Companies spend lots of money on each expo, and the top management expects you to be as effective as possible and come back with many new prospects and signed contracts.
However, it’s not so easy to do. Trade shows are quite hectic events with lots of people (most of them don’t represent any value to you or your company), tight schedules (early breakfasts, late parties), and many things going on around (it’s so easy to lose focus).
Let us help you with your experience and provide some tips that will help you stay efficient, have a positive experience, and make your bosses happy. And let’s hope for the bonus!
1. Do your research.
Before you attend an event, take some time to learn about the speakers, the topics that will be covered, and the goals of the event. This will help you focus your time and attention on the most relevant sessions and activities.
What should you check specifically?
- The event program and the schedule.
- The expo floor map: who is going to be around you, where the toilet and buffet are, where you can find meeting rooms, etc.
- The exhibitor list: are there any companies you’d like to partner with? Where are your competitors located?
- Speaker bios and the companies they work at. These people might be the most relevant prospects for you, and it’s quite easy to start talking to them by asking questions about their presentation.
- The list of participants. This is important because you’ll want to schedule your meetings with potential clients before the event.
- Check out the event’s social media.
- Talk to colleagues who might have attended this event in the past.
2. Set clear goals.
Goals might be qualitative, for example:
- Learning about new industry trends.
- Studying what your competitors do, looking at their demos, and talking to their sales reps.
- Getting some motivation.
And you can also set up KPIs:
- Getting X sales-qualified leads.
- Closing Y deals.
- Meeting Z prospects who’ve never heard about your company before.
It’s good if you can also prioritize your goals so that you know what to pay more attention to. Based on these goals, you can plan your activities during the event.
3. Plan your schedule.
Once your goals are set, it’s time to prepare your schedule.
Of course, nothing will go exactly as planned, but you’ll at least have a list of actions. What should you include in your plan?
- Arrival and setup: Time to arrive on the expo floor to set up the booth and when you plan to leave. Take extra time in case you need anything from the event organizers, like extra seats or tables.
- Sessions to attend: Lectures, workshops, and other collaboration activities where you can actively ask questions and share your opinion (just don’t pitch during these sessions).
- Meetings: Meetings with partners, leads, and customers. It’s very important to schedule these meetings with as many valuable people as possible before the event. Prioritize them based on your goals: if meeting potential customers is more important, save more time for them.
- Networking events: Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and parties also offer great opportunities for productive networking, especially parties (well, we all know that).
Remember, you’re (hopefully) bringing your team to the event, so split the activities between team members to be as efficient as possible. And, as I mentioned, nothing ever goes according to plan, so stay flexible and save time for changes.
4. Use event apps.
I know many people find apps from event organizers not very user-friendly, but they’re still a source of all the information. They help you stay updated, network more effectively (probably the most important feature of such apps), and manage your event experience in general.
It also makes sense to use external apps like BizConnect for scanning business cards or tools for taking quick notes.
5. Arrive early.
It’s better to come to the event a day or two ahead so you and your team can gain some energy, find your way around, and even meet people before the main event starts.
Also, coordinate the arrival of your booth and other materials so you have them on time.
6. Be ready for unexpected situations.
Your booth vendor might not finish their work on time, your flight could be delayed, your colleague might forget to book a hotel for the team, or your best sales manager might get sick after eating that taco last night.
Anything can happen, so you should be ready to react quickly and solve emerging issues. There’s no problem that cannot be solved. Honestly, I don’t want to tell you to develop a Plan B because it probably won’t help. Just stay calm, or have at least one calm person on your team.
7. Meet organizers.
Though your leads and partners are your #1 audience, it’s always good to establish personal connections with the organizer team. These are the people who can help you solve any issue (see point #6), find the right person to talk to, or even give you a discount for the next year.
8. Meet competitors.
Trade shows are a great place to meet your competitors, learn more about their products and way of doing business, talk to their sales representatives, and see who’s engaging with them.
Here’s what else you can do to study your competitors more efficiently:
- Take their promo materials.
- Visit sessions they organize.
- Observe traffic at their booth.
- Ask them questions in a relaxed atmosphere.
9. Network as much as you can.
Networking is one of the primary goals for any exhibitor. Use every opportunity to connect with people, and don’t neglect any contacts (unless they interrupt you while talking to your prospects). You never know how each connection could help.
Coming back to the point of attending masterclasses and workshops: don’t skip these activities, even if they’re not directly related to your area. Be active by providing valuable input, not by promoting your services or products.
10. Follow up.
This is an obvious step after the event. There are no strict rules about when to send follow-up messages, but sometimes it makes sense to follow up immediately during the event, while other times it’s fine to wait a week to give people time to settle back into their routine.
It’s also a great opportunity to reach out to speakers you couldn’t connect with at the conference. Send them a thank-you message highlighting your favorite part of their presentation—it’s a good way to establish a relationship without pushing sales.
Following these tips will help you stay effective at the event, gather valuable information, meet many potential partners, and build mutually beneficial relationships. This way, the money spent on trade shows won’t be wasted.