Get my Free Sales Jumpstart Kit<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nTip #4: Make sure your lead capture is super simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tip number four that I would tell you is to make sure that your lead capture form is super, super simple. You need to have at least two different ways that you can capture leads. The first way that I recommend is that you have a fishbowl, that’s just gonna be some sort of grand prize drawing that you’re going to put together for the respective participants at that conference, just in case they are running short on time between sessions and they just want to drop in their business card into your fishbowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the second thing you’re going to want to do is you can set up a very simple form where you want to think about your standard qualification form and strip it down to the most important parts. What’s most important for you to do from here is to capture that information and feel like you can capture it in under a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it ever takes your lead more than a minute to capture that information you’ve already spent too much time and you’re missing out on other leads that are at this conference. Similarly, you are decreasing the motivation that that lead wants to actually input their information because your form is way too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip #5: Make sure you have clear goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The fifth tip that I can tell you about exhibiting is to make sure that you have clear goals for each of the team members and responsibilities in terms of what it is that you guys are there to accomplish. For example, in this recent conference that I went to, there were about 400 people. And our goal was to capture at least 40 potential people that would be interested in our product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the way I thought about that over the three days was I broke down things based off the actual schedules of the conference and what seemed most realistic. For day one, since it was a half day, our goal was to talk to 10, really good prospects. For day two, it was 20 because it was a full day. And then in day three, it was a half day to finish up the conference and so it was another 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ll want to think in a similar sort of line in terms of what does the conference schedule look like and what is realistic in terms of setting daily goals for the team to hit? The reason why this is so important is because it gives you a clear understanding of whether or not you’re going to be able to work backwards on a positive ROI for going to that respective conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know firsthand that choosing to go to a conference and exhibiting there is a huge, huge time investment. It’s something in which you’re probably bringing somebody else from your company there as well. You are taking time in resources for both of you guys or several of you guys to go to that conference. And it’s something in which you have no guarantee that you’re going to win any business from that conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip #6: Make sure you have clear goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another pro tip that I’ll tell you is become best friends with whoever it is that’s responsible for taking care of exhibitors. You want to make it known early and often that you are on the ball in terms of all the potential scheduling around the conference. The reason why is because more often than not, exhibitors are super unorganized and they’re waiting until the last week to get all their things in order. So when you demonstrate to whoever it is, that’s managing all the exhibitors that you are on the ball and you are really responsible, you will make it so that their life is easier as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the reason why that’s powerful is because it allows you to have some leeway in terms of the sorts of things that you do. For example, at this most recent conference, sometimes I was just walking around and at some different side tables where there might be some different snack stations. I was just leaving our flyers there and nobody said a word about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, I saw several people take our flyers from that and then come back to our booth later on that day. No other exhibitors really did that or even bothered and the exhibitor lead who was responsible for all the exhibitors had nothing to say in terms of negative feedback about that. So you really get some leeway in terms of the sorts of things that you can do when you’re exhibiting to really stand out from the rest of the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip #7: Find a way to engage your prospect on social media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another pro tip that I can tell you from my years of going to different conferences is make sure you have some sort of interactive way to engage your prospect on social media. It is a really great time for you to create some user-generated content. What I mean by that is, let’s say for example, you have some swag that you’re giving out and it’s a really nice t-shirt. Well, what you’ll want to do is after the person engages in your demo and fills out the form, you’re going to ask them if they’d like a t-shirt and then from there, what they’re going to probably say is, sure why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And from there, what you’ll do is you’ll have them hold up the t-shirt, you’ll take a picture and then you’ll tag them on Twitter and then you’ll do it with the conference hashtag. And the reason why that’s super useful is because it’s going to be something that they’re probably going to like or retweet and it’s also going to dominate the respective conference hashtag that whoever the organizers are have put on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the reason why that’s important is because if you are the most prevalent exhibitor in terms of social media, you are also going to be the one that catches all the people that are scrolling through the conference’s hashtag to try to be part of the action of whatever it is that’s most interesting at this conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the time, the people that see you on social media will then come back to you at your booth later on in the conference or that we even just start following you and then interacting with you there. I’ve gotten some quality leads in the past, simply by absolutely dominating the conference hashtags of different conferences I’ve been to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, it’s perfect if you can have the person actually tweet out from their own account, because then you can just retweet from your company account. But sometimes they’re not as tech savvy or you’re short on time so it can be fine to just take a picture and then tag them on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip #8: Bring more energy than other people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The last tip that I’ll share with you today is simply bring more energy than other people. It’s super straightforward, but a lot of people, when they’re exhibiting just start giving up on the last day, they show signs of lower energy and it really shows to the prospects as well. You can simply win in an exhibit hall by having the most energy of an entire bunch of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consistently, I have been part of young startups that are the new kids on the block, and that’s kind of how we position ourselves in exhibit halls. And it’s a really refreshing feeling for prospects because they leave your booth feeling like they’re really energized, they feel like they’ve learned something new and they feel really good about your product and company as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you can help somebody feel warm and fuzzy after leaving your exhibit booth, then it means you’ve been successful, whether or not they become a customer later on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you liked this article, be sure to check out my YouTube channel<\/a> to get new videos every single week. I\u2019ll help take you from zero to self-starter as you grow your business, get more customers, and hone your business acumen. Also, feel free to share this with anybody that you think might benefit from learning how to crush it on exhibiting at a trade show or big conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n