Taking your team to a trade show is an amazing opportunity to show off your business, generate leads, and network with potential partners and clients in your niche. However, it’s important to be fully prepared and have a structured plan, to ensure that your team is able to make the most of the opportunity.
Choosing your team
One of the first things to consider when taking your team to a trade show is the size of the team. Ideally, you want to have a good balance of team members from different departments, for example, members from sales, marketing, and product development.
This will ensure that you have the right mix of skills and expertise to effectively represent your business and answer any questions that attendees may have.
Training
Next, you’ll want to consider the event-specific training and preparation of your team. This includes providing your team with the necessary information about your products or services, and how to properly communicate this information to attendees. It’s also important to provide your team with any necessary networking training, if they haven’t been to events like this before. In the unlikely case that things go south, you need to give your team clear instructions on what to do in case of any emergencies.
Brand consistent engagement tactics
It’s important to develop a plan for how you’ll engage with attendees at the trade show. This includes determining what message you want to convey, and how you will convey it. It’s also important to have a clear call to action that encourages attendees to take the next step and engage with your business. At the end, it’s important to have a follow-up plan in place, to ensure that you are able to follow up with any leads generated at the trade show.
Prioritise connections
Your time at trade shows is limited, meaning you need everything to be highly structured. This includes identifying the key people and companies that you want to connect with, and developing a plan for how you’ll approach them. It’s also important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve through these connections, such as building relationships, learning about new products or services, or gathering information on competitors.
Debrief
Once the trade show has come to an end, it’s important to evaluate the success of the trade show. This might include tracking the number of leads generated, the number of connections made, and going over any feedback received from attendees. It’s also important to use this information to improve your approach for future trade shows, and make any necessary changes to your plan of action.
These are just a few of the things that you need to think about when taking your team to a trade show. In order for them to truly shine, they need to be properly trained, and provided with an appropriate environment to operate from – this generally means developing a custom-made exhibition stand, with the assistance of a design expert like Focal Exhibitions. With an appropriate plan of action in place, you can ensure that your attendance is as productive as possible.
