When engaging with customers, delivering your pitch, or conducting a product demo, it is important to stay on message. Even when your booth is quiet and there are no visitors, your staff needs to remain attentive to their duties. Remember that your goal in presenting at a show is to gather leads, make sales, and increase customer awareness of your company, its products and services.

As you interact with customers, be attentive to their body language, responses, and enthusiasm. Try to gauge their interest level, and adjust your pitch accordingly. Listen to the person’s concerns and address them. Tell the customer how your product or service can benefit them. Four to five minutes is a good amount of time to spend with each customer.

Be sure to get contact information from all attendees who express interest in your company’s products and services. Ask if it would be alright to send out some literature with information on the products you talked about. If they seem like a very promising lead, ask if can schedule a meeting in the near future to discuss their needs.

Some show attendees will get right down to business. Others are there only to browse and gather freebies. Some attendees may go off on tangents and will test your patience. Your staffers must be trained to handle all these scenarios with tact and class. If a customer does go off topic, it’s okay to briefly indulge them, while gently steering them back to the matter at hand. If this technique does not work after several attempts, it is alright to gently disengage from the conversation, thank the person for their time, and move on. Remember to keep your booth objectives in mind at all times while presenting. And if something does go awry, remember the words of Ralph Nader. “Your best teacher is your last mistake.”

Mel White
Classic Exhibits Inc.
503.652.2100