Trade Shows are a great way to meet prospective clients. At first, it seems like a "walk in
park", and they can be a lot of fun. Many of visitors to show are there to see what is being offered, and to them it is more of a holiday than work.If you are there to show your wares, it is work. Don't confuse your role as a vendor with that of visitor. You must be there before exhibits open to ensure your booth is set up properly, and have coverage at your booth until exhibits close for day. Trying to do it alone, is at best, a difficult proposition. There will be times when you must leave booth, and if it is unattended, you may be missing prospective clients.
Let's assume you have all "goodies" you should have such as business cards, brochures, signs, and free samples. I'm not going to cover that, as it will be different for each business.
As you walk about exhibit hall, you will see some booths where there are crowds of people, and others where exhibitors are trying to stay awake. What is drawing crowds to one booth while others are dying on vine?
Giveaways are nice, but they usually pick them up and are gone. You want something, which will make them hang around a little, so you can talk with them.
Let me give you a couple of examples. One vendor puts up a sign "Free Return Address Labels" in front of his booth, with a computer and printer. Visitors can enter their information on computer for their labels, and they are printed right away. There is usually a line in front of this booth, waiting to get their labels. There is also a guest book, which includes their contact information. This vendor has done two things. First he got opportunity to mingle with people waiting in line to make his pitch, and secondly got their contact information for follow up.
