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3 Trade Show Stand Communication Tips That You Must Know

As a marketing professional who cares about your company, it’s your job to present everything in a positive light. This is especially true at a trade show exhibit, where hundreds or even thousands of people could talk with you in a single day. It’s easy to turn this desire to present your company in a positive light into something very negative: a desire to deny the realities of your product. Today’s trade show booth visitor won’t believe any staffer who sounds rehearsed or like he’s faking it.

Instead, you want to be honest about your product, while still accentuating the many positives. When you are able to maintain this demeanor at your trade show stand, you’ll actually promote your company and your products much more effectively. Refusing to admit that your product has any negative elements makes it seem as though those possible negatives are catastrophic for a buyer. In fact, your product is a good one – it’s something people will want to buy. You don’t need to make it appear flawless. You simply need to show people that they’ll enjoy it, and they will be interested in purchasing.

 

Tip #1: Choose Your Staffers With Care

You cannot possibly interact personally with every visitor to your trade show exhibit. This is true even at the smaller conventions; at larger expos, it can take three or four people to begin handling the influx of visitors to a trade show booth. Because you can’t interact with everyone you’ll need to see, hiring good people to work at your trade show stand is absolutely crucial.

These people must have the same detailed understanding of communication that you possess. They must know how to present your product in a positive light while also being honest about it. They should be sincere, and they should be knowledgeable. They should also be naturally likeable and conversational, just enough so they can make visitors feel welcome at your trade show stand. Finding these people isn’t always an easy task, but once you have them they will make your trade show exhibit a lot more effective.

 

Tip #2: Don’t Pressure Your Team To Meet Sales Goals

When sales people are under pressure to perform, either through incentives for meeting certain targets or just plain overzealous encouragement, they are increasingly likely to exaggerate the benefits of their product. In essence, the more pressure you put on your trade show booth staffers to reach certain targeted sales numbers, the less likely they are to give your visitors the experience they want. Pressured trade show stand staff will come off as insincere and untrustworthy to visitors – not the result you want!

 

Tip #3: Conduct Training With Outside Assistance

Whenever you bring someone new onto your trade show exhibit staff, have them go through a bit of training first. Simulate the trade show exhibit, and have a friend or other co-worker who the new recruit doesn’t know pretend to be a visitor. Have that person let you know firsthand what they felt. By mimicking the situation at a real trade show booth as closely as possible, you’ll get a good picture of what you can expect on convention day.

When you allow your trade show stand staffers to be genuine and open about your product, you’re much more likely to make sales and to develop customers who keep coming back. People will trust you, and they’ll see your product for what it is: something legitimately good with real, tangible benefits.