At exhibitions and trade fairs expectations are high. The exhibitor wants to make use of the opportunities presented at the fair to present his products and services, to put across customer-specific information and to stress his company’s status as taught during his sales training.

The expert visitor, on the other hand, expects to find the best information available. Under pressure to turn a profit and pressed for time, this information must be transmitted as resourcefully as possible.

For an exhibitor, the success of a trade fair is reliant upon extensive and specific planning. The following points will help you, as an exhibitor, to converse with the visitor to the trade fair.

Setting up the stand

To represent products and services successfully, it is essential to arrange them as part of a theme and for the stand to emphasise the most salient features, such as the size, appearance and content of the product group’s structure.  The visitor is then able to attain information much quicker and grasp the themes that he finds appealing.

Stage-manage your entrance into the fair

Impressive presentations increase the visitors’ wish to talk to you and, in so doing, increase his knowledge of what you have to offer. In order to ensure that the customer is aware of and remembers your stand, you should make active use of exhibits, pictures, visual aids that preferably have motion, demonstrations, reports, room and light.

As the visitor is bombarded with a variety of impressions, stage-managing the presentation of your offering is a particular communicative skill!

Selecting exhibits and advertising

Stands at trade fairs should present new and remodeled products and services with their essential components against the background of the delivery programme.

The times, when the entire variety of a product was exhibited, are over.  Today the art is what you leave out!

Prerequisite for success at the trade fair: trained and competent specialised personnel!

Providing customers with technical details and referring to the benefits they can enjoy arouses their interest and encourages them to discuss their requirements in more detail.

In order to present successfully, it is necessary to have a clear caption which sets it out from the rest and which is written in a recognisable style. This includes slogans, product identification numbers, reference numbers and nameplates of the stand’s stock.

Information material

To complete the demonstration and exhibit, have available written documents, which will remind the customer of your product. Whether the necessary documents are taken from the stand immediately or sent to interested parties at a later date is extraneous: the latter option brings with it, among other things, further target-group addresses and offers a basis for the assessment after the trade fair is over.

It is essential for the documents to be kept within reach and to be clearly laid out. In addition, the stock of information documents must be kept in check, so that, if necessary, replacements can be obtained on time.

Stand personnel

The more detailed the subject of the trade fair, the more demands visitors make on those staffing the stands. Consequently, only qualified specialist personnel must be delegated to staff the stands. Staff representatives, who, even though specially qualified, are not interested in the running of a trade fair, throw away the opportunities which involvement in a trade fair can offer an exhibitor.

It is essential, therefore, to involve the stand personnel when determining what the business wants to achieve at the trade fair. Fundamental thoughts/concepts about the trade fair as a means of putting across information must be given (especially with regard to the trade fair in question and possibly to its location) and you must know what information the target group expects.

It goes without saying that the stand personnel must have as much technical and selling information as possible about your products. A good way to get the representatives focused on how to deal with visitors in the most effective way is by holding a sales training session shortly before the exhibition.

Clearly noticeable stand information is also important to encourage questions, to help seek information and business contacts, as well as arrangements. This task should be entrusted to those who know the company as well as the stand and who are well versed about the product on offer. Whenever possible, you should use an reputable member of staff.

Attracting and catering for visitors

Targeting invitations makes a significant contribution when preparing for a trade fair. This includes giving facts about the location of the stand, particular presentations and information about new lines and special features.

One is often left with the notion that the aim of a trade fair is to give the customer a good feed. But with the costs of the trade fair, that can never be the aim. Make do with snacks and light refreshments if possible but no alcohol.

Always make it clear to your staff that the main aim of the trade fair is to present new lines and give out information about sections of the programme of which the customer is unacquainted with or is not buying!

Organisation

In practice it is essential to have a stand leader. He is responsible for the smooth running of the stand.

The existence of the business and sales management must always be guaranteed (if only temporarily) to greet significant customers and important visitors.

Trade Fair Check List

Formal criteria:
Recognisable from a distance.
Stands out in a crowd.
Hospitable atmosphere.
Recognisably incorporated into the trade fair as a whole (with regard to subject).


Criteria as regards content:
Clear staging of subject.
Attractive presentation.
Products in operation.
Short and comprehensible explanations (text and pictures).
Possible audio-visual support.
Supplementary or secondary informative material.

Personnel criteria:
Useful and competent information.
Personal contact: opportunity available for good, intensive advice.
Customers are looked after and catered for well and appropriately.

Implement of these key points will ensure efficient running of your stand which given the cost of attendance at exhibitions is vital for business success. You will be able to develop the required skills for handling visitors from sales training courses.

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