What to do to get the best out of a trade show? We are an online marketing agency.

GREAT QUESTION!

I loved doing trade shows and with our strategies we would get 10% of all the people who attended to sign up at our stand which is unprecedented. We did this WITHOUT any need to give leaflets to people who would just walk past and forget all about you.

I have taught this strategy to other exhibitors and am happy to walk you through this in a call so that I can customize it to your business more than I could here because you've not given enough information about the event for me to give a fuller answer.

Also if you are at an exhibition it's worth realizing that there are MORE ways to be profitable including strategies to sell to others (NOT JUST the attendees) even before the event date you can line things up so that if the exhibition doesn't hit the numbers that they sold you on - you won't end up losing out.

Really excited to learn more about your business and help you have a great customer acquisition event there at the event. Depending on your stand size and ancillary budget there are other ways to make the event more profitable too.

If you want to speak then just click "Talk to Marsha" below. I can make some time this week to help you.

Here's a plan for you:
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1. Before the show do research on who will be attending the show (ask for the list if possible -- PAY FOR IT)
2. Contact key people who will likely be attending the show and set up key time to meet with them away from your booth (Send Calendar invite)
3. Put together a dossier on each of the people you will be meeting (including headshot) so you have talking points and know what they care about
4. Confirm by SMS that you will be meeting (and where) the morning of your meeting -- things can get busy.
5. MEET
6. Followup within 24 hours about your relationship -- NO PITCHING (just keep it to 4-5 sentences)
7. Add those key relationships to your nurturing program

The key to getting the most leads is properly engaging people on the show floor. I'm teaching some webinars on this topic that are free. The first one is Wednesday: http://webinarjam.net/webinar/go/3350/6aed4c2a66

I totally support the suggestion about pre-marketing.
Find the Trade show's hashtag and if it's a business show (particularly one that repeats annually) create a Linked In group for the whole show.
Research and create content which is being produced by the organisers, speakers and other exhibitors and publish it to two places - your blog and the Linked In Group.
Using this curated content strategy, you will be the place folks come to read more about the event, plus you get the chance to arrange meetings in advance with key attendees.

To get the best out of trade show keep the following in mind:
Make sure you attend the right one. First, spend some time checking out the trade show's website. What companies are going to be there? Are any of them potential licensees? Cross-reference your list of potential licensees with the list of attendees.
Register in advance. Shows have different policies and pricing structures; you may be able to save money by registering early. Some shows only want qualified buyers, media people, and experts. Others simply require that you register online. Do your homework to find out what's required to get in. If the show is only open to retailers, there are still ways of getting in, because retailers tend to have extra passes. Start walking the floor as soon as possible. Once you've visited the companies on your list, feel free to walk the floor at your leisure.
Dress the part. People will take you more seriously if you dress appropriately. If the trade show is about sporting equipment and fitness, you do not need a three-piece suit. For other industries, a sport coat is more appropriate.
Bring two pairs of comfortable shoes and wear them on alternate days. Like I said, walking the floor will exhaust you.
Bring businesses cards and copies of your sell sheet with you everywhere. Approaching a booth can be intimidating, because it feels a bit like you are walking into someone else's living room. What has worked well for me is simply observing what is going on around me and waiting for a salesperson to come to me. When someone approaches you, compliment him on the company's products and ask questions like, “Can you show me how this works?” Be genuine in trying to get a dialogue going. Eventually, the salesperson will ask you what you do. At that point, you should introduce yourself as you normally would.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath