the people walking past your booth, you cannot even begin to initiate a conversation. While you are looking at and smiling at EVERY person walking by your booth, SCAN their name tags. Almost everyone that attends tradeshows wears a badge that displays their name, position title, and company they represent. Exhibitors who are scanning the tradeshow participants’ badges while they walk by are more likely to spot the individuals they WANT to speak to; and since those exhibitors are actively making eye contact, they are more likely to get that person into their booth by shouting out a question or offering that individual something from their booth – whether it be a product demonstration, promotional item, or a piece of literature. While exhibitors typically spend most of their time trying to engage people passing by, it is also important that they use social media while at the show to help encourage traffic to their booth.

Use Social Media.

When you have a plan for your time in the booth, determine how many minutes every hour you want to spend using social media while at the show. Read Kerry O’Malley’s article “Using Social Media to Drive Engagement at Trade Shows”. Use social media while exhibiting at the tradeshow, but be careful to not spend every minute of your booth time looking face down at your smart phone. Make sure any reps manning your booth are not frequently zoned into their laptops. That is a great way to let potential business relationships walk right past you. Try to determine the best times during the show to use social media so you can balance your online activity with your face-to-face engagements.

Get That Lead!

Do not be afraid to ask for a person’s business card. If you spent valuable time and energy getting that person into your booth, discussing their business, and learning about areas where both your companies can collaborate, take that last step to generate the lead. Ask if you can send that person your newsletter; or better yet, invite them to sign up for your newsletter right there at your booth. Set up a laptop just for tradeshow participants where they can quickly and easily add themselves to your mailing list. Connect with every new person you meet at the show using LinkedIn. Connecting on LinkedIn gives you the added benefit of not only keeping in contact with that person as they move to different companies, but also increasing your potential to build more bridges with their existing connections. If you ask a person for their business card, and they explain that they are not quite the right person for your company to communicate with, ask them for the name of the person who can help to build the bridge between your companies. The point is to keep the conversation going after the tradeshow has concluded.

These tips may seem simple, but the truth is…sometimes the simplest acts are the hardest to perform! If you have additional tips for improving your time in the booth, I’d love to hear your stories!

4 Years… A Business Owner

Posted on by Charli Matthews
Connected_Charm

As of a few days ago, I have been a business owner for four years! This makes me an expert right? (Well, at least an expert in managing stressful situations!) All joking aside, I have learned a few things I would like to share with you. When I look back on the past four years of business ownership, I see each year as a stage or fulfillment of a mission. Follow me on this flashback…

Year 1 – Designing and Planning – Learning While Doing

Year 2 – Survival – How to Manage Cash Flow

Year 3 – Process – Perfecting What We Do

Year 4 – Growth – New Opportunities

Whether you are a start-up or purchasing an established business, Job 1 is designing and planning what your company will BE: its reason for existing and the business exchange that will occur between you and your customers. Perhaps more importantly, how will it make money to sustain itself and grow? Although you have to start somewhere, this “plan” must by dynamic. Markets change, customers change, needs change – YOU change. You must be able to adapt the plan to take advantage of opportunities. I really enjoy this aspect of being a business owner. I like to constantly look at improving so this fits my style perfectly.

We all know that one doesn’t start a business knowing everything and having all the answers. Many answers come from living and learning. One of my struggles was understanding the cash flow process. Everyone has their own way of paying their debts and it may not always line up with yours. Everyone doesn’t take credit. Small companies are more vulnerable when payments aren’t made on time, as agreed. And if, as a business owner, you are also your company’s accountant, money issues can make for difficult conversations with the customers you’ve come to like and appreciate. You must learn your customers’ accounting policies and if at all possible, adapt. Always keep in mind, there are emotions attached to being paid late.

The next stage we experienced was perfecting everything we do well in order to work more efficiently and seamlessly. I was approached several times by others who wanted to purchase my company. As a responsible business person, I had to take these offers seriously and consider them. It wasn’t enough for ME to understand what we do. I had to be able to articulate it in writing and justify any value I might attach to my business. This is a great distraction when you are supposed to be focused on daily activities and growth strategies; but it forced me to go through this stage sooner rather than later.

Determining your company’s Value Proposition for customers and potential investors is not as easy as it sounds. Even very large corporations struggle with this aspect of marketing. Regardless, I needed to know what benefits EP brought to our customers. I am lucky I had a meeting with Susan Fant! She asked me what it is we do that is better and faster than anyone else. This was easier for me to think about… I can connect and share news better and faster than most. So we explained our Value Proposition simply: Connect. Inform. Educate. Once you’ve figured out the process and know exactly what you can offer efficiently and seamlessly, you’re poised to grow.

I found planning for growth to be challenging, especially since we cover so many markets and products. I now look to grow with strong relationships and reciprocal partnerships. My customers have always been most important to me and I credit them with my success, both in my corporate career and with my business. They direct my growth. I listen to their needs and try to support them. I look for ways to use my connections and platforms to grow for them.

We have a unique brand and are thankful we have been able to partner with so many media companies, associations, trade show organizers, pump trainers, end users, and consultants. Our most recent growth idea was partnering with Pump Engineer to bring you Pump Summit Americas in June 2016. This event will be a beautiful display by our partners and customers. I hope you can attend!

If you have a similar story, I’d love to hear from you! We can all learn from each other!