The Rules of Engagement

A brief guide on the importance of interaction between you and potential customers.

So you've bought all the components needed for attending a exhibition, you've spent time creating a design to make your stall stand out from the rest, and you've meticulously planned the logistics of getting to the event itself.

All this is great, but where many exhibitors fall down is that when it comes to crunch time, they do very little to actually interact with potential customers, and are content to let them just walk on by.

It is perplexing, and surprising, as a regular attendee of trade shows and exhibitions, to not be engaged even when I'm looking at the product or service on offer. To know how much effort has gone into exhibiting and to then not capitalise on it is a crying shame.

There are obvious, yet simple, ways to maximise the conversion rate of passers-by to potential customers:

• Make eye contact - I'm not talking about staring here, just catching somebody's eye can lead to them engaging you in conversation or for them to take a second look at your stall, enabling you to start your pitch.
• Preparation - a well known saying states "luck is where opportunity meets preparation", well this is your opportunity! Before you set off to your event, make a note of the key benefits of your product/service, any special offers for this event, anticipate objections and how you can overcome these, and if they aren't willing to commit instantly what measures do you have in place to follow-up with them (e.g. mailing list, contact details database, brochures/catalogues to take home).
  
• Mentality is the key - some people are gifted sales-people, but perhaps this isn't your forte. The key here is to change your mentality to 'what have I got to lose', or more importantly 'what have I got to gain'. If you see somebody walking past your stand without taking a second glance, and you don't actively engage them, the chances of them becoming a customer are roughly zero. If, however you take a moment to announce your product to that person, you never know what the outcome will be, hopefully a new customer, or at least a sign-up to your mailing list.
  

If you recognise yourself as one of these exhibiting culprits I hope this guide can serve as a useful reminder on the importance of active selling, and increase the return of investment on your exhibition displays.

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