Exhibeo - exhibition stands

So you’ve chosen an exhibition you want to attend, you’ve booked your stand. What next?

Have the right people on the stand

Planning your stand

Your exhibition stand is your organisations window onto the world. The way in which it looks and feels speaks volumes about the nature and values of your organisation and the people within it. It influences the people you are trying to attract and is one of the keys to a successful show.

When investing in new exhibition equipment it is important to consider your long term needs. Exhibition equipment which is reusable and can be reconfigured for different shows gives you a much better return on your investment.

» Keep text to a minimal, bullet points are good but images are better.
» Use height where possible, you’ve paid for the space above your stand, so use it.
» Don’t restrict visitor’s access onto the stand; keep it as open as possible, so put demonstration stations at the rear of the stand.
» Use lighting, flood lights for graphics and spot lights for products.
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Tell the world

A great stand with stunning graphics, manned by the right staff but with no visitors has failed! For an exhibition to give you the return on your investment that you are looking for, it has to have visitors. You need to make your stand busy and create a buzz of activity. You need to do it, because exhibition organisers don’t.

» Mail shot or email your databases to let them know you will be exhibiting at the show.
» Invite key customers onto your stand and try to make a timed appointment for them to visit you.
» Many show organisers will help you with press releases, take advantage of this.
» Use the shows logo and internet link on your emails.
» Have a link on your website to the show website.
» Change your standard advert to mention the show, include the shows logo. If you are running an incentive at the show, mention this in your advert. Advertise your stand number.
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Have the right people on the stand

A positive, smiling enthusiastic person with little knowledge is better than a misery with heaps of knowledge. Only choose people who want to be there and achieve the company goals. Exhibitions are hard work and not a skive.

» Have sufficient numbers of people on the stand. If you have an extra body then you can take it in turns to have lunch or walk around the exhibition and network.
» Never sit down on the stand or eat your lunch. Always be smart, smile and greet people. Try something different other than, "Can I help you". This is a closed questions and very easy to say "No" to.
» Use open ended questions to get people engaged in a conversation "What part of our products / services interests you".
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Set goals for the exhibition.

Make sure everyone manning the stand understands the goals and knows why they are important. Offer incentives to the staff for good performance. Break the goals down into daily targets.
The goals could be sales appointments booked, confirmed sales during the exhibition or a number of new leads. Remember that for people to commit to anything at an exhibition, they may need an incentive or discount.
Goals should be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time Bound
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Follow up

Follow up all leads quickly. It will help if you grade the enquiry at the exhibition so you can quickly follow up the ‘hot’ leads. Track the leads from the show so you can see how many are converted into sales, what the lead time is and the average spend. This will help with future exhibitions and goal setting.
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