TradeShowHelp.Org

We have an IT company and I was wondering what IT trade shows are in the UK, or the best way to find out where and when they are.

Thank You – Jonathan

Jonathan,

There are several resources out there for selecting trade shows, whether they are in the UK or in the USA.  Check out – http://www.exhibitions.co.uk/ for UK specific shows, as well as http://www.tsnn.com/, where you can do a location search for any country, city or state.

Start searching online for various directories, add these to a master list and fine tune it as you go.  There is good information on specific show sites as well, you can see what your other companies are saying about the value of certain trade shows.

Researching where your competitors are exhibiting  is another great way to narrow down your trade show selection.    There is not one specific site that has all of the available trade shows in any given country, it is best to gather data from a variety of sources and start your research.

We exhibit to gain clients, exposure and create relationships with prospects.

I’ve heard it said that trade shows are the easiest, most difficult marketing tool to master. Like all such challenges, finding tips to make this process easier has just become easier.  Check out the latest FREE trade show seminars.  21 Seminars in 21 Days

With the 21 Seminars in 21 Days, you will meet Mike Mraz, a 25 year veteran in the trade show industry, you can find out information on show selection, booth staffing and even trade show transportation.  Getting the best outcome from your trade show is one of the goals that every exhibitor wants to achieve.

Take advantage of the 21 Seminars in 21 Days!

Is it permissible for an exhibitor to stand out in the aisle to speak to or direct people to his booth?

I am in need of a list of “Don’ts” for exhibiting. There are plenty of lists for what to do, but I cannot find any that state what not to do. I am speaking in terms of the act of exhibiting, not actual salesmanship.

Thanks
Penny

Thanks for coming to Trade Show Help Penny,

You are right there are several trade show do’s and there should be some don’ts as well.  In my opinion as a trade show attendee I dislike  when the booth staff is huddled together and you feel they are unapproachable.

It is uncomfortable to be milling around a booth trying to get someone’s attention.  I have also seen booth staff that do not say hello or welcome visitors.

I found myself one time entering into an exhibit where I knew there was a product that I felt was useful to me and my business, but the exhibitor was hosting a lunch for what appeared to be a high profile prospect.  I don’t feel it is appropriate to have food served in your booth, and if you feel it is necessary perhaps use a conference room where others don’t feel like they are intruding.

Don’t bring tons of literature, show them a sample of what you have so that you can gain a business card and get a real lead.  If you hand out literature left and right, you are wasting money on printed material as well as not gaining a true lead.

Don’t forget to follow up immediately after the show, don’t allow your competitors get to the potential clients first.  Put together a plan before the trade show begins for your after the show follow up.

Don’t overload your booth visitors, find out what solutions they are seeking and focus solely on that so they don’t feel overwhelmed.

I believe it to be a good practice to stand outside your trade show display and get peoples attention.  Invite them in for product demonstrations so they can see the solutions you have to offer.  Question them on what their needs are so that you can refine your sales pitch.

I am looking for some simple solutions for upcoming trade shows, our budget is smaller but we do not want to sacrifice our look. We will be attending smaller shows during the fall trade show season.

Is there anything out there that might help us create impact on a smaller scale?

Jennifer

Thanks for stopping in Jennifer -

There are new products hitting the trade show floor constantly, we recently visited Chicago Trade Show Displays and were a bit amazed at some of the new products that Skyline has come up with this year.

One solution that may fit your needs is what is called a Myriad Banner Stand, this can be used as a full inline display, and is lightweight. The center banner add’s an additional graphic area with no extra hardware.

I liked the look of the arc in the center, but it also is available with a flat center banner.  This unit also has an area for literature or small product displays and may be something that will fit your needs for your fall trade show season.

Trade Show Prospects

This is one of the main reasons companies choose to exhibit, to find potential clients and prospects.  Trade show attendees are people that are looking for solutions to help make their goals easier to achieve.

Trade shows are a valuable source to advertise your business and meet potential clients.  The objective of trade shows is to emerge as a leader, your business, service or products are the foundation of your placement in your industry, your trade show display is the vehicle in which to drive them home.

Attracting attention with your exhibit and creating an inviting environment is essential to your marketing goals when it comes to exhibiting.  Designing a trade show display to enhance your overall goal will solidify your strengths and solutions.

Staffing your display with professional team members will help not only attract visitors into your trade show booth, but will help present your company as an authority in your market.  Trade show attendees often times feel intimidated when they walk into an exhibit and feel they are “infiltrating” a group.   If your booth staff is lingering and talking among themselves, attendees are less likely to approach them with their concerns or needs for your products and services.

Companies are looking for more cost effective solutions and are seeking advice of industry leaders to provide them with those solutions.  When you show a potential client positive results with your product/services, they will feel they have found a common ground, and their interests in your offerings will grow.

Keeping detailed notes on your prospects issues can help in your post show marketing. Research the issues that they are facing, and show them how in their circumstances your products and services will be valuable in their daily efforts.

By addressing their issues and concerns, potential clients will turn into solid partnerships.

A trade show presenter is a tactician who understands the art of communication and uses their skills to acquire the largest number of attendees in front of your trade show booth.  Many companies attend trade shows but do not have a person qualified to be the trade show presenter and need to acquire an individual skilled in the art of presenting material in front of an audience.

Determining how your company will relay its message to a trade show audience establishes the basic criteria you will need in selecting a trade show presenter.  Will your criteria’s be scripting, podium presentation, using audio visual technology, gimmicks, over the top presentations, or the presenter’s ability to communicate?  Successful exhibitors understand that each trade show has its own budget constraints, booth size and marketing objectives and not all trade show presenters are appropriate for every environment.

The basic goal of every trade booth is to generate leads and to educate the consumer about your company’s service or product.  You can achieve this by simply utilizing the trade show presenter as a sideshow attraction or as a Hollywood stage presentation.

The sideshow attraction works best in small booths and allows education, entertaining, and  lead generation to occur when the trade show presenter interacts with the attendee and inquisitively seek out key information to assess their need level.   The higher the need level, the faster the trade show presenter turns the attendee over to qualified sales staff.

Hollywood presentations educate attendees on products and services requiring attention getting tactics and typically larger booth space.  High tech displays and performance are there to dazzle the crowd into staying and watching the presentation with trade show jargon, sales pitch and information all rolled up into a 10 minute production.  These normally happen 3-4 times an hour. Lead generation occurs when the trade show presenter requests the audience to enter into a raffle or qualifying them for an immediate discount for participating in the show presentation.

The return on investment is what a company looks for when hiring a trade show presenter.  Accomplishing this is by knowing the companies specific needs and knowing what the presenter can offer.  Once the issues are address, selection of a qualified trade show presenter is easy.

About the Author:
Dale Obrochta is a professional trade show presenter who uses promotional balloon entertainment to build trade show booth traffic. He is a leading entertainer in the balloon entertainment industry who consistently works trade shows and corporate events. Magical Balloon-dude Dale is balloon entertainment at its best!

Trade Shows, your platform for customized marketing solutions.

Whether you are an exhibitor in Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando or New York City,  trade shows offer great potential for defining relationships.

It does not matter if you exhibit in a 10 x 10 display, a 10 x 20 inline exhibit or a 20 x 20trade show booth.

There are always details to cover and items can get over looked.  Have you run into the missing graphic? The lost box of literature?

What are your biggest trade show frustrations? We here at TradeShowHelp.org would love to hear from you about your exhibiting experiences.

Are you exhibiting more now through the economic downturn?

Are you exhibiting at smaller niche trade shows?

Have you experienced something that frustrates you each and every time you exhibit?

What would make your exhibiting experience easier?

How do you conduct your post show follow up?

We want to hear from exhibitors, their success stories, their failures.  By defining each part of your exhibiting experience and with strategical  planning you will find it easier to define your marketing ROI.

There is a new place that exhibitors and attendees of trade shows can look for industry specific or city specific trade shows and conferences.   The Trade Show & Conference Directory has an astounding database of worldwide conferences and trade shows, that supports over 40,000 business events worldwide.

“There is a need for a robust solution that gives accurate and detailed information on conferences and trade shows to all the professionals out there.  With Bvents.com, we tried to build a tool that lets you search and find that information” said Yoav Markiewicz, Co-founder & VP Product Management at Bvents.

Nimrod Raizner, Co-founder & CEO at Bvents says: “A substantial amount of our resources were devoted to building sophisticated tools that work at the backend of our website. These tools allowed us to create, edit and improve the information.

With the ability to find exhibitors, keynote speakers and look into detailed floor plans, organizers and exhibitors have a wealth of information at their fingertips for early event planning.

Typical site visitors to Bvents.com are conference and trade shows attendees and exhibitors, as well as event industry professionals.