My First Trade Show Booth: 7 Rookie Lessons

I just finished my first trade show as an exhibitor. I've been to many conferences as an attendee but never bought an exhibitor booth before this week. The conference world looks completely different from the other side of a booth. Here are the 5 lessons I learned as an exhibitor rookie.

1. Pricey Real Estate - I lived in Manhattan and thought my $2200 per month rent for a 900 square foot apartment was high. Then I met trade show rents. My 100 square feet with a table and two chairs cost me $1600 for two days. When you add in the cost of printing brochures and posters, the direct cost easily goes over $2000 for a show. When you add in the time to staff and set up the booth, that cost grows significantly.
2. Set Up as Early as Possible - Exhibitors were given the option to set up their booths the night before or the morning of the first day of the show. I set up the night before to scope out the site and to see if I had forgotten anything before I showed up. I got an unexpected benefit as well. Because they are so huge, convention centers don't heat or cool any more than they have to. The air conditioning wasn't going to start until an hour or two before the show, so it was a sweatbox before then. Even though setting up was light work, I would have been drenched in sweat if I did it that morning in my suit.
3. Use the Table - The first day, I pushed my table back and stood in front to meet people. I didn't want a table between me and people. While I had nice interactions by being in front, I didn't have as many interactions as I wanted. I switched it up the next day and pushed the table to the front and sat behind it. Counterintuitively, I had several-fold more interactions by doing so. My conclusion is that attendees value the space and control that the table gives them. They can come up, grab a brochure and easily move on and choose to stay and chat if they want. When I hovered in front, I think I scared people away who didn't want to commit to a conversation. Different strategies work for different things, so I suggest testing as a way to figure out the best approach.
4. It Takes Two to Tango - Having two people at a booth is important. There is a lot of down time and having company is valuable. Sitting next to someone all day is a great way to get to know someone better than a lunch or meeting. When it does get busy, having two people helps ensure you don't lose out on possible interactions because you are busy. Most of the traffic to booths comes in surges between meetings, so when you do need coverage, you need double coverage.
5. Market Research Value - Beyond generating potential sales, conferences are a great way to understand your market. You get to listen to customers and rapidly test different ways to speak to them. You also get to see how your competitors pitch themselves. An exhibit hall is like a laboratory where you can see your market in one room.
6. Give Something of Relevant Value - Exhibitors gave out a variety of freebies to attract people to their booths. From stress balls to water bottles and more, some giveaways were better icebreakers than others. The most useful giveaway I saw was a plastic cupholder/plate combination that allowed people to keep one hand free while eating and drinking during the happy hour. The least useful thing I saw was baseball caps, as 80+ percent of the attendees were women and not as interested in baseball caps.
7. There Must Be a Return on Investment... Right? - I did my conference as a one time test as part of my move to a new city. I thought I would get more business by search engine marketing, but I decided to test out a trade show once. Going to the show made me think there must be a return on investment or conferences wouldn't be able to stay in business and keep attracting exhibitors. Most of the exhibitors seem to be high-cost services, so perhaps it just takes a sale or few to justify the cost of setting up and staffing a booth. 

 Overall, I am glad I tried the exhibitor route once but not sure if I will do it again. I think I will have to wait several months to see if any of the interactions I had translate to revenue. I am optimistic, but only time will tell. At least I enjoyed the experience.

--> Like this article? Follow me on LinkedIn to get my weekly articles. See my books on Amazon.

About the Author:Victor Prince is an author and speaker who teaches strategy, communication and leadership skills to clients around the world. Victor's book, Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide their Teams to Exceptional Results, has been named a Top 20 semi-finalist for 2016 Leadership Book of the Year. He also blogs regularly on LinkedIn, such as "Lessons Dairy Farming Gave me before my MBA" and "5 Project Management Lessons From my Camino Across Spain." He will be a featured speaker at Executive Insight in NYC in November.

? Copyright Victor Prince, All Rights Reserved.