Building Personal Relationships At Trade Shows
When you schedule an appearance at a trade show, what do you think about accomplishing? For most, the answers are things like driving up interest in a business, making new connections, and hopefully improving your brand identity and your bottom line. But there’s something else that your exhibit should do – create a personal relationship with participants.
For many, this isn’t always something that is easy to do. There are a few key things that can help you, however, and they range from how you react to a participant to what your overall exhibit design is like. Let’s take a closer look at some of the standout ways to build a personal relationship through your trade show exhibit.
First of all, be sure that your overall design is inviting and interesting, and that it isn’t just a generic design that blends into the others at the show. Standing out creates memories, and those memories are the first step towards creating a solid relationship.
Your demeanor matters, too. You’ll want to be inviting and entertaining, and willing to treat each participant like they’re the most important person on the exhibit floor. Once you have them at your booth, face to face interaction is something that you really have to focus on in order to forge a closer relationship.
Asking questions often helps tremendously. Try to ask about their interests or what it is that they most need within their business. Then, suggest some of your products or services and show them what you can offer. Don’t get pushy or come across as a shill – try to use a calm, friendly demeanor that creates more of a connection than the ‘carnival barker’ sales pitch.
Connect with them digitally in some way. Social media or email are both two options worth considering. You could offer entries into a raffle drawing in exchange for a like on Facebook or signing up to a mailing list, for example. Once you have a way to follow up with your leads, you’ll be on your way to a more personal connection since you can then interact with them after the trade show.
There are lots of other great ways to go about forging personal relationships at your exhibits. Before you go to your next trade show, it’s well worth thinking about how you do this and about how to enhance your exhibit to make it easier. Our team of exhibit professionals can help, so don’t hesitate to contact Lighthouse Exhibits to learn more about how to reach your goals.