10 Top Tips For Exhibition Stand Management
One way for new mortgage brokers to get exposure and increase their customer base, is to have a stand at a trade show or exhibition. I visited Anuj Chawla’s stand (one of my mentees) at the Melbourne Property Expo and was very impressed with his message & marketing.
Running a stand at a trade show or exhibition is hard work and often exhausting. Here are some ideas to help make your investment in trade shows and exhibitions more productive, more profitable, and even more rewarding.
- Never go alone!
You will probably already know very well that running a stand is a full-time job while an exhibition is on, and it should never be left unattended. Every 5 minutes that your stand is unattended, your investment in the event will not be making you money. But you must get some breaks in, over what will probably be a long day or more.
- Dress appropriately
Exhibition venues can vary all the way from being perishingly cold to far too hot (especially when the venue is busy and brightly lit — as you hope it will be); So dress comfortably, in the vernacular of your trade by all means but, may I suggest, at least ‘one notch up’ from the majority of your likely visitors? A fabulous product display can so easily be ruined by scruffy stand-staff.
- Get there in good time
This may seem obvious, not just in terms of getting a good parking space, setting up properly without panic, and ensuring packing materials, cables and any personal items are all out of sight before your event opens.
But if you are wise, you will also want to find out where the loos are and where you can get refreshments, and check your pitch is to your liking and properly signed and supplied.
- Stand display
You will have your own ideas about what works best for you and what doesn’t. You can also learn much from other exhibitors, good and bad. But here are some thoughts that you may think apply universally as the minimum of good professional practice:
- NO clutter! (That includes NO half-drunk cups of coffee, a newspaper or half-eaten sandwich left on display!
- *focus* — on what you specialise in and what you offer.
- not too much on display — it can all become ‘meaningless noise’ if you aren’t careful;
- not too little either — it may look as if you aren’t really in business for real;
- eye-friendly and exceptionally well lit displays — remember, you are after your visitors’ ‘eye-share’ first!;
- something to taste, smell, listen to, watch or feel?
- something for good prospects and general enquirers to take away to remember you by?
- Make friends with your neighbours.
They are going to be as busy as you are — but they may be your very best accomplices. This is not entirely a selfless act of friendship. You may well have a spare power cable to lend or a spare bit of adhesive tape, and so may they!
But let them know also about what you do and find out what their business is. You will want other non-competing exhibitors to refer visitors to your stand when appropriate, just as you will want to refer others to theirs.
- Don’t pounce!
Some visitors will know exactly what they are looking for, and if you don’t frighten them away, they will tell you in their own good time. Many more may not know what they were looking for, at least, not until you have told them what you have to offer! But even so, please don’t pounce on them?
Perhaps the worst thing you can do, as any shop-keeper ought to know (but often doesn’t!), is to ask: “Can I help you?” The simple answer for many passers-by is to say “No” and to go away. You can do so much better than that!
- Qualify your visitors
Some visitors may only be time-wasters, although you can never be too sure. You can’t know this until you engage with them and you most certainly can’t always judge by first appearances! Moreover, even if they may not be buying for themselves, they may still be buying for someone else. So however tired you are, however unengaged they may appear to be, let good manners and common courtesy always be your watchword.
But in the end, you need to focus your time on those who may be the most productive. The best way to do this is to ‘qualify’ them. You can do this by gentle but very direct questioning.
- Collecting data
Hold a competition with appropriate prizes to encourage attendees to enter. For most professional businesses, exhibitions and trade shows are far more about finding well-qualified prospects. So capturing the details of those you meet, who show an interest, must be a prime goal to support your future marketing and promotion. Make sure you openly display the prizes and have a big sign displaying the competition.
- Prepare for the follow-up…
After all the hard work of attending your trade show or exhibition, for most exhibitors, this is when the ‘real work’ starts, converting all those precious qualified leads into sales. So do prepare your standard follow-up contact-messages and literature in advance, set yourself a deadline to get these out — within the next week?, and do make time for all those invaluable, top-priority follow-up calls.
If you need more information about becoming a mortgage broker and you need a mortgage broker mentor, look at my exciting website https://www.melbournemortgagebrokermentor.com.au/