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Exhibitions and fairs are true bridges between
companies and their potential clients. They are, by definition, the
meeting place for generating new business. But for making the most of them and not waste time, it
is important to plan.
1 - You plan your
activities. Learn about the activities programmed by the
organizers. Look closely at the catalogue of companies with booths and
be open to the possible solutions that you may find on other booths,
conferences or congresses for your company. 2 - Predefine your
business agenda. On the days prior to the fair contact those
potential clients that you wish to receive at your booth. Create a
meeting schedule and save free time in your schedule for unplanned
meetings. Bear in mind that exhibitions are true opportunities for
meeting with partners and colleagues, exchange opinions and generating
new business. Don’t waste your time! 3 - Take care of
your personal appearance. If you are representing your
company, it is very important for you to take into account every
detail regarding the way you dress, the way you address other people
and your body language. After all, it’s the first impression that
counts! Do not underestimate the value of a strong image. 4 - Have
institutional material available at your booth. At a trade fair,
it is of vital importance to have communicational material such as
brochures and catalogues with information about your company, products
and services. It is important that at the time of the fair you web
page is updated and that you can send your potential clients to browse
your website for further information. Nowadays, it is essential to
have a web site. 5 - Keep a record
of your meetings. Organize yourself in such a way that after every
meeting you hold during the fair you can take five minutes off and
take some notes on the impressions you got from each potential client.
Write down the needs that you saw in your potential client, and be
specially detailed when writing about the meeting. It might happen
that during the fair you meet over 50 people, and it will be those
details that will make you remember each conversation. 6 - Train your
executive team. Fairs are fundamental instruments when it comes
to closing deals. And as the investment made to be part of those fairs
is usually significant, the team must be highly qualified. Executive
staff must be informed about and be aware of the goals of the fair. To
be successful, they will need to know the potential interests of the
visitor and appear confident during the interpersonal contacts. 7 - Hire qualified
personnel. At fairs, the first contact with your potential client
is established by promoters. Although looks are important, it is of
utmost importance that the personnel that you hire is knowledgeable of
the products and services offered by your company. An attractive
promoter who is not capable of providing information may end up being
an annoyance. 8 - Collect data on
the market. Ask the visitors for their opinion about your
products, visit 9 - Once the fair
ends, meet with your team. After each exhibition it is a
good time to evaluate whether you met the expectations that your
company had on the fair. Exchange opinions and experiences with your
team members, evaluate the level of interest that your products and
services arouse, analyze the demands of your potential clients and the
innovations presented by your competition. 10 - Foster
relationships. After the event, once you are back in your
office, contact the visitors you received at your booth and thank them
for their visit. Keep in touch. If you let time go by, it will be
difficult to make a reference on the meeting. You never know which of
all those contacts will end up being good business. 11 - Meet the
commitments made during the exhibition to your potential clients: send the samples, quotations and additional information that you promised.
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How to do excellent business at a fair