How To Prepare Your Stand!

Set specific goals: Do you want to generate 200 sales leads? Launch your new product to customers, prospects and the media? The tighter your company goals, the better your chances of achieving them. How about meeting at least 25 qualified new prospects? Or finding three new dealers? Or handing out 5,000 samples?

Exhibitions are incredibly versatile. But you need to focus on your most important goals. Want to demonstrate your product to 250 top buyers? Make 40 new appointments? Test a new idea? Sell products directly from your stand?

Establishing specific, measurable goals is probably the single most important thing you can do before every exhibition.

Plan the stand to meet the goals: Your stand location, design and activities should reflect what you hope to achieve. Even if you have a company exhibition stand in storage, think about how you can tailor it to a specific audience.

The number of staff manning the stand and the mix of disciplines should also be goal-driven.

· Do you need technical staff to explain things in detail?

· Top managers to meet blue-chip decision-makers?

Energetic extroverts for maximum smiling and sampling? Let your goals be your guide.

Tell people why they should visit you: The simplest and most obvious tactic of all is also, amazingly, the least practiced: tell the world what you're up to!

Make the most of pre-exhibition PR and advertising: You can mail your own lists, buy in a list or mail to the event's list of pre-registrants (organisers often make theirs available). It's common sense: tell people what you'll be doing at the show and why they should take the time to visit you. Stress the benefits.

Add some intrigue. Have a bit of fun. But never skip this vital step.

Make note of the deadlines and start spreading the news: Again, benefits are king. And photos help. You may also want to run your own ads in Preview issues, with a 'See us on Stand 20' flag (the organiser will provide the show logo).

Don't forget sponsorship opportunities: Sponsorship can be an extremely cost-effective way to jump out of the pack at your next exhibition.

There is usually a list of off-the-shelf packages available at most budget levels (from sponsored seminar theatres to signage to the T-shirts at the registration desk). But some of the best sponsorships are often bespoke programmes designed by the organiser and exhibitor sitting down together and brainstorming.

Train your exhibit stand staff: The first rule of exhibitions is 'The people make the stand'. Make sure yours are well trained for the job. Selling at an exhibition is different from selling in a one-to-one sales call. Your stand staff needs to understand the goals of the stand and each member's specific role in achieving them.

'You never have a better chance of getting your message across than at an exhibition. All those months of running ads and sending mailings and, suddenly, there in front of you is the customer and at last marketing has a human dimension.'

Lights, camera, action! The day has arrived. You've done the groundwork. Your goals are clear. Your people are trained. The doors to the exhibition fly open and the visitors start streaming in. This is where the rubber meets the road...

Brief your stand staff each day: The people on your stand make the difference between a good event and a great event. A highly motivated, well-informed team does more than any other factor to differentiate you from the other stands and make an impact on your market. Daily briefings are a must. Remind everyone of your goals, your key messages and the role of each team member. Report on your progress towards your goals. Make adjustments if necessary. Announce the winner of your lead-generating competition. Most importantly, keep the energy up and the attitudes positive.

Spend the optimum amount of time with visitors: The 'AREA' system summarised in the box below describes one way to process people through your stand. The key is to find the right people and spend the right amount of time with them - not too much (there are lots more to meet) and not too little (you need to get that lead or appointment). Again, the optimum time per visitor will depend on your goals. But make sure you've planned a system that matches your needs.

This is your AREA: Four steps to generating maximum business and here's his system:

· Attract - Stop people in their tracks. Use colour, motion, sound, bold graphics and benefit statements.

· Reject - Politely filter out the wrong people. Ask a few qualifying questions ('Do you buy light bulbs for your company?') and if they're not prospects, move on ('Then I won't waste your time. Have a great show!').

· Explain - Get straight to the benefits. Run a short demonstration. Put your best case forward. And go for the close.

· Appointment - Once they've agreed to meet, pass them to someone who can set up the appointment (so as not to waste the salesperson's time). If you can't get the meeting, get their details for follow-up.

Speak fluent body language: We've all seen them. The crossed-arms-and-frowns brigade. The newspaper readers. The quick lunch eaters with their backs to the aisle. The staff who are so busy chatting with each other they ignore the people on their stand. Try this. Divide the total cost of your participation in the exhibition by the number of minutes it's open. Then remind yourself and your staff how much every minute is worth. Smiles, eye contact, open questions...it may be common sense but it's not so common in practice!

Earn media coverage: Invite key journalists to visit your stand - or visit theirs. Keep a good supply of bright, well-presented literature in the Show Press Office (too many exhibitors let this resource go untapped!). Work with the show organiser to steer the right journalists your way. And make sure your story is ready when they arrive.

Keep it all business: Lots of comfy furniture encourages people to drop in and stay on your stand. Do you really want that? Current customers might expect to monopolise your time. Unless they're your main reason for attending, try to set aside specific times for customers, ideally in a hospitality area on or off the stand. Networking and social contacts are part of the appeal of an exhibition, but you'll want to keep it under control.

Colourful, high-impact graphics stop buyers while separate stand areas allow you to offer free samples, conduct demonstrations, give out recipe leaflets or price lists and close the sales in a quiet meeting area.

Two hints: always bring more samples than you think you'll need and always try to give information as well as a taste.

Reap the rewards: What to do after the show: The visitors have all gone home. The stands are being taken down. Now is the time to follow through all of the new opportunities you've generated.

Here's where some companies squander the benefits they've worked so hard to achieve while others capitalise on them and turn them into profits.

De-brief the team: When you get back to the office on Monday, sit down with the stand staff and key managers. Do an honest assessment of what worked and what didn't. Elicit suggestions for improving performance at future events. Your staff's insights are a valuable asset, especially while their impressions are still fresh.

Measure your results: Remember your specific, measurable goals? Now is the time to measure your success against them. If you exceeded your goals, try to determine why, so you can replicate that success at the next show. If you fell short, figure out what you could do better.

Track the leads: Don't just evaluate your results immediately after the event. Many companies do written lead-tracking reports three, six and even nine months after a major exhibition to track the new contacts right through to the bottom line. Only then can you truly determine the value of the exhibition for your company.

Follow up all contacts: Every visitor to your stand should receive a timely follow-up. The degree of follow-up will depend on the classification of the contact, ranging from a simple thank-you letter to a sales visit, phone call or information pack.

To your prospects, the days and weeks following the exhibition make it clear who most wants their business and who may not be ready to handle it. Don't blow it now!

Send a mailing to all exhbition visitors: You may not be able to meet every visitor, but you can contact them. Most organisers make the visitor lists available in their entirety (often free, sometimes for a one-time rental fee). A quick 'Sorry we missed you but did you know...' can mop up quite a few new leads.

Doing it right: There's no doubt about it. Exhibitions work. And by planning a few simple activities before, during and after each event, they work even harder.

·No other medium brings your market to you.

· No other medium lets you advance so many of your goals in one bold stroke.

· And no other medium helps you start and build the personal relationships that are so vital to success in today's competitive environment.

That's why so many leading companies make exhibitions an increasingly important part of their marketing plans.

Help is a phone call away: There are two important resources that can help you make the most of your investment in exhibitions:

For confirmation on space availability, to apply for exhibition space, to enquire about networking and advertising opportunities or for any other general information about ACF 2008, Book Your Exhibit Stand Today!